Tampa’s beloved Buddy Brew Coffee is growing. The local brand is opening a café at 10619 Sheldon Rd. inside the Westchase Sprouts Farmers Market on Wednesday, June 17, marking the first of 10 planned in-store Buddy Brew locations coming to Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida this summer. That’s right. The local coffee institution that’s been quietly building something since 2010 is about to show up in your grocery run, and honestly, it couldn’t happen to a better parking lot.
Yes, 10. That’s not a typo. That’s a Tampa coffee company more than doubling its entire café footprint in one summer, which is either an extremely bold business move or the behavior of a brand that’s been training for this moment and has decided now is the time to run.
The grand opening celebration at the Westchase location runs from 10 am to 5 pm this Wednesday, and Buddy Brew’s not showing up empty-handed. Drinks, including lattes, cold brews, and matchas, are $3 all day. The first 25 guests in line score a gift bag stuffed with Buddy Brew merch, gift cards, and other surprises. And one lucky person will walk away with free coffee for a year, which is either a prize or a personality transformation, depending on how you look at it.
Now, it’s worth understanding what Buddy Brew actually is before you write this off as “grocery store coffee.” Buddy Brew has been a Tampa institution since 2010, sourcing and roasting specialty beans locally with the kind of care that makes you feel things. Their motto is “Brew Good. Do Good.,” and they actually live it, partnering with smallholder farmers, women-owned co-ops, and local nonprofits. They’re the coffee brand that somehow has a conscience and still makes a really good latte.
The new Sprouts partnership will carry Buddy Brew into Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Sarasota counties, with future locations planned in South Tampa, Palm Harbor, Riverview, New Tampa, Seminole, Carrollwood, Valrico, and South Sarasota. It also marks Buddy Brew’s first foray into Pinellas and Pasco counties, which means more of Florida gets to find out what Tampa’s been quietly enjoying. That’s not nothing.
The Westchase grand opening kicks off Wednesday, June 17, from 10 am- 5 pm at 10619 Sheldon Rd. Get there early, get in line, and get that gift bag. It’s not going to claim itself.
