There’s a new place to buzz in Fort Lauderdale.
Locally raised Wells Coffee Company opened its second coffee shop and, for Fort Lauderdale coffee devotees, the place is super familiar. The cafe is housed in the old brick and mortar house of Coffee Grinding Project in the Tarpon River area of the city.
The outpost features a wall of windows and is anchored by a glowing blue bar with a backsplash of white subway tiles. Inside, the menu of coffee concoctions ranges from cold brew horchata pours to latte art gems – all steeped in Wells’ freshly roasted beans.
“There’s always been a desire and a desire to serve different neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale,” says Wells Coffee co-owner Brandon Wells, who operates the business alongside his wife, Nicole. “Grind Coffee Project was very well placed, and when we heard it was going to be gone we knew something for coffee lovers had to go. We believe in our product and the experience, so why not there? »
Wells Coffee’s new site opened on October 8, but the company has been monitoring the location since early 2020. In a roller-coaster scenario, Wells had been in discussions with the building’s previous owner to lease the space after Grind, operated by owner Yoni Martin, ended its lease. (Martin, who Wells credits with creating an existing cafe audience in the space, could not be reached for comment on the transaction or his future plans.)
With the sale of the building, Wells turned to the sales agent, Jay Alexander, and asked to be put in touch with the new owner to present a pitch to take over the space.
It worked.
Wells Coffee closed the space in early September, got the keys the following week, and was able to open in less than a month.
the Wells flagship location, on NE Second Avenue in Flagler Village, remains its only roasting center. Finishing touches for the Tarpon River space include greenery accents and maybe a mural. But the new spot has already attracted a following of remote work warriors and others looking for a specialty-grade caffeine fix.
“I think the pandemic, believe it or not, ended up being a catalyst for our coffee and our brand,” says Wells. “Like everyone else, we first took a huge hit. But inevitably we felt the incredible support from our community and we pulled all the levers and pressed all the buttons in terms of what we could do to make it happen. There was also pent-up demand – people working remotely wanted a sense of place beyond the four walls of an apartment. They found some solace working in our cafe. We also became sharper as a company during this time. And, I’m so proud to say that we didn’t have to lay off any employees during all of this.
With a second location up and running, Wells is still looking to the future, though he’s not ready to divulge specifics.
“We have something in the works that excites me. It would be a slightly different expression of our brand that we would be looking to open in the next 18 to 24 months,” he suggests. “And, that would definitely be coffee.”
River Wells Coffee Tarpon. 599 SW Second Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-533-2287; wellscoffees.com.
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