Cheers to six years! Here’s a little bit of the BL story so far…
July 24, 2019 marks 6 years of Bluestone Lane. We’ve journeyed from Melbourne to Manhattan, to now more than seven cities across the US & Canada.
After moving from Melbourne to New York to work in banking, our Founder & CEO Nick Stone found himself missing his local Melbourne café experience. His yearning for a genuine escape from the daily grind, and a premium, friendly experience where the barista knew his name, face, and order became the catalyst to bring Aussie coffee culture to the USA. Bluestone Lane was, essentially, born out of “self-necessity.”
2013 – July 24, Bluestone Lane is born
When Nick’s vision finally came to life, Bluestone Lane, the Melbourne inspired hole-in-the-wall coffee shop opened in Midtown at 805, 3rd Avenue, New York. The space was modeled off of hidden Aussie coffee shops, with vintage prints and Australian memorabilia adorning the walls. There was no street visibility, no signage, no sandwich board out the front – nothing. The idea was to stumble across our first location, or find it purely via word of mouth.
2014
Collective Café
One year and three small coffee shops later, Bluestone Lane opened its very first full-service café. The ‘Collective Café,’ opened in the heart of Greenwich Village in 2014, becoming the Bluestone Lane flagship. This location provides the pillar for all BL cafés to follow, with a focus on friendly, engaging table service combined with a tastefully designed aesthetic and a healthy, progressive menu.
2015
BL outside of New York
We moved interstate! BL launched its first location outside of New York with a café in Rittenhouse Sq, Philadelphia, on November 21, 2015. We also opened our Upper East Side café, opposite the iconic Central Park, and adjacent to the Church of the Heavenly Rest
2016
Introducing: The Bluestone Lane Roastery & Coffee Training Facility. We began roasting all of our coffee from our state-of-the-art facility in DUMBO, Brooklyn. The 10,000 sq ft. space also features a fully equipped coffee education lab that offers our expert baristas continuous training in one of the world’s leading coffee culture hubs.
We introduced all three of our signature Wellness Lattes (Golden, Matcha, Beet), and became completely cashless!
2017
We hit the West Coast
We opened out west! We had always been drawn to the endearingly Aussie feel of the West Coast, and our two locations in San Francisco launched the first of many in the sunny state. A new Times Square location also marked a significant milestone for Bluestone Lane, opening in the epicenter of New York City.
2018
We’re your local in 37 neighborhoods
We started the year by opening in the nation’s capital, and closed the year with a total of 37 locations across the United States. Making the Aussie-style coffee and cafe fare that we’re proud to
2019
Hi Toronto & Boston!
We’ve continued to open new locals, in new regions! Our first location outside of the US marked a significant milestone for Bluestone Lane. Our imminent arrival in Boston, as well as many more exciting ventures are still to come! We celebrate our 6th birthday by reminiscing on our journey so far.
