August 6, 2025 • 17 mins
Trading Chicago's bitter winters for Florida's sunny shores, Jason Thomas has brought Badass Coffee to Fort Myers Beach, creating more than just a place for premium Kona beans. His story of transformation—from fine dining executive chef to beachside coffee entrepreneur—captures the essence of island reinvention that resonates throughout the community.
At Santini Plaza on the island's south end, this Hawaiian-born coffee franchise (established 1989) has been thoughtfully redesigned as a community hub rather than just another corporate outpost. "We want this to be the Badass of Fort Myers Beach," Jason explains, highlighting his commitment to genuine local integration. This philosophy extends to supporting FMB Strong charity and planning a community-inspired mural featuring beloved local landmarks.
The shop's distinctive character is immediately apparent—from the 1973 teal Volkswagen Samba van parked outside to the intentional absence of a drive-through window. "We don't have a drive-through, and that's intentional," Jason notes. "We want people to come in, sit down, hang out in the cafe for a while, meet their friends." This approach reflects Jason's observation about evolving coffee culture, where shops have become social destinations rather than mere caffeine pit stops. "Instead of going clubbing, people end up at coffee shops for first dates," he shares, highlighting the shifting social landscape.
With premium Kona coffee from what Jason calls "the Napa Valley of California for wines," alongside frozen drinks, sandwiches, and pastries, Badass Coffee invites visitors to experience both Hawaiian quality and Fort Myers Beach hospitality. Open daily from 7am to 5pm at 7205 Estero Boulevard, this newcomer has quickly established itself as more than just a coffee shop—it's becoming part of the community fabric helping to rebuild and reinvigorate Fort Myers Beach.
Stop by, look for the teal bus, grab a cup of their signature Kona, and experience how mainland midwestern hospitality meets island coffee culture in this evolving beach community.
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii
Jason Thomas
7205 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers Beach, FL 33931
(239) 314-5198
Ft Myers Beach-Good Neighbor
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor
podcast, where the sun's alwaysshining and the stories are even
brighter.
Each episode we bring youcloser to the neighbors, local
legends and beachside businessesthat make Fort Myers Beach the
slice of paradise we all love.
Pull up a beach chair, grab adrink and let's meet the people
who make this island feel likehome.
We want to send out some islandlove to Eric Tibbs from Edward
(00:21):
Jones State Insurance, usa andHome Well Care Services Fort
Myers.
To Eric Tibbs from Edward JonesState Insurance, usa and Home
Well Care Services Fort Myers.
They are the businesses thatallow us to share the soul of
our community with everylistener, from local stories to
the positive vibe of island life.
Here's to celebrating all thatmakes Fort Myers Beach the slice
of paradise we all love.
Here's your host, cabo, jimSchaller.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Welcome Fort Myers Beach.
Good Neighbors.
We're all about no shade, justsunshine.
Drama-free, positive vibes.
That's what it's all aboutToday.
We've got good neighbor, jasonThomas from Badass Coffee.
Welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Absolutely.
Always a pleasure to get toknow people on the island here
and then share their storieswith our listeners.
So without further ado,obviously you're in the coffee
business.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
I am Just share a little bit about Badass Coffee.
So Badass Coffee originated onthe big island of Hawaii in 1989
.
It was kind of a mom and popshop and became very popular and
caught some attention of somebigger wigs that said, hey, we'd
like to make this a biggerthing.
(01:25):
And that's exactly what theydid.
So we have grown since then.
Our franchisee the franchise isactually operated out of Denver
, Colorado, by a Royal Alohacompany.
There is approximately 37badass coffees nationwide.
(01:47):
Yeah, they range anywhere fromColorado, California, Tennessee,
Florida We've got them all overthe place, but my concentration
right now is South Florida.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Nice, nice.
So why Fort Myers Beach?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Fort Myers Beach seemed like the perfect location
for our operation and it seemedlike the perfect time to get
involved with the community.
