Business

From a farm in Vryburg to South Africa’s biggest coffee franchise

Kirsten Minnaar • 11 February 2025

Mugg & Bean is one of South Africa’s biggest and most beloved coffee franchises, but the restaurant’s story really starts in Chicago, USA.

There, a husband and wife team came up with the idea of a coffee shop where people arrived as customers and left as friends.

Although it is incredibly successful today, when Ben Filmalter founded Mugg n Bean in the 1990s, the business was built with borrowed money and a lot of nerve.

Filmalter was born in 1949 in Vryburg in North West, where he was raised on his father’s farm until his death when Filmater was five years old.

At that point, his family, his mother and four siblings, moved to the East Rand. Filmalter attended Springs High School, and after matriculating, he completed his military training in the late 1960s.

In 1968, he made his foray into the hospitality sector when he started working as a chef’s apprentice.

He gradually moved through the ranks and eventually became the General Manager of Balalaika, one of Johannesburg’s premier hotels.

During this time, he met his wife, Judi, who was a pastry chef for one of the restaurants he managed in Stellenbosch.

In 1979, he decided to pursue his biggest passion – food. He got his opportunity in the Linger Longer Restaurant in Johannesburg.

Filmalter and his accountant brother, John, pooled their money together and secured financing from a bank to buy the Joburg restaurant from its owners, Bill and Peg Jackson, who were retiring after running it for 11 years.

The two brothers faced a significant uphill battle – the restaurant was old-fashioned, stale, and on the edge of bankruptcy.

However, within one year, they managed to get the restaurant back on track, and by 1980, it was named South Africa’s finest restaurant, a position it held for no less than five years.

One restaurant was not enough for Filmalter, though. Over the coming years, he delved into plenty of other ventures in Johannesburg and Cape Town, including Scratch Daniels, Ruby’s, and Brand 32 Coffee Shop.

He was particularly drawn to American dining since he had visited the US numerous times and brought that into many of his businesses.

For example, Fat Franks Southern Diner was a Cajun restaurant in Braamfontein, and the Rattlesnake Roadside Diner was inspired by ’60s rock & roll.

The Rattlesnake, in particular, became a huge success, and he decided to expand to Pretoria, Benoni, and Cape Town.

During this period, he opened around 38 independent operations, either for his company or for others. In addition to his American-themed establishments, the concepts were varied, covering everything from French to Mexican.

Over two decades, he was involved with more than 50 South African restaurant brands, which achieved varying levels of success.

However, a major milestone came in 1996. South Africa had only recently become a democracy and was effectively bankrupt. Interest rates shot up to over 25%, and the entire country went into decline.

Unfortunately, Filmalter’s restaurants were no exception.

Photo: Andrew Wood, Marc Latilla; Fat Franks Southern Diner circa 1989

Founding Mugg & Bean

In 1992, Filmalter and his wife took a trip to America, where they discovered a unique little coffee shop on Chicago’s South Side that prided itself on its spirit of generosity.

The couple spent several hours there, drinking bottomless cups of coffee and enjoying the friendly atmosphere. They then discussed the idea of bringing something similar to South Africa.

At that time, Starbucks was gaining popularity in the US, but they believed it would take a while for the South African market to embrace the coffee giant.

So, the idea for Mugg & Bean – a South African coffee-themed restaurant with bottomless drinks and a warm and friendly atmosphere – was born.

The concept for the name also came from America, as Filmalter took inspiration from a Disney ride he had been on called ‘Mug & Bean’.

In 1996, he opened the first Mugg & Bean at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, which he funded using all his family savings, as well as some borrowed money.

“The early days of Mugg & Bean were among the most exciting, hell-raising, cheeky, risky and innovative times any of us could have hoped to live through,” said former Mugg & Bean marketing manager Mike Said.

“The concept was built on chutzpah and borrowed money. Few people know just how broke Ben was at that stage and how close he must have come to shut it all down… you would never have known it to look at him or to talk to him.”

“With Judi by his side, I believe anything was possible and so did he.”

Fortunately, the business took off quickly, and within a couple of years, Filmalter started franchising.

Filmalter also expanded the concept to convenient “Mugg & Bean On the Move” locations, with the first one opening at the OR Tambo International Airport.

While he worked hard to grow the business, the core idea remained the same. He wanted a place where people arrived as customers and left as friends.

By 2009, it had grown to 96 franchised restaurants nationwide, and Famous Brands acquired it for a cash consideration of R104 million.

”Since its inception, we have nurtured the Mugg & Bean concept and steered the business to the leading position it enjoys today,” Filmalter commented on the transaction.

“We are delighted to pass the torch to Famous Brands, whom we are confident will ensure that the concept is further developed and its success continued into the future.”

Now, with some extra cash and time on his hands, Filmalter decided to go back to the US, where the Mugg & Bean story began, and in 2012, he and his business partner bought two restaurants in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Filmalter passed away in July 2016, but Mugg & Bean remains a South African dining staple to this day.

The business has grown to over 250 locations in South Africa and can also be found in Kenya, Botswana, Mauritius, and even the United Arab Emirates.

The brand is loved across South Africa for its all-day breakfasts, baked goods, coffees, and, of course, the spirit of generosity Filmalter brought into the business.