Java House Expands Kenyan Footprint, Brings Exciting Offerings In Eastleigh

Restaurant chain Java House, through brand development and reimaging projects, is finally expanding its footprint in Kenya.

Popular for coffee drinking, it launched its 84th outlet in Nairobi’s bustling Eastleigh neighbourhood to captivate diners by offering more casual dining options in the area.

Located at the new Business Bay Square Mall, the new outlet joins Java’s growing list of Halal-compliant branches in the region.

According to Priscilla Gathungu, CEO of Java House, the growth is part of the brand’s ambition to reach a wider audience with its signature Java menu customized to cater to each market segment.

Guests will be able to enjoy and experience the full Halal-compliant menu, Java’s famous coffee, and other retail items in its range while also enjoying the convenience of online delivery through partners such as Carrefour, Glovo, Jumia Foods, Bolt Foods, Uber Eats, and Little Cab.

“Being the market leader in the casual dining space in this region, we want to continue to innovate our experience based on what our guests are telling us. Our guests’ needs are constantly evolving, and we want to adapt to these changes,” said Gathungu.

“Eastleigh is a bustling hub of activity. We have 100,000 people coming into Eastleigh daily, with 30,000 of those coming for work-related activity, and that number gets to over 250,000 over the holiday periods. You have to respect the work ethic and collaboration that go into building this kind of vibrant community and collaboration, and that’s why it makes sense to be here and to be that.”

Java House opened its first store in 1999 at Adam’s Arcade in Nairobi. Java House owns the 360 Degrees Artisan Pizza, Kukito, and Planet Yogurt food chains.

Kenya retail market

In 2022, Nairobi recorded an average rental yield of 7.8 per cent a 1.0 per cent point higher than the market average of 6.8 per cent according to Cytonn Investments.

This was mainly driven by the higher rental rates that the retail spaces fetch at Kshs 173 per SQFT, compared to the market average of Kshs 122 per SQFT.

Cytonn also expects increased activities in the Kenyan retail industry due to sustained expansion efforts by both domestic and foreign retailers who are aggressively competing for a bigger share of the market and increased capital investments by foreign entities in the retail market.

In addition, the growing demand for goods, services, and retail space driven by favourable demographics both within and beyond the Nairobi Metropolitan Area (NMA) is also contributing to this growth.

Subsequently, increased infrastructural development is enhancing accessibility in regions offering new opportunities for retail investors.

“Nevertheless, the rampant proliferation of e-commerce which is quickly changing how consumers shop and purchase goods, and the oversupply of retail spaces, currently estimated at 3.0 mn SQFT in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area (NMA) and 1.7 mn SQFT in the larger Kenyan retail sector (excluding NMA), remain significant obstacles that continue to impede the sector’s growth and overall performance,” Cytonn said in its May 2023 monthly report.