Myself and our investor teamwas really looking around at all
the different locations ofwhere we could plant a flag and
really do some some good thingsand some fun things.
(02:27):
And the opportunity, withSantini Plaza being what it is
and you know, it's historywithin Fort Myers beach the
return of Fort Myers beach doingback to hopefully what it was
and maybe something even more um, seemed like something we
really wanted to be part of.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Absolutely so.
Are you from Southwest Floridaoriginally or no?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
No, actually my wife and I, we relocated down here a
little over two years ago fromChicago.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
We had both considered living in Florida for
a long time and we couldn'treally come up with an idea of
where it was that we wanted toland.
And we packed up our car andgot a dog sitter to watch our
dogs and said we'll be back soon.
And we took off on an 18-dayroad trip that started at
(03:21):
Virginia Beach, virginia roadtrip that started at Virginia
Beach, virginia, and we droveall the way down the Atlantic
seaboard till we got to Key West, turned around, came up the
western side of Florida, backthrough Georgia and finally got
back to Chicago.
And we sat down and we said youknow I was expecting a big
battle.
You know there was a lot ofnice places around there.
(03:43):
And we both kind of looked ateach other and said, yeah,
southwest florida, yeah, no, itwas over.
There was no debate, there wasno discussion.
Um, we currently reside innaples and um, and have barely
looked back.
I'm actually going back tochicago this weekend for for
(04:04):
some family things.
And some of my friends werelike, well, you're coming back
to stay.
I said nah, no, I said you guysjust don't understand what the
life is out here in SouthwestFlorida and how beautiful it is
and amazing how much fun we'rehaving.
We've got two stores right now,one in Naples and the one in
Fort Myers Beach, and I couldn'tbe happier.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Absolutely.
I'm from that Midwest as well.
So Wisconsin, illinois, samestory.
But I moved down here in 89,back when Van Ness Coffee
started, I guess.
So I've been down here forquite a while, seen a lot of
changes, and you know you pickedthe right spot because there's
(04:50):
a lot of midwestern people onthis side of florida and this
little southwest florida hubdown here, so a lot of friendly
people, which is, uh, makes theliving here extra nice as well
too so absolutely.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
I knew I was in a good spot when I was driving
down estero boulevard and I sawsomebody fly in the w, which, if
you're a cubs fan, you knowwhat that means.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Right, right, exactly , I won't talk about it.
I was born in Wisconsin, so I'ma Brewers fan.
So a little rivalry there rightnow, especially now with us
battling out for the best recordin baseball.
But hey, we'll take it becausewe're not supposed to be there,
so we'll enjoy it while it lasts.
So running a business at thebeach, you know kind of sounds
(05:30):
like a dream job, right, but weall deal with storms.
You know what's been yourbiggest challenge so far, maybe
your proudest moment.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
The biggest challenge ?
Uh, there hasn't been so muchof challenges as just
opportunities.
I in Chicago for the last 40years.
I was in hospitality.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Um, I've been everything from a bus boy to the
general manager of a finedining white tablecloth
steakhouse, um dishwasher toexecutive chef of a private club
on Michigan Avenue downtown.
So I mean, it's almost aHemingway writing itself story
of let's run away to the tropicsand open up a coffee shop and
(06:18):
just kind of kick back and enjoyourselves.
And you know, coming down, andyes, the storms are definitely
something to worry about.
But wherever I seem to end up,there's always going to be a
challenge.
In Chicago we had the winters.
In Florida we have the storms.
(06:40):
It's a fact of life and wemeasure our way through it and
we measure our way through itand we try to prepare for it the
best we can and pray that itdoesn't hit us.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
And as long as we stick together as a community
and help each other and workwith each other, that's the
important part of who wesurround ourselves with.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Absolutely, and you know that was part of the thing
about coming down to Fort MyersBeach and not being certainly
not a native but not really alocal per se is that I wanted to
make sure that we got involvedwith the community as best we
could.
So one of the first things wedid was join the Chamber of
Commerce.
Their outreach has been atremendous help.
