When it comes to coffee, slices of cake, tasty muffins, sandwiches, and servings of food, no restaurant chain in Africa has been more generous with its portions as Mugg and Bean.
They were Africa’s pioneers of the bottomless coffee concept, where for the price of one, your cup of coffee or tea is replenished as many times as you want.
This spirit of generosity has been the chain’s signature identity since 1996 when Ben and his wife Judi opened the first Mugg & Bean restaurant at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
The couple drew inspiration for the concept during a trip to the US in 1992 when they dined at a coffee-themed cafe in South Side, Chicago.
Today, South Africans see Mugg & Bean everywhere. With 248 outlets in the country, it is hard not to be a fan.
In addition, the chain has 8 outlets in Kenya, 3 in Botswana, 2 in Malawi, and 2 in Mauritius.
The 263 Mugg & Bean outlets in Africa are now part of the Famous Brands franchising network.
However, just as Ben designed it almost 3 decades ago, the outlets still provide generous portions of good food, bottomless cups of coffee, and a relaxed atmosphere better enjoyed in the company of friends and family.
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Ben’s journey to Mugg & Bean
Born to a farmer in 1949, Ben Conrad Filmalter started his food industry career as a trainee Banquet Manager at the Langham Hotel in Stellenbosch, where he would meet his wife Judi, the Pastry Chef.
An alumnus of Springs High School, Ben rose through the ranks in different capacities to the apex of hotel management when he served as the General Manager of Balalaika, a premier hotel in Johannesburg.
In 1979 Ben quit employment to pursue his number one interest… food, restaurants, and everything in between.
He bought the Linger Longer Restaurant from the owner couple, Bill and Peg Jackson who were retiring after running it for 11 years.
Ben and his brother John pooled resources and secured additional financing from a bank to buy the Jacksons out.
For almost 15 years Linger Longer dominated South Africa’s finest restaurants awards and was named the best restaurant for 5 consecutive years.
Apart from Linger Longer, Ben experimented with tens of restaurant themes in Johannesburg and Cape Town, designing and operating them either as his own or for other investors.
It is said that in a span of 2 decades, Ben was involved with over 50 South African restaurant brands with varying degrees of success.
Most were themed around the American food culture; Ben having been a frequent visitor to the US.
Some of the notable outlets associated with Ben included; Leipoldts, Scratch Daniels, Baccarat, Fat Franks, Tijuana 220, Rattlesnake Diner, Turtle Creek, Ruby’s, Brand 32 Coffee Shop, Genghis Jones, Buchanins Carnival and Chalk & Cheese.
The Sandton-based Rattlesnake Diner became a huge success that prompted Ben to open more branches in Pretoria, Benoni, and Cape Town – a miscalculation that almost bankrupted him.
Ever the dreamer, Filmalter got up, dusted himself, and was at it again with the Chicago-conceived Mugg & Bean idea that turned out to be his biggest hit.
The Birth of Mugg & Bean
The idea of a coffee-themed restaurant was first conceived by Ben in 1992 while on holiday in Chicago. The name would come from a Disneyland ride he went on called Mug & Bean.
Four years later, in September 1996, he would throw in all his family savings, borrow even more, and leverage his good name, coupled with a supportive wife as head of the kitchen to pull it off.
Much as it was initially coffee-themed, the pioneer Mugg & Bean at the V&A Waterfront morphed to be a full-fledged restaurant for premium fast-casual dining.
It was one of the first coffee outlets to serve chai (tea) for those who did not drink coffee.
Its exceptional success encouraged Ben to open 3 more outlets by leveraging on partnerships that made him refine Mugg & Bean as a franchising business.
To build the franchise with widespread outlets, Ben needed a strategic partner to help with finances and technical know-how for rolling out the franchise chain faster.
In came Michael Maree in the year 2,000 who invested in the business and together they scaled the franchise business from 4 outlets to 96 in Africa by 2009.
Mugg & Bean was one of the pioneers of free Wi-Fi access that is currently a given in many restaurants or pubs in South Africa
Those who worked closely with ‘Mr. Ben’ as most employees referred to him, described him as a hard boss to please.
A lover of music, he demanded more and pushed people to do more.
Never easily satisfied, Ben always believed that the service could be more memorable, the food tastier, the customer numbers bigger, and the money generated better.
Always the dreamer, Ben never forgot to advise the numerous audiences he addressed to dream big;
“We should never stop dreaming. This world needs few lawyers and accountants, but plenty of dreamers. My dream got me through tough times and made me get up every day to find ways to do better. I dreamt of having the best restaurant in the country.”
Ben Filmalter
The sale of Mugg & Bean
In July 2009, at a time when Mugg & Bean had 108 restaurants in Africa, Famous Brands bought the African franchising interests for R104 million (about US$ 13 million).
In the late 2000s, Famous Brands was on a buying spree of successful food franchises, perhaps as a strategy to make a kill out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Famous Brands was already Africa’s leading branded food services franchisor with a portfolio that included; Steers (524 outlets), Wimpy (642), Debonairs Pizza (315), FishAways (112), Tashas (6), House of Coffees (19), Brazilian/Brazilian Café (48), Blacksteer (12), Giramundo (6), Keg (27) and McGinty’s (5), Vovo Telo (3), and O’Hagan’s (26).
In the deal, Ben and Mike maintained rights to Mugg & Bean franchises outside the continent of Africa.
They already had Mugg & Bean franchise deals with 9 Middle Eastern outlets in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, two outlets in the UK, and had intentions of expanding globally.
Relocation to the USA
After selling his Africa franchising interests in Mugg & Bean, Ben relocated to the USA and invested in two Mexican restaurants called Cantina 1511s.
A US green card holder, Ben intended to use the Charlotte, North Carolina-based restaurants to study the US franchising market for the launch of Mugg & Bean USA.
The legend lives on…
Ben’s Mugg & Bean USA dream was cut short when he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014.
Ben died in 2016 leaving behind Judi, two sons, a grandchild, and a rich legacy in South Africa’s food industry.
In closing, let me share an excerpt from a tribute given at Ben’s memorial service in 2016, by Mike Said, a family friend who worked with Ben for many years from his days at Linger Longer to Mugg & Bean:
“Ben was to the coffee industry what Uber was to the taxi industry… a disruption that was needed. Ben touched tens of thousands of lives. From waiters and kitchen staff who got their first job in one of his many restaurants, to chefs who slaved in his kitchens, to franchisees who have built massive businesses thanks to his vision and guidance to thousands of suppliers and contractors who worked alongside him and of course those who just turned to him for guidance when things turned a little rough or (when they had) a new idea that needed some refining… the list is endless”.
Mike Said
Ben Filmater’s dream and legacy of generosity live on in the numerous Mugg & Bean outlets globally, and their tagline of “giving you more and more”.
