Los Angeles, Calif.-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf announced it is returning to New York City through a new franchisee, Hudson River Coffee & Tea, and plans to open 100 new stores across New York, beginning with Manhattan later this year.

"The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has never wavered from delivering quality and innovative coffees and teas from around the world,” said Pinchas Shapiro, chief executive officer of Hudson River Coffee & Tea, in a statement. “We’re thrilled that Hudson River Coffee & Tea has the opportunity to bring this iconic brand to the New York market.”

Founded in 1963, the privately-owned Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf currently operates 311 stores in the United States and has more than 1,200 locations across 30 countries worldwide, the company says. New York marks the 14th state to welcome The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, it adds.

“New York has always been an important market for us,” said JJ Smith, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s vice president of franchise operations and business development. “Hudson River Coffee & Tea’s successful track record and expertise in real estate development makes it the ideal franchisee to bring The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to coffee and tea-loving New York City.”

John Fuller, chief executive officer of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, added: “The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has maintained a steady growth rate over the past several years. The return to New York is not only an indicator of our core strength as a leading roaster and retailer of coffee and tea, but also a strong indicator of our customers’ deep-rooted brand loyalty that exists across the globe.” 

New York City is a competitive and highly desirable market for any coffee retailer, the company says.  According to a recent poll, 62 percent of New Yorkers consume coffee on a daily basis, and of coffee drinkers, 60 percent have more than one cup a day, it adds, citing research from the Siena College Research Institute.