Kiosk!

With an area of 8 sq.m, Kiosk! is arguably the smallest coffee bar in Oslo. Located inside a renovated petrol station from 1935, the mini-coffee bar features a dashing bright turquoise blue strip wrapped around its roof, adding a touch of lively cheerfulness to the whole neighbourhood.

The owner and the brain behind this bubbling creative oasis is Kari Anne Solfjeld Eid, an experienced entrepreneur and designer who has also founded the Oslo-based design agency Hoi! and Whee!, a cargo-bike rental subscription provider.

Continuing her insistency on adding an exclamation mark to the company name, Eid had a rough start with Kiosk!. The renovation of the 1935 petrol station, together with its car reparation workshop from 1965, required a large investment, and Eid had to resort to crowd-funding from the neighbourhood. Over the period of a couple of weeks, she managed to gather a group of 65 crowd-funding investors, with their contibutions ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 NOK, according to her interviews with Norwegian media. By such an interesting turn of events, she not only advertised the opening of a new neighbourhood café, but also managed to rake up the project’s seed money.

The neighbours have every reason to like this mini-coffee bar. Eid designed the interior and branding of the place, whereas the Norwegian illustrator and children’s book writer Mari Kanstad Johnsen was commissioned to design the logo as well as the wall painting. Despite its limited space, the inside of Kiosk! feels intimate and cosy, largely thanks to its small counter area and efficient use of space.

Here, you can find coffee from Kaffa roastery as well as pastries from Gladbakst. Under the high roof from the former petrol station, it is very comfortable to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee outside when the weather is nice. All the outer seating furniture is made through a recycling project by the Norwegian furniture producer Vestre.

The coffee bar is particularly popular with small children families, where the kids will be offered “a fancy cup of delicious, warm chocolate” that is both healthier and cheaper than soda drinks in the usual kiosks.

Despite the location’s history as a petrol station, the fact that the mini-coffee bar is equipped with a vintage-style bathroom still came as a positive surprise to us. Economic in size, space and costs, yet persistent on functions and quality products, Kiosk! is truly a neighbourhood café that makes the locals proud and visitors jealous.