Bewley's

Infobox Company
company_name = Bewley's Limited
company_
company_type = Limited
foundation = 1840
location = Dublin
key_people
industry = Beverages
products = Coffee, Tea
homepage = [http://www.bewleys.ie www.bewleys.ie]

Bewley's Limited is an Irish company, established in 1840, that produces tea and coffee for sale around the world. The company is owned by Campbell Bewley Group Ltd. [http://www.bewleys.com]

Bewley’s is the largest importer, roaster and supplier of fresh coffee in Ireland and was the first coffee company to import fairtrade-certified coffee into Ireland in the 1990s. It is by far the largest importer of fairtrade coffee, supplying many of Ireland’s leading foodservice, retail, forecourt and convenience store operators with their requirements.

Bewley's has significant coffee roasting facilities in Ireland capable of roasting approximately 2,000 tonnes of coffee beans per annum. The company has operations in Boston and Sacramento, in the United States, and also serves customers in the United Kingdom, Europe and internationally. It employs over 1,000 people worldwide.

Environmental Sustainability

In 2008 the company announced [http://www.bewleys.ie/news/item/22/bewleys-to-neutralise-all-carbon-emissions/] that it will become Ireland’s first fully certified Carbon Neutral coffee company by year-end, resulting from the implementation of a major environmental sustainability initiative. The development will see over 3,500 tonnes of CO2 removed from the atmosphere each year. The announcement was made by the Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, John Gormley, T.D. [http://www.greenparty.ie/en/people/john_gormley] The plan is being achieved through active carbon reduction initiatives, a move to renewable energy sources and support for high quality certified carbon offset projects. The Carbon Neutral status will apply to Bewley’s coffee roasting, tea blending, foodservice and retail operations and will include Bewley’s Grafton Street Café.

Bewley's Grafton Street.

The company also owns and operates one of Europe's most renowned coffee and tea emporiums - Bewley's of Grafton Street. Opened over 80 years ago in 1927, Bewley’s Grafton Street is a cherished Dublin landmark and is Ireland’s longest established and largest café with over one million customers annually. [http://www.bewleys.com/grafton-street/]

The cafe freshly roasts all coffee that is served on the premises, in addition to craft bakery, full breakfasts and contemporary cuisine. It has professionally trained baristas (coffee service personnel) skilled in latte art.

One of the cafe's most famous assets is a set of priceless stained glass windows, by the late artist Harry Clarke, located in the main coffee and tea room named in his honour. The Harry Clarke Room is found by walking straight through the Front Café to the back of the building on the Ground Floor. This is the largest room in the building with high ceilings, chandeliers, paintings and sculptures. Bewley's Grafton Street also comprises a Café Theatre with casual seating for up to 50 people. Located in the 'Oriental Room' of the Cafe, it is Dublin's foremost stage for lunchtime drama (also including a light lunch during the show) and it is also a venue for evening cabaret, jazz and comedy.

Brief History

The Bewley family were Quakers who originated in France and moved to Ireland in the 18th century. They entered the tea trade and in 1835 Charles Bewley landed an unprecedented cargo of 2,000 chests of tea shipped directly from China to Dublin, thereby breaking the East India Tea Company’s monopoly. The Bewley family subsequently expanded into the coffee trade and in the late 19th century they opened cafes in Georges Street (1894) and Westmoreland Street (1896) in Dublin.

Following the end of the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Free State was established in 1922 and endured civil war between 1922 and 1923. The Grafton Street café was opened by Ernest Bewley in November 1927 and was a huge vote of confidence in a city and country that had endured significant turbulence. The building had once housed Whyte’s Academy, a school whose pupils included The Duke of Wellington and Robert Emmet.

Ernest Bewley undertook a complete refurbishment of the building, drawing inspiration from the great European cafes of Paris and Vienna, as well as exotic oriental tearooms and Egyptian architecture (which influenced the façade and was inspired by the discovery of Tutankhamen’s Tomb in 1922).

The centrepiece of the café is still today the six magnificent stained glass windows commissioned from the renowned artist Harry Clarke who completed them just prior to his death in 1931.

Harry Clarke (1889 – 1931) was the greatest of all Irish stained glass artists, as well as a deeply talented painter and book illustrator. In 1916, he illustrated Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales and Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination. His most viewed creation is considered to be the exquisite stained glass windows within Bewley's Café, completed in 1927 at a then cost of some sixty thousand pounds.

The grandeur and ambition of Ernest Bewley’s achievement resulted in Bewley’s Grafton Street immediately becoming an essential part of the literary, cultural, artistic, architectural and social life of Dublin. The café became a haunt for some of Ireland’s most famous literary and artistic figures, including James Joyce (who mentioned the cafe in his book “Dubliners”), Patrick Kavanagh, Samuel Beckett and Sean O’Casey. Bewley’s Grafton Street has equally acquired a special place in the hearts of all Dubliners and visitors to the city alike.

Bewley’s Grafton Street is now owned and operated by Campbell Bewley Group Limited (“Bewley’s”), which belongs to the Irish entrepreneur, sculptor and artist, Patrick Campbell [http://www.paddycampbell.ie/] , and his family. The Bewley’s cafe business was acquired by Campbell in 1986 and the Grafton Street café was substantially refurbished and upgraded in 1986 and 1998. Patrick Bewley, a direct descendant of the founder Joshua Bewley, still works with the company.

Bewley’s Grafton Street was closed in November 2004 for a brief period and reopened in May 2005 after a careful refurbishment and restoration. The company also previously operated several other cafes which were closed over the years. In 2007 the 'Mackerel' Seafood Restaurant on the first floor of the cafe was closed to accommodate demand for additional café seating.

Bewley's Hotels

Bewley's Hotels is a chain of hotels using the Bewley's trademark both in Ireland and in the United Kingdom. [http://www.bewleyshotels.com]

ee also

*Charles Bewley, controversial Irish diplomat and member of the Bewley family

External links

* [http://www.bewleyshotels.com Bewley's Hotels]
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/1130/bewleys.html RTE Coverage of 2004 Closures]