ONA Coffee opens first international cafe in Dubai

ONA Coffee has planted its flag in Dubai, opening its first international outlet in Jumeirah with a format that pushes far beyond a standard espresso bar. For a company built on competition pedigree and producer relationships, the move signals something bigger than a single cafe opening: Dubai is becoming the kind of market where specialty brands can export their full identity, not just their beans.

ONA’s Dubai launch landed on May 20 and marked the Australian company’s first store outside home turf. The brand traces its roots to Canberra, where founder Sasa Šestić, the 2015 World Barista Champion, began roasting in his garage in 2007 before establishing a permanent base in Fyshwick in 2008. From there, ONA grew into five flagship locations in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, plus a wider wholesale business in Australia and abroad.

The Dubai cafe was designed to make that pedigree visible. Instead of leading with a conventional menu board, the space guides guests through the kind of coffee experience they want and then into the flavor profile that fits. ONA said the 10,000-square-foot venue was built to open in stages, starting with a customer-first experience before expanding wholesale distribution across the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East. The site includes a sensory room for flavor education, a retail area for brewing tools and freshly roasted coffee, chef-curated food, an on-site roaster, a private events area, an outdoor terrace and a more open coffee bar meant to get customers talking with baristas.

The company’s pitch in Dubai leans hard on origin work as well. ONA has pointed to its Honduran farm, Finca Beti, and partnerships with more than 200 producers across multiple origins. Project Origin, ONA’s sister company, says Finca Beti in Honduras’s Santa Barbara region was the first Project Origin coffee farm and that Šestić bought it to better understand the full chain. Project Origin also ran the Best of Honduras Late Harvest auction from 2016 to 2019, giving producers a clearer route to buyers who once had little direct trade access.

Dubai gives that model a ready-made audience. Šestić has said the city’s coffee culture, mix of locals and expats, and openness to new ideas made it attractive, even as hospitality has faced pressure from conflict-related tourism and expat departures. Still, the timing fits the city’s current role in specialty coffee: World of Coffee Dubai 2026 drew more than 2,100 companies and brands from 78 countries, and Visit Dubai now lists ONA in Jumeirah 1 with guided tastings and an all-day menu. For a brand like ONA, Dubai is not just a new address. It is a test case for how far specialty coffee can travel when the cup comes wrapped in education, design and status.