Liverpool's popular brunch destination, Moose Coffee, is celebrating 19 years in business this month. The family behind the brand, Kath and Nick Van Breemen, have shared the significant financial risks they took to establish the café in 2006, including remortgaging their family home.
Key Takeaways
- Moose Coffee is marking its 19th anniversary in Liverpool.
- Founders Kath and Nick Van Breemen remortgaged their home and used credit cards to fund the initial launch.
- The brand is preparing to open a new location in Crosby's historic Carnegie Library, returning to its original roots.
- The company prioritises local suppliers for meat and eggs, and imports over 13,000 litres of maple syrup from Canada each year.
The Origins of a Liverpool Institution
Moose Coffee has become a fixture in Liverpool's dining scene, known for its American-inspired breakfasts and long queues of dedicated customers. The business was founded by Kath and Nick Van Breemen, both 64, and is now managed with their son, director Harry Van Breemen, 33.
The concept was born from the couple's travels across the United States. They noticed a gap in Liverpool's restaurant landscape for the kind of vibrant breakfast culture they had experienced abroad.
"In 2006, the Liverpool restaurant scene was a world away from what it is today - missing the vibrant, diverse breakfast culture we’d fallen in love with during countless trips to the USA," Nick Van Breemen explained. "We envisioned a concept that could capture the magic of those American breakfasts."
With a clear vision but no direct experience in hospitality, the couple decided to take a major financial gamble to bring their idea to life.
From Retail to Restaurants
Before launching Moose Coffee, Kath and Nick Van Breemen had backgrounds in retail and the non-profit sector. They applied their transferable skills to navigate the challenges of the competitive hospitality industry, demonstrating that passion and determination were key to their success.
A Leap of Faith and Financial Sacrifice
To secure the necessary funding, the Van Breemens made significant personal sacrifices. They made the decision to remortgage their home and utilise credit to gather the capital needed to open their first location.
"We took a bold financial leap of faith to turn our vision into reality," said Kath Van Breemen. "We remortgaged our home and took out credit cards from anyone willing to extend us credit, pulling together the funds we needed to get started."
She described the move as "daunting and risky," especially given their lack of hands-on experience in running a restaurant. The family's commitment was total, with their son Harry often helping at the café, sometimes at the expense of his school attendance.
The first Moose café opened in Crosby in 2006. Its immediate success provided the confidence for expansion, leading to the establishment of their long-standing Dale Street branch, which has been operating for 15 years.
Moose Coffee By The Numbers
- 19 years in business since 2006.
- 13,000+ litres of maple syrup imported annually.
- 5 locations currently operating across Liverpool, Manchester, and Leeds.
- 1 historic library being repurposed for their new Crosby site.
Commitment to Quality and Local Sourcing
A key factor in Moose Coffee's enduring popularity is its menu and commitment to high-quality ingredients. While famous for its North American-style pancakes and breakfasts, the brand places a strong emphasis on sourcing produce locally.
According to marketing manager Neve MacNamara, the company maintains strong relationships with regional suppliers. Their eggs are sourced from the Wirral, meat comes from a butcher in Crosby, and cheeses are supplied from the Lake District.
Authentic Canadian Maple Syrup
One ingredient that is not sourced locally is their signature maple syrup. To ensure authenticity, Moose Coffee imports it directly from a family-run company in Canada that has been in operation since 1869.
The scale of this operation is substantial. The company imports the syrup by the pallet, with an annual order of 19 pallets, which equates to more than 13,000 litres, to supply all its restaurants for a year.
Returning Home to Crosby
As Moose Coffee celebrates its 19th year, the brand is preparing for a significant new chapter: a return to its original home of Crosby. The new location will be inside the historic Carnegie Library on College Road.
The building, funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, has been vacant since it was closed by Sefton Council in 2013. In December 2022, Moose announced its plans to occupy part of the library as part of a wider restoration project by developer Cunard Construction (CC) Ltd.
The team has not revealed full details of the new venue, but they have confirmed it is expected to open before the end of this year. The project will bring a beloved local building back into public use while marking a homecoming for the successful café brand.
Reflecting on their journey, Nick Van Breemen expressed his gratitude. "Moose is what it is today thanks to an army of people offering inspiration, advice, time, and hard work," he said. "Thank you to our amazing staff, past and present... and thank you to all of our customers and regulars, we hope to continue to serve you a taste of North America for years to come.”