It started in an old boat repair shop.
In 1993, four Austin couples with a background in hospitality took over a former boat repair shop on the shore of Lake Austin. They had one idea that set it apart: roast the coffee right where you serve it.
Thirty-three years later the roasters are still running. So is the bakery, the deck under the oaks, and about a million visitors a year, from UT students with laptops to families on their first trip to Austin.
"The original tenets of the business are still our tenets today ... Bakery, Coffee, Place."
Ken Leonard, co-owner
A short history
- 1993
Mozart's opens on Lake Austin
Coffee roasted on site from the first day. The Mozart's Blend we opened with is still on the shelf.
- 1998
Austin notices
The Austin Chronicle names it the best way to enjoy Lake Austin on a budget.
- 1999
Espresso D'Oro
Our golden espresso arrives, and Jack Ranstrom starts at the roaster. Both are still here.
- 2000
The dark roasts
El Gato Negro and Vecchi Amici join the house blends.
- 2010
The first light show
A holiday light show on the lake that grows into the Festival of Lights. The Lake Austin Blend arrives the same year.
- 2024
Giving back
$50,000 in four holiday grants: community service, arts and entertainment, education, and Central Texas wildlife and conservation.
Who's behind the counter
Mozart's is run by people who have been here for years, and some for decades.
Ken & Stacey Leonard
Co-ownersOriginally four couples invested in Mozart's, with Ken and Stacey as operating partners.
Jack Ranstrom
Director of CoffeeAt the roaster since 1999, after an apprenticeship with Peter Larsen of Seattle's Best Coffee.
Katrine Formby
Co-owner, Festival of LightsThe light artist who started the holiday light show on the lake in 2010.
Raymond Lemmers
Culinary leadFormerly culinary director at the Austin Proper hotel, now behind the bakery case.
Austin's living room on the lake.
"This is a massive community of everyone from professors and students at UT, to business people, to remote tech workers, to people going out on their first date, to high school kids, to international people."Ken Leonard, in Edible Austin, 2026
Best of Austin, Austin Chronicle
Lakeside Dining
Best of Austin, 2024 and 2023
Patio
Best of Austin, 2022
Best Cheesecake Case
Critics' Pick, 2003
Best Place to Write Poetry
Critics' Pick, 1999
Featured in Edible Austin, the Austin Chronicle, CBS Austin, KXAN and Fresh Cup.