Meet the team
Mark (Director & Head Roaster)
OG's founder Mark grew up doing a range of hospitality work before following a career in civil/structural engineering. But a 'lightbulb moment' while backpacking in Central America in 2006 lead to a passion for roasting coffee. After honing his craft on a small roaster in his Jan Juc garage, Mark eventually made the leap into roasting full-time in 2013 and started serving coffees out of a custom-built caravan at the Torquay markets. He established the roastery café in the industrial estate in 2015 and hasn't looked back.
Mark sources our green beans, oversees the roasting, and likes to help cafe partners with their layouts and workflows. Outside of work, Mark is often attending his kids' sporting activities (he has three young daughters) or away camping, usually by the beach.
info@oceangrind.com.au
Ben (Wholesale Manager)
Ben has been a part of the Ocean Grind family for over four years now. With extensive cafe and barista experience (including multiple competitions under his belt), Ben now heads up the wholesale side of the business.
You'll catch him out and about in the Ocean Grind van on Wednesdays visiting our partner cafes and stockists. Ben has a real hands-on role at the roastery - tracking and packing orders and sharing expertise with wholesalers including providing barista training sessions for our cafe partners. At home, Ben is father to a young family and keeps himself busy with home renovations and getting out in the surf where he can!
orders@oceangrind.com.au
Millie (Cafe Manager)
Millie is in her second year as front of house manager at Ocean Grind. The 'big sis' of the group, Millie oversees all of the staff and the smooth running of our day-to-day operations.
She loves the fun, friendly vibe at our roastery, and chatting with our regular crew in particular. Outside of her time at the café, she loves long walks on the beach with her two dogs, Pilates and playing video games.
Kate (Roaster)
Since 2023, Kate has helped in caring for the beating heart of Ocean Grind - our delicious coffee! With a passion for speciality coffee, Kate has quickly learnt about the unique process of coffee roasting. She is responsible for roasting, quality control and cupping. When not roasting or packing coffee, you can catch her at the beach with her dogs or developing her pottery practice at a studio in Geelong. Her latest project is perfecting a ceramic V60 coffee dripper!
Tirion (Marketing)
Tirion brings a passion for specialty coffee, brand development and community events to the team at Ocean Grind. A recent export from the UK, Tirion is our new brand guardian and will be helping with all things web, social media, signage and product development. While not wearing her Ocean Grind hat, she's a PhD student finishing her thesis on women in surfing. On the weekends, you can usually find her swimming around with her camera capturing the local surf community.
sales@oceangrind.com.au
