Hudsons Coffee is an Australian chain of coffee retailers. As of August 2013, it comprises 67 stores across Australia, as well as one store at Changi Airport in Singapore. It is owned by the Emirates Group which includes Emirates Airline, the Costa Coffee franchise in the UAE, and Left Bank lounge bar and restaurants in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, and Southbank in Melbourne.
Hudsons Coffee was founded in December 1998 by long-time friends, Ros Hudson and Mark Hawthorne that came out from England, when they established their first outlet in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. They started the cafe as a family-orientated business and normally gave generous discounts to their family members and friends. They chose the ‘Hudsons’ name simply to give the business an “international feel,” and even considered using a stylised picture of New York City‘s Chrysler Building as the company logo. In August 1999, they opened their second outlet on Melbourne’s Bourke Street without the competition of big multinationals that were ready to enter the market (Starbucks were yet to enter, and Gloria Jean’s were looking to expand their Australian franchise, as they only had two test sites in New South Wales).