diff --git a/deploy.py b/deploy.py
index a3ff4b9..d3ddc16 100644
--- a/deploy.py
+++ b/deploy.py
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@ def main():
     current = next(v for v in volumes if v['name']=='site')
     previous = current['hostPath']['path']
     assert previous == '/var/gnoc/hugo-public' or previous.startswith('/var/gnoc/site-releases/'), 'Unexpected production mount'
+    owner = ssh('id','-un',capture=True).strip()
+    ssh('sudo','install','-d','-m','0755','-o',owner,'/var/gnoc/site-releases')
     ssh('mkdir','-p',target)
     run('rsync','-az','--chmod=D755,F644',str(ROOT/'public')+'/',f'{HOST}:{target}/')
     def point(path):