About Us
Our Story.
Like so many good stories, this one starts with a group of friends gathered around some great cups of coffee.
Five of us, to be exact, and we all already had other jobs or businesses of our own, but all shared the ambition of building a new kind of business. That first spark came when we saw an empty shop front on the corner of Hope Street in Liverpool and something about it really spoke to us. We had a vision of this empty space as the perfect location for our very own coffee shop.
However, we wanted our new business to really stand out. There were plenty of other coffee shops in the area, so this had to be something really special, and we knew it all had to start with a great product.
Perfecting our recipe for success.
We purchased our first coffee roaster in September, 2014, and started to learn about importing, purchasing, roasting and cupping coffee in a small meeting room in Hardman Yard. After many fantastic roasts (and more than a few less fantastic ones too…), we nailed our new offering and knew it was time to get started.
Back then, we had very limited knowledge of how to launch and run a Food & Beverage business, or how to co-ordinate the large scale production of awesome coffee. However, always percolating in the background, and generously fuelled by brew after brew from our new equipment, we put together a business plan. In January, 2015, we opened the doors to our first coffee shop at that same special site we had seen just a few months before.
Our flagship site still stands there today, at the corner of Hope Street and Hardman Street, a reminder of where 92 Degrees was born, and how far we have come.
When you join the 92 Degrees franchise, you’re not buying into a new job a career, but a way to change your life for the better with your own incredible business.
From “side hustle” to booming business
Through a culture of persistence and a willingness to learn, we overcame many challenges that we faced as a small coffee shop business, and our new site rapidly grew into a major success. The founding team of 92 Degrees all worked other jobs for the first few years – never taking pay from the business. We all loved being part of a coffee business start-up and wanted to make sure its foundations were strong.
Fast forward a few years, Jack Brewitt who had been working in technology and marketing businesses, and Gerard Bowers-Mcintyre who had been running our flagship store, had an in-depth conversation about the next steps for 92 Degrees. As a result, 92 Degrees is now a very different business than it was during its humble beginnings.
It’s made up of more than 100 awesome people, sales are in the millions of pounds, and our ambitions are a world away from our early days in our first 92HQ above the kitchen in our second store (Jamaica Street). Even during the pandemic, our business boomed with 100s of loyal customers still wanting their awesome 92 Degrees coffee and turning to online ordering in their droves. They shared that coffee with their friends, who themselves became loyal customers when we reopened!
We opened our 12th coffee shop in 2024 and have big plans to see our beloved brand expand right across the UK. The next chapter of our story is still being written….which is where you come in!
Read on to see how our coffee shops look today and what makes them so special.