This month marks 10 years since we landed in the UK, and what a decade it’s been.
Ozone started in 1998 in a small New Zealand surf town by three friends, long before we knew about the budding speciality coffee scene in London that we’d one day be part of. In 2012 when we first opened the doors of our London roastery and eatery on Leonard Street, we also had no idea about all the great people we’d meet or the coffee experiences we’d have together.
One decade, two eateries, hundreds of wholesale partners and thousands of coffees and brunches later, we’re so grateful for the community we’ve built in London and the UK. This birthday we want to thank all of YOU, our community, partners and team, who have been on the journey with us.
In celebration of our 10th birthday, we’re looking back on ten moments from the last ten years. There’s so much good that has happened it’s impossible to name them all, but here they are in no particular order. We can’t wait to see what the next decade brings.
- We came to the UK! In March 2012 we opened our Leonard Street doors in Shoreditch for the first time. So many of our regulars back then (shout out to Christian on table 15, Nick on table 20, Rezza & Ozone’s resident pooch Pushkin and weekend regulars Chris & Robert) are still having their morning coffee (or Bloody Mary!) with us today.
- Our friends at Momentum Training, Geoff and Josh, wrote their business plan over coffee at Ozone. Today they’ve got two studios and train many of our staff. We love that Geoff, Josh and their members are still part of Ozone’s community. The Leonard Street staircase felt like Everest after our first team workout!
- We have hosted the English AeroPress Championship three times at Ozone, each one a huge vibe and a fun opportunity to engage with the UK barista community.
- Participating in London Coffee Festival for the first time in 2014. Eight years on and we have finally learned to choose a pitch with air-con! See you soon, LCF 2022!
- When we met the lovely team at Tamper in Sheffield (who share our same Kiwi values around serving great coffee experiences) and became their coffee partners. We’ve been through many highs and lows together and have remained good mates.
- That time Gnarly and Pushkin got little sisters! We’ll always remember when these two pups (whose owners are regulars at Leonard Street) got little, human sisters. Their family’s still visiting Ozone on the daily for all the cuddles.
- Joining forces with Hasbean! We were so impressed by Hasbean’s team and their obsession with flavour and variety in specialty coffee. We also share the same philosophy on sourcing transparently and directly from origins around the world.
- The challenges our team, and the entire world faced, when the pandemic brought us to a standstill. Like many, our industry is still recovering, though we’re still amazed and full of gratitude for the support of our team and community during that time.
- Teaming up with The Standard hotel in London as their coffee partners. We were so humbled by the opportunity to work with one of the world’s best design hotels. Go for the DJs, cocktails, tacos and vibes, stay and make yourself an Ozone brew in the morning!
- Opening Ozone on Emma Street! We opened our second roastery and eatery in London Fields in 2019. We’re still serving the best brunch in London and have another crew of regulars we get to see for their morning coffees.