(07:21):
We really appreciate everythingthat they've helped us along
with.
We really appreciate everythingthat they've helped us along
with.
We want to make sure that, eventhough Badass is a franchise
store I don't want it to be adrop off and run kind of place.
We want this to be the badassof Fort Myers Beach.
It means more to us to be partof the community than it does
(07:44):
just to be another business inanother location.
We have the opportunity ofopening a lot more stores but,
that being said, each store.
I really want to concentrate onmaking sure that we're part of
the community, and Fort MyersBeach is definitely something
that we're trying to getinvolved with.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
And I love that.
It's all about immersingyourself in the community and
giving back to the community andsupporting the community,
because they're the ones thatultimately support you as a
business as well, so I love thatrelationship.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
It's really lent itself very nicely, you know,
being in Santini Plaza and beingable to talk with the people in
the area.
We're kind of the last stop onthe south end of the island
right now and I want to makesure that we're reaching out to
the people that are here yearround, or the people who own the
(08:35):
homes that are here, that youknow they recognize it.
Sure, of course we're lookingfor some of the tourist trade,
but at the end of the day, we'remore about being Fort Myers
Beach friendly, and part of itNot this weekend but next
weekend we're having a formalgrand opening and we've decided
that part of our giving back tothe community is that we've
(08:58):
chosen a local charity, and thatis FMV Strong, to get a portion
of our proceeds from our grandopening celebration.
So again, it's what we can doto participate in the town, you
know, not just be another stopon the road.
(09:20):
Let's see what we can do toreally dive in and be part of it
, I love it, I love it, I loveit.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
See, good midwestern people right, that's what it's
all about.
So so outside of work, you knowthis could be very demanding.
It sounds like two coffee shopsand, uh, kind of semi-retired I
mean from your for big jobs,but it's still a full-time job.
What do you do outside of workwhen you get a moment?
Speaker 3 (09:44):
uh, do you know outside of work?
Um, I have a moment.
Do you know, outside of work?
I have a beautiful wife that Ilike to spend a lot of time with
.
We had two white rescue pitbulls.
Unfortunately, we lost one ofthem in the last couple of weeks
.
He had run a good life, so Ispent a lot of time with my dogs
.
I'm looking forward to gettingback into golf.
(10:06):
I had a shoulder injury for awhile and a back injury, and I
don't know if you know anythingabout being a chef, but it's not
real good on the knees either.
So I'm trying to recoup myphysical condition a little bit
to get back out on the golfcourse.
You know messing around town.
I recently bought a JeepWrangler so that I could
(10:27):
actually be part of the beachlife and as soon as the summer
heat breaks down, I also have amotorcycle that I like to tool
around on.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Well, there you go.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
You'll see me around town, if you, if, if you come by
the store, you also see we'vegot a 1973 Volkswagen Samba van
parked out in front, so youmight see me tooling around the
beach on that as well.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Very good, it's all about being outdoors, right?
We don't have to shovel snow,we don't have to worry about the
cold weather getting to ourbones and aching and everything.
It's.
Get outside and enjoy yourself,right.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
Exactly.
I was joking around with mywife this morning and said I'm
going to be up in Chicago onThursday.
I said have you seen theweather?
It's going to be like 70.
Where's my buffer coat?
My blood's already thin afteronly two, a little over two
years.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Mine's definitely thin, for sure, that's yeah.
I go up there, I take asweatshirt, and summer and pants
, and people are like, lookingat me, like are you crazy?
I'm like, I'm from Florida,this is cold.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
That's it.
I'm embracing it 100 percent.
I'm leaning into it as I goback up there.
It's like you know there you go.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
So are there certain things trending within the
coffee industry that we canshare with our listeners?
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Yes, Uh, the coffee industry has actually taken a
really neat jump over the lastseveral years, but you know it's
it's still on that turn withthe way young people look at
their their own health and howthey handle themselves in a lot
(12:01):
of places.
Um, coffee shops have takenover for some of the night spots
.
So, you know, instead of goingclubbing, people end up at
coffee shops for first dates.
It's really kind of aninteresting turn of events.
You know, when I was in my 20s,a coffee shop was not on my
list of places to be unless itwas very early in the morning
(12:25):
from a very late night.
And now I'm finding it to be areally, you know, a fun, popular
spot for the 20-somethings andeven the teenagers.
And you know, with our spot weare very much a beach theme.
You know it has a Hawaii vibebut nonetheless we're pushing
(12:46):
for it to be just beach themedbecause I want it to be Fort
Myers Beach.
So you know, there's lots ofT-shirts and hats and fun music
and we're looking to dodifferent events that will help
bring people in.
Just for kicks, we put acornhole game out front, just to
you know.
Pass the time while you'resipping your coffees front, just
(13:11):
to, you know, pass the timewhile you're sipping your
coffees.
Um, but it's, you know it's.
It's more than just a spot tograb a cup of joe and run out
the door.
It's become a social experience.
Now it has, it really has it's adestination of you know, of a
place to go and enjoy, whetherit be a coffee, whether it be,
you know, a coffee cooler or anenergy drink or a bite to eat.
(13:33):
We've got sandwiches, we've gotpastries.
It's, but it's, it's more thanyou know.
We don't have a drive-through,and that's intentional.
We want people to be able tocome in, sit down, hang out in
the cafe for a while, meet theirfriends.
You know, I got a line of headaround that chairs outside so
you can sit outside.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I've seen people sitting out there already.
I love it.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yeah, almost see the beach.
You can certainly smell it onthe right day.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yes, yes, and we love that.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
So, as a first time visitor coming there, what is
something somebody should try?
Well, it depends on your likes.
You know our, our Kona coffee,which is our kind of our feature
item, which is all brought infrom the Kona part of the big
Island of Hawaii, which, ifyou're not familiar with, I kind
of put it up there with, say,the Napa Valley of California
for wines.
(14:26):
It's one of the best growingregions for coffee in the world
and it's certainly something toexperience.
We've got several differentthings that you could try on the
menu.
You know the coffee cooler isfun if you're looking for
something, if you're hot,there's a bunch of different
frozen drinks that we serve up,but again, you know, when I lean
(14:49):
into it it's for the cone ofcoffee.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That's it.
That's what it's all about.
So how do our listeners goabout contacting you if they
wanted to come by grab a cup ofcoffee or just learn a little
bit more?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
So we're located at 7205 Estero Boulevard.
We're at the very south end ofthe Santini Plaza.
Again, if you have any troublefinding us, because we're still
waiting on our sign to beinstalled, we do have this
bright teal bus parked right outfront.
We're working with thecommunity and hopefully soon
(15:21):
we'll be able to unveil a muralthat we're going to paint on the
south side of the wall outside.
To unveil a mural that we'regoing to paint on the south side
of the wall outside.
It's going to have its featurebehind.
It is mostly like the 60s and50s postcard style of Fort Myers
(15:41):
Beach emblem on it.
You know, again, because we wantto make it Fort Myers Beach
centric, we're including theclock tower and we hope to have
some shrimp boats out on thehorizon, nice, a little tiki hut
and just some, you know,instagrammable moments to be out
front.
You can look us up.
We don't have a website as ofour own.
We have the corporate website,which is badass coffee of Hawaii
(16:04):
.
Hopefully we will be able toget some social media coming up
in the near future, but best betis just to come on down by the
store, and we're there from 7 amto 5 pm, seven days a week.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Perfect, can't miss it, can't miss it.
Any last words for ourlisteners.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I just want to say thank you for the wonderful
first couple of weeks that we'vehad.
We've had an incredible turnoutand the people could not have
been nicer and we're having somuch fun just being part of the
beach and getting to meet ourneighbors and you know, we just
look forward to a very long andhealthy relationship with the
(16:43):
community.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Thank you for what you're doing and thank you for
being such a good neighbor, andwe'll see you at the beach or
maybe the coffee shