Horseshoe Cafe, loved for craft food and coffee, closes in Newmarket

Aqeel Hisham, Portsmouth Herald
Updated ·3 min read

NEWMARKET — Horseshoe Cafe has closed its doors as owners Nori and Sarah Kozuma embark on a new adventure, after seven years, multiple awards and a long list of loyal customers.

“The Kozumas are moving to Japan!” the couple wrote in an Aug. 31 Facebook post. “It’s time for more adventure — and time for Nori to go home. We want to thank everyone for being part of Horseshoe over the years — you’ve all touched our hearts more than you know, and we will miss you all.”

Sarah and Nori Kozuma, owners of the Horseshoe Cafe on Main Street in Newmarket are seen in 2019. They announced Aug. 31, 2023, the business is closing and on Sept. 1 it was closed.
Sarah and Nori Kozuma, owners of the Horseshoe Cafe on Main Street in Newmarket are seen in 2019. They announced Aug. 31, 2023, the business is closing and on Sept. 1 it was closed.

Within 24 hours, the post garnered hundreds of comments from customers on the closure, most of them bittersweet.

“You've had an awesome run!” wrote Sterling Hammer. “I wish we could have made it in more when we were there. Best of luck on your new adventures!!! Sounds awesome! Definitely on my list of places to visit someday.”

Another customer, Jason Bornstein, suggested the Kozumas open another cafe in Japan.

“Oh man, as sad as this is to hear personally, I'm so happy for you guys!” he wrote. “It's been a pleasure visiting you over the years. Best of luck in your next chapter! Japan's #1 coffee coming soon?”

With the big move, the Kozumas said Friday they have a lot on their plate and declined an interview for this story.

Horseshoe Cafe loved for attention to detail in food and coffee

In 2022, Yelp's rankings placed Horseshoe Cafe No. 81 on its list of 100 best eateries in New England.

Horseshoe Cafe opened its doors in June 2016 at 171 Main St. and was known for its craft food made with locally sourced ingredients. The cafe served mostly breakfast foods and pastry desserts, such as orange sourdough cinnamon rolls and Belgian chocolate milk rolls.

Sarah Kozuma told Seacoastonline in 2018 that the cafe’s menu changed often, as it was built around what’s available locally and would change seasonally.

However, she said, the challenge made it fun, forcing her to be creative. Even avocado toast takes time and effort with an extensive and specific baking process.

More: Here are 6 Seacoast restaurants on Yelp's top 100 in New England (and the whole list)

In 2019, Food & Wine named Horseshoe Cafe one of the top 100 coffee shops in the United States. The recognition came after the cafe was recognized as having the best coffee in New Hampshire the previous spring.

The coffee awards honored the work of Nori Kozuma, who handpicks all of the coffee beans used both before and after they go through the coffee roaster. He and Sarah believe cracked, misshapen and even moldy beans all too often get thrown into the mix at larger-scale coffee suppliers, affecting the taste.

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The Kozumas' attention to local ingredients comes from their background working in the San Francisco area for years before they moved to New Hampshire. Nori, originally from Japan, worked as an operations manager for ACME Bread. Sarah, who hails from Massachusetts, moved to California after college, and eventually worked up to become the manager of a large-scale vet hospital. They met in California in 2002 and married in 2010.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Horseshoe Cafe of Newmarket NH closes