Ultra-textured industrial-style café calls on Keelung expats to come home for coffee

▲ Just over a year old, “Homerun” has established itself among Keelung’s cafés with its distinctive industrial décor, self-roasted coffee, and homemade desserts. (Photo courtesy of homerunroasters, the same below)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

“We hope to provide a comfortable, home-like environment for everyone to enjoy coffee.” For a city long associated with melancholy, Keelung has recently welcomed an industrial-style café called “Homerun.” Though it continues Keelung’s moody aesthetic, it has quickly become a standout in the city. From its decor to its in-house roasted beans and daily handmade desserts, the café offers a variety of unique features. Despite being newly opened, it has already carved out a niche among Keelung’s many cafés.

▲ From bean selection to roasting, everything is done by the owner himself, making this one of the rare cafés in Keelung that roasts its own beans.

“Homerun” was created by two brothers who have been studying abroad since high school. After graduating from university, they wanted to bring the café culture they experienced overseas back to Taiwan. Though not trained in the field, they pursued their passion, traveling abroad to study and learn coffee-making techniques. Together with the younger brother’s wife, they invested NT$2 million (excluding equipment) to open their dream café back in their hometown.

Now just over a year old, Homerun is run by three owners in their early 30s and three staff members—just six people keeping the place going. When asked if it’s too hard, the owner’s wife laughed and said, “We just tough it out!” It turns out the much-praised desserts are all made by her, with daily cake flavors based on her mood and what the owners feel like eating.

▲ Blueberry cheesecake, NT$130 per slice, NT$900 for 7-inch.

To ensure coffee remains the star, Homerun only serves coffee and desserts, not main dishes like rice or noodles. The owner’s wife explained, “It might affect customer turnout, but this is the owner’s commitment to coffee.” She also admitted that because Keelung’s coffee culture isn’t yet well-established, foot traffic is still inconsistent even after a year of operation, though they hope to break even within two years.

▲ In addition to the first floor, Homerun also has a basement, giving customers two levels to choose from.

Everything in the café—from the industrial décor to the various decorations—is personally selected by the owners across Taiwan. Items they couldn’t find were custom-made. The younger brother, a baseball fan, named the café “Homerun,” which not only refers to the baseball term for a home run but also carries the deeper meaning of coming home. They hope to rekindle the hearts of Keelung natives living abroad and bring them back home. Keelung folks, come home for a cup of coffee.

Homerun Roasters
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Address: No. 82, Ren 2nd Road, Keelung City
Phone: 02 2425 4663
Business hours: 10:00 - 21:00, Wednesday to Monday; closed on Tuesday