Well, the Lounge is dead.
It has been laid to rest. After almost 7 years it was time to say goodbye to "Lounge" and hello to "Black Sheep Coffee Roasters". We haven't gone anywhere, we just had to update our name to more appropriately suit what we are- a coffee roaster!
In 2013, 2 years before we opened our doors, we chose the name Black Sheep Lounge for our small Welland café. It was meant to be a caffeine and community hub for the downtown. After a year we somehow turned into a restaurant- and because of the word "lounge", many people mistook us for a bar. On top of this, we discovered that the graphic artist that designed our original logo plagiarized the design from another one of his clients. (He thought we wouldn't notice because we are in 2 different countries- well, we did and were pissed).
In 2020, the pandemic forced us to reevaluate what we were doing. Many things ended up on the chopping block. Other things were examined and doubled down on! We learned that more and more people were brewing coffee from home and avoiding restaurants to save money, and stay safe. This change in lifestyle pushed us to hyper focus on coffee roasting, e-commerce (which was new to us). Since then we had a 5th, 6th, and are going on a 7th anniversary. These milestones deserve the attention of a seasoned, and more mature leader. We decided to soft launch the "Coffee Roasters" tagline, slowing switching over logos, signs, merch, etc.
Now, early into 2022 we are 80% done our rebrand, the remaining 20% to be completed by summer of this year! It's not just surface cleaning; this rebrand also came with eduction, pivoting, and reaffirming values. New and more sustainable packaging & takeout cups, more coffee training, more tasting, new dine-in glassware, and more! All of this to say thank you for supporting us and believing in our vision.
We want to continually improve your experience and the quality of our products, so your love and patience have been greatly appreciated <3
Stay tuned for more,
Lucas