Local coffee houses brewing up success
Although some local Starbucks are closing their doors, locally owned Destin and South Walton coffee shops say they’re holding their own.
Our Seagrove (shop) was actually up” this year, Dan Bailey of Amavida Coffee told The Log. “It has been challenging — people aren’t spending as much, even though they’re showing up. They’re holding back on what they’ve been spending, giving up a few of the luxuries.”
With a slumping tourist economy and Starbucks having to close 600 shops nationwide, it might seem the worst time to be in the Emerald Coast coffee business. Business owners such as Bailey, Bill Taylor of Miramar Beach’s Bad Ass Coffee or Margaret Butler of PJ’s Coffee in Blue Mountain Beach told The Log that good service, quality products and their ties to the community gave them an advantage over chains.
“We’re unique,” Taylor told The Log, because Bad Ass serves nothing but Hawaiian Kona coffee, the only American-grown coffee. Bailey and
Butler also said the quality of their product played a big role in their success.