Nestled among the charming and colourful streets of Notting Hill, KURO London is one of our longstanding wholesale partners. This establishment features three inviting spaces: Coffee, Bakery, and Eatery, all designed to provide a serene atmosphere inspired by Japanese minimalism. Every pastry, cake, cookie, and brownie is freshly baked in-house, ensuring the highest quality and taste.
In this interview, Emily, our Senior Account Manager, sits down with Julian, the founder of KURO London, to explore his journey in opening the café, the inspiration behind its creation, and how he has made it a beloved spot in the neighbourhood.
Emily: Can you share the story behind KURO and how the idea came to life?
Julian: My name is Julian, and I'm the founder of KURO London. A few years ago, we decided to open KURO Coffee. The premises was just around the corner from my house, a cute little two-floor building that had been sitting empty for ages. I always loved it but didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with it. I work in publishing, and we’d often have creative meetings, always looking for a nice local spot, but in Notting Hill, everything was just high street coffee shops. So, I thought that little place would be perfect for a coffee shop.
Around the same time, I met Ozone while working on a project—they were publishing this little magazine, and I met Bianca, who was in charge of the Ozone journal. I told her, "If I ever open a coffee shop, will you help me out?" She introduced me to the right people at Ozone, and that’s how our partnership began. I had no idea how to start a coffee shop, but Ozone helped us with everything—from the machines to the grinders. Most importantly, they provided the coffee, which was a big deal for us. We wanted something different for West London, and Ozone had this great East London vibe, which was exactly what we were looking for.
Emily: How did the name KURO come about?
Julian: Because of my publishing work, I travelled to Asia a lot, especially to Japan and Korea, and I became really fascinated by the minimalistic design of the coffee culture there. That’s where the idea for KURO came from—we wanted to bring some of that aesthetic to Notting Hill. That's why we picked the word "KURO," which means black in Japanese. So, we decided to call the cafe black coffee "KURO COFFEE." I know minimalism can feel overdone sometimes, but for us, it was really about focusing on the product—great coffee, which was something that wasn’t easy to find in West London at the time. Ozone has some of the best coffee in London, so we were thrilled to collaborate.
In my creative work, I’ve always leaned towards one-word names—like a magazine I publish called "DOG." I like keeping things simple, and "KURO" just fits perfectly.
Emily: How has KURO expanded and changed since it first opened?
Julian: We opened KURO Coffee about four years ago, with this strong East London inspiration. I’d worked a lot in that area and was surprised that West London didn’t have many independent spots, like coffee shops or bakeries. Everything creative seemed to happen in East London, somehow West London was too expensive for people to experiment. But the coffee shop did really well. We didn’t need any marketing—we just opened the doors, and people loved it. The coffee was different from what people here were used to, and that played a big part in our success.
However, the pastries were a different story. We couldn’t find the right ones, and the bakeries we wanted to work with were all based in East London and couldn’t supply us. So, we decided to open KURO Bakery, just down the street from the coffee shop, about three years ago. We bake everything in-house, right in the basement of the coffee shop—sourdoughs, cakes, sandwiches—you name it. We now supply some local restaurants and other small coffee shops in West London with our pastries and breads. It’s been great to spread KURO’s offerings around the area.
Then, as the bakery grew, we needed more kitchen space. We found another spot nearby, but it was too big for just a kitchen, so we turned it into an eatery. So now we have three places—KURO Coffee, KURO Bakery, and KURO Eatery. People joke that we’re taking over the neighbourhood! We’ve really transformed the weekends here—some locals don’t love how busy it’s become, but overall, it’s wonderful to see how we’ve helped create a little area people look forward to visiting on the weekends.
Emily: How does Ozone Coffee fit into the vibe and values of your café?
Julian: It’s funny how things come full circle. Meeting Ozone for a completely different purpose initially, I got to learn about the company through your magazine. The people you hire and the values you hold really drew me in. You care about where your beans are sourced, the suppliers you work with, and the communities you impact. For us, that’s so important. We’re not coffee experts, but we know you guys are, and that gives us peace of mind. It's been, what, six or seven years since we first met? And that relationship has only grown stronger. That connection, that shared set of values, is really rare in London, and we’re so happy to be working with you.
Emily: Are there any exciting plans or partnerships coming up that you’d like to share?
Julian: For now, we’re staying as we are. We get a lot of interest from companies wanting to expand KURO, but the magic is really in Notting Hill, in this little village. Expanding isn’t something we want to do right now. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll open another spot in West London, but for now, the three KUROs are doing great, and we want to focus on that. We do, however, have some fun collaborations in the works, like dinner nights—tacos, pizzas, that sort of thing—partnering with restaurants from East London. We also want to get into making bagels, so we’re exploring collaborations with a local bagel company. We love working with small, like-minded brands that are doing their thing, just like us.
Emily: No empty buildings across the street tempting you?
Julian: Actually, there is one! We’ve talked about maybe opening a KURO Bar there. We used to do "KURO Lates" in the summer, turning the coffee shop into a bar after 5 pm. It was really popular, but summer in London can be quiet, with locals going away on holiday. Still, it did well, so we’ve thought about it. Maybe we’ll revisit the idea when the time is right.