The longer version of our story is, well, a bit longer really. We (the creators of this groovy biz: Ella Kington and Jordan Gower) met and became friends at boarding school, where we were in the same year. Both born in '97 ya see (pause for A: the general surprise we get when people find out how young we are, and B: the penny dropping on our business name). Going through that experience together gave us somewhat of an unbreakable bond. Turns out procrastinating through hours of compulsory homework time in a shared bedroom will do that to you. After high-school we chose different paths, with Ella heading to Camp America for a couple of winters, while Jordan moved to Auckland (big yikes) to complete a Bachelor's Degree. By 2017 we were both sick of city living and not having a full-time home, so we ended up on the Coromandel Peninsula. After a while of struggling to find work, being sick of not being able to pay for car repairs, and a brief stint on a crappy reality television show, we decided to take a leap and create something truly US. 

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Now, here we are, after months of planning, dreaming and theorising, we are officially embarking on our first summer in operation. 97 is here to provide healthy and straight up TASTY food to the good people of the Coromandel, and hopefully people further afield one day. All our food is plant based, filled with flavour and ingredients to nourish your insides. We're also really into pretty things, so our food is 110% Gram Worthy at all times.