Opening up a shop in the middle of a pandemic is often going to come with more challenges than usual. From the sudden change of rules to staff calling in sick with Covid, there are a host of reasons why it might not be a great idea.
But there are certain cases where businesses have thrived though this difficult time. Nightclubs and bars took a hit as different restrictions meant potential clubbers were pushed away, coffee shops and bakeries had to turn to take-away only. As companies attempted to navigate their way through the pandemic, being flexible and adaptable became more important.
And as life slowly returns to normal, you’d see many examples of these establishments now open and enjoying a good trade again if you were to walk down Upper St in Islington. Coffee shops litter the streets, nightclubs and bars prepare to welcome their punters. There’s even one shop that’s found a way to combine both of these and become much more than what it looks like from the outside.
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Bubba Oasis sits on Upper St and it stands out as you stroll by it. The light blue exterior glistens in the sun as you walk towards it, ‘Welcome Home’ is what you see as you get closer. It’s a strange thought when just this time last year Bubba Oasis didn’t even exist there. The spot used to be home to Vivo, an Italian bakery, which closed in 2019.
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Now, there’s Bubba. In June 2021, three friends decided to take the plunge and come together to form their own take on the hospitality industry. Rob Huysinga, Founder, Moe Sahrie, COO and Johnny Veyret, Events Director are the friends behind Bubba but to them, all the roles are interchangeable.
Speaking to MyLondon, they told us their incredible story. Moe said: “We are really multifaceted. Bubba is a conglomeration of different things and ideas. I focus on operations but watching Rob who has a background in marketing, I learn from him as well.”
Johnny runs the events and does crowd control but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him fixing or organising things. Moe has a background in operations and Rob in marketing, so learning to get their hands dirty was a new experience for them as well.
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Rob said: “One of my favourite memories is when we first opened in the summer, I remember a person throwing up on the stairs and in my previous work, I’d never seen sick on the stairs.
“Johnny comes, he sees the sick and within 5 minutes, he’s cleaning it up. Then, he goes down and he’s crowd controlling and interacting with customers. It was amazing to see.”
The name Bubba Oasis came around due to a few things. Bubba is seen as a term of endearment and an oasis is a place where people come together. As Johnny adds ‘this is a place we want Bubbas to come and hangout’.
Being multifaceted extends to the business of Bubba as well.
In the morning Bubba Oasis would be full of mums, people working away and those coming in for their daily coffee and food. Then, 4 pm comes around and the lights go low, music starts to get louder, and the cocktail bar at the back opens.
A few hours later, the place where mums were having a chat becomes a dancefloor filled with people dancing and drinking. The contrast is part of what makes Bubba special.
(Image: Handout)
Rob added “Life is all about balance. At 9 in the morning, we are competing with Pret. By 10 at night, we are competing with Dirty Martini.”
They also give the local community a chance to showcase their talents, whether that is through their art on the wall or by performing to an intimate crowd.
Bubba Oasis opened in June 2021 and they have seen successes and stresses throughout the pandemic. In December, they were on track for a record month but due to the Omicron outbreak, they had around 700 cancellations within the last two weeks of the year.
Johnny said: “The cancellations were crazy but there was nothing we could do about it. We decided that we would give our staff time off as a chance for them to feel refreshed.”
When January came, they were ready to attack the year with more vigour and give customers a great time.
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Moe continued: “Everyone came back in January and a few weeks ago we broke our record. We made £12,000 that night and it was unbelievable. When you’re running a startup there’s so much happening all you think about is the business. You sometimes miss these tipping points. To break our record in mid-January, that was incredible.”
They see big things for Bubba and in over six months, they have grown and made an impact on Upper St they couldn’t have imagined.
Rob said: “We hope to open up a few pop-ups, we’ve got one opening in LA in a few weeks and hopefully a new location in London next year. I was apprehensive about opening up in Angel at first as there’s lots of competition on the street.
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But Johnny says this competition is what made him excited.
He said: “I was quite excited to be here. It’s a residential area so we get a lot of locals coming and we get to build up a connection with them. Angel wasn’t going to know what hit them.”
Moe added: “We gets lost of customers that come in and say we are grateful to have us here. There not many shops around here like us.”
Rob concluded: ” When people ask ‘What’s Bubba?’, it’s hard to explain. we’re not just a cafe, a bakery, a bar, sandwich shop, a nightclub – and we’ve got a rooftop. There’s so much to it.
“We believe in this, we love it – there’s no reason why someone else wouldn’t love it.”
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