The South African couple who built a coffee shop empire where everything costs R14
Xpresso Café, the budget-friendly coffee shop known for its R14 coffees and founded by a husband-and-wife team, plans to expand its store footprint with 20 additional outlets in 2026, focusing on Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The Café brand, established nearly a decade ago by husband and wife Clyde and Nicolene Elhadad, currently has a footprint of 80 stores across Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg and Pretoria.
“Our footprint continues to expand as new franchise partners join the brand and new opportunities are identified,” said founder Nicolene Elhadad.
“Because the concept is flexible, we are able to operate successfully in a variety of locations, which has helped accelerate our growth across the country.”
The brand, which offers fast takeaway service for coffee, pastries, and other ready-made items, sells every item on the menu at a set price of R14.
“So why R14? Because why not? Everything in life does not have to be expensive, and yes, we do not make a lot of profit, but in life, giving has always been better than receiving,” the founders said on their website.
Both founders have entrepreneurial backgrounds. Nicolene specialises in brand development, innovation, and identifying opportunities for entrepreneurs, whereas Clyde focuses on operations and has expertise in business systems.
“We built Xpresso together with a small team in the early days, and over time, it has evolved into a much larger network of franchise partners and support teams,” said Nicolene Elhadad.
“What makes the journey special is that many of the people within the business have grown with us over the years.”
The husband-and-wife founders started their first business 18 years ago in their home garage. Nine years after this, they opened a small coffee shop.
“What started as a single store quickly showed us that there was a gap in the market for a brand that offered great value, strong operational systems, and a model that everyday entrepreneurs could step into,” Nicolene Elhadad said.
South Africa’s first R10 takeaway coffee shop
When Xpresso Café was established, their coffees and other items on the menu sold for R10, making it the first R10 take-away coffee shop franchise in South Africa to offer all menu items at R10 each.
“We managed to maintain our special price for 5 years, had an increase to R12 in October 2021, and only after 3 years we increased our price to R14 in October 2024,” they said.
While the founders are working on their new business model, which is set to launch in the second half of the year, items are currently still sold at R14 each.
“Our focus is on strategic expansion rather than rapid growth for the sake of numbers. We want to ensure that each location is profitable and sustainable for the franchise partner operating it.”
“As a result, new stores are being developed in a variety of retail, office, and convenience locations,” said Nicolene Elhadad.
The founders said that in 2026, the franchise will focus on increasing community engagement through new customer programmes and collaborative efforts.
In addition, the brand aims to position Xpresso as one of the most recognisable coffee brands in South Africa by investing in content, storytelling, and brand visibility.
“Over the past few years, the brand has experienced significant growth as more stores have opened and the network has expanded,” said Nicolene Elhadad.
The founders of Xpresso established Jackass Roastery several years ago to meet rising consumer demand for coffee.
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