A St. Petersburg businesswoman is bringing one of the Midwest’s most popular coffee shops to St. Pete, the first Florida location for the celebrated café. Caribou Coffee announced that it is opening on Friday, November 24 at 701 Central Avenue, inside the former location of Banyan Café next to the Morean Arts Center.
Michelle Mathis, CEO of Wake Up 727, is the brains behind Caribou Coffee’s Florida and St. Pete debut, and after living in St. Pete for years, she saw this as the perfect timing to bring one of her longtime favorites into a growing market. Of course, while it will be a franchised location, she plans to diverge a bit from the typical Caribou style and give it the St. Pete flair she knows and love.
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As for the food and drink, Caribou Coffee goes next level with a deep and incredibly varied lineup of goods to keep people moving. The menu features a huge list of coffee offerings, from good ol’ drip coffee and cold brew, to flavored espresso “shakers,” a spicy mocha, and a decadent creation dubbed Caramel High Rise. One of Caribou’s most popular offerings is nitro coffee, sure to be a crowdpleaser.
The café also offers “BOUsted” energy drinks, hot and iced teas, hot chocolate, smoothies, and iced matcha. There are even pup cups and a kids drink menu for the less caffeine-needy members of the family.
Of course, that’s just half the fun. Part of what makes Caribou so popular is a strong selection of good eats, with an all-day-breakfast menu, plus bagels and baked goods, and an excellent selection of lunchtime creations. Highlights of all-day breakfast include breakfast sandwiches, muffins, cake pops, and much more.
Caribou Coffee prides itself on the pillars of coffee, culture and community, adhering to their core values of “be yourself,” “support one another,” “take ownership,” “make fun happen,” and “serve with love.” The downtown St. Pete Caribou Coffee is one of several Caribou shops Mathis plans to open in the Tampa Bay area.
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