Good news, coffee lovers: Favorite local roaster builds dream roastery with drive-through
When I think of the indie businesses that have grown the county’s food-and-drink world in the best of ways, I put Oceana Coffee high on the list. The 15-year-old, Tequesta-based roastery, known for its delicate, nuanced blends and single-origin coffees, has grown to include cafés and a strong distribution network.
On Friday, Jan. 19, Oceana owners Scott and Amy Angelo will break ground on what may be their most ambitious project to date. They are building their new roastery headquarters in downtown Lake Park. The upcoming structure will include a café with a drive-through window, a canning operation, several co-working commissary kitchens and private culinary studios for hosting pop-ups and other events.
They expect to open the multi-use building, partly powered by Palm Beach County and Lake Park municipal funding, by December, says Amy.
Not bad for a coffee enterprise sparked by a $35 popcorn maker Scott bought on eBay. A coffee aficionado who hails from Australia, he MacGyvered the machine into a coffee roaster. He used those freshly roasted beans to brew some surprisingly delicious cups of coffee. So good, they inspired the marine engineer to start Oceana Coffee.
After sailing the seas aboard private yachts for work — and sampling coffees along the way — the Angelos built a business that brought the world’s great coffees to Palm Beach County. From their tiny original roastery in Tequesta, they’ve roasted beans harvested in far-flung places. Among those places: The volcanic highlands of Bali. Fertile farmland in southwestern Ethiopia. An award-winning coffee farm in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The Wahgi Valley of Papua New Guinea. The highlands of Chiapas, Mexico, and Huehuetenango, Guatemala.
Now with two café locations in Tequesta, one in Manalapan (at the Eau Resort), two new ones at the University of Florida campus, a distribution area that goes from Gainesville to Miami and into the Caribbean and a wholesale list that has grown to more than 150 local restaurants, Oceana’s original roastery feels smaller than ever, Amy told me.
“We’re out of room. We’ve been doing all of this out of 900 square feet,” she said of the original roasting house on Old Dixie Highway in Tequesta. “As fast as we roast it, that’s how fast it goes out to the customer.”
The more spacious upcoming location is a reflection of the area’s culinary landscape, especially in how indie businesses grow by collaboration. The building’s upstairs Culinary Studio, a membership-based facility that includes the commercial kitchens and private suites, aims to host budding local talent and established food businesses looking for space, Amy said.
“It could be a food truck that needs a commissary kitchen or someone starting a cookie company or someone with an established salsa business,” she said.
Meanwhile, Florida Canning Company will package a variety of beverages, including Oceana Coffee, she said. The Angelos, who are partners at Florida Canning and Culinary Studio, will also serve as onsite managers for the companies.
Amy says it is part of Oceana’s plan to “showcase local food producers” at a time when there is a new demand for culinary co-working spaces.
Oceana’s evolution surprises her sometimes, she told me.
“When we started Oceana Coffee, I don’t think we were beyond thinking of just having amazing coffee for ourselves,” Amy said.
But a roastery dream was sparked, nourished by local support and grown into an operation that extends beyond Palm Beach County.
Along the way, “there have been 500 reasons to quit,” Amy said. But she doesn’t think about them now, she said.
“I’m incredibly proud of us as a family and a business as to what we have achieved,” she said. “Our team is so strong right now. The people we are investing in and moving up are great. We’re all very excited about what’s coming up.”
Oceana Coffee
New Lake Park headquarters: The roastery, café and drive-through window are expected to open by December at 1301 10th St.
Original roastery, shop/café: 221 Old Dixie Highway, Tequesta, 561-401-2453
Café lounge: 150 U.S. Hwy 1, Tequesta, 561-768-7887
Café at Eau Resort: 100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan, 561-533-6000
More information: at OceanaCoffee.com
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Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Oceana Coffee builds roaster, drive-through café near Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens
