Founded in 2015 after returning from living and working abroad, Riverhead Coffee was created to fill a clear gap in the market: bringing a vibrant, city-style coffee culture to the East Coast. Today, with bustling locations in both Cleethorpes and Grimsby, as well as a popular presence at local farmers' markets, Riverhead Coffee is a cherished regional destination known for its friendly atmosphere, award-winning baked goods, and exceptional coffee.
When establishing Riverhead Coffee, the goal was to build a warm, inclusive space welcoming to customers of all ages. To deliver on this vision, Riverhead needed a specialty coffee partner with a strong regional reputation, exceptional product consistency, and a collaborative approach to ongoing training and equipment support.
Why Stokes Coffee & Tea?
Riverhead chose Stokes as their dedicated coffee partner based on shared values, local heritage, and regional proximity:
- Recognised heritage: Stokes’ established regional reputation, rich history, and family-business background appealed to Riverhead’s core values and resonated with their local customer base.
- Proximity & relationship building: Being based nearby enabled a close, hands-on working relationship designed to grow over time.
- Tailored flavour profile: During a tour of the Stokes roastery, the Riverhead team tasted a wide range of sample profiles to select a coffee blend to match their brand and clientele.
"They were already a recognised name in the area because of the history and the fact that they were a family business. This really appealed to me and I thought it would appeal to our customers... The support that we’ve got from Stokes has been really fantastic from the beginning."
— Nic, Owner of Riverhead Coffee
The Solution
Stokes provides Riverhead Coffee with an end-to-end commercial coffee solution across both of their locations and their retail bean offerings:
- Coffee supply: Riverhead serves Stokes’ Certified Blend as their signature espresso offering and sells packaged retail bags directly to customers in-store.
- Commercial machinery: Both sites feature Sanremo espresso machines.
- Barista training: New Riverhead team members visit the Stokes roastery for immersive barista training.
Stokes also conducts regular in-house training sessions at Riverhead’s sites to support staff growth and maintain consistent quality.
The Impact
By combining Stokes' heritage roasting and technical support with Riverhead’s passion for great food, event catering, and community-focused hospitality, the partnership has thrived over the 11 years working together.
- Consistent quality control: Ongoing staff training ensures every cup served meets exact extraction standards, matching Riverhead’s high-quality food offerings.
- Customer loyalty: Offering a recognised, locally roasted brand has strengthened customer trust and reinforced Riverhead’s commitment to community-driven sourcing.
- Scalable support: As Riverhead continues to expand its catering and retail footprint, Stokes provides continuous equipment advice, machine servicing, and roasted coffee supply tailored to their growth.
"Great coffee to me means obviously the quality of coffee has to be really good. But also it’s all about the whole experience: the way that it’s served, the way it’s presented, and the interactions between the customers and the members of the team all go part and parcel to make it taste the best."
— Nic, Owner of Riverhead Coffee
To learn more about partnering with Stokes here.