Coffee Supreme

August 16, 1993, was Coffee Supreme’s first day of trading – but the genesis of Supreme began a year earlier, when our founders, Chris Dillon and Maggie Wells, decided to build Reds Café at 49 Willis Street in Wellington. With perhaps a dose of Antipodean naivety, Chris and Maggie believed they could do better than what other cafés were able to offer at the time. With an inner-city location secured, the pair enlisted the help of Chris’ good friend Dean Cato, with whom Chris had worked in the film and television business, to design their better vision of a café. And Dean delivered. He created a theatrical space – somewhat like a stage set – with slanting walls, a sweeping curved bar and angled header, hidden filmic lighting and piles of moody atmosphere.