Ten years ago, Maru began with six people, a small coffee shop in Los Feliz, and a simple belief: do simple things well.

Today, we are a team of 65 people, with three shops in Los Angeles (one more on the way), one in New York, and our own roasting facility. A lot has changed over the last decade, but in many ways, the things that matter most to us have stayed the same.

We are still operate all of our shops within the team.  We still live in and are part of the communities where we work. And we still believe that coffee quality and people come first.

We have never been particularly interested in following trends.  Over the years, there have been plenty of moments when it would have been easier to change with what was popular or expected.  Instead, we have stayed true to our philosophy—to make things with intention, keep things simple, and continually improve what we already do.

Sometimes that has meant making choices that were not always popular.  Even something as small as deciding not to offer cream on the side came from wanting to serve coffee in the way we believed tasted most balanced and complete.  Staying true to what you believe in sometimes means saying no.

We have never put energy into chasing awards, and that is okay with us.  The people who come back every morning, the people who bring their friends, and the people who have made Maru part of their routines and their lives—those are our awards.

Our greatest accomplishment, though, may be the people who have grown alongside us.  Many members of our team have been with Maru since the early years. They have helped shape what Maru is today in ways that go far beyond making coffee.  One of our longtime managers moved across the country to help open Maru in New York and has now rooted himself in that community.  Stories like this mean a great deal to us because Maru has never simply been about opening more stores. We like creating opportunities for people to grow with us.

The last ten years have not always been easy.  Like many small businesses, we lived through a pandemic that challenged nearly every part of our business and tested us in ways we could never have anticipated.  There were moments when the future felt uncertain.

But we made it through together.

And after ten years, we love what we do even more than when we started.  We still get excited about a beautiful coffee. We still care about the smallest details.  We still believe there is something meaningful about making something simple, carefully, every day.

To our team—past and present—thank you for giving Maru its character, warmth, and spirit.

And to everyone who has walked through our doors over the last ten years, whether once or thousands of times, thank you for allowing us to be part of your daily life.

Ten years later, Maru is bigger than when we began, but our purpose remains very simple.

Make good coffee.
Care for people.
Keep getting better.

Thank you for the beautiful ten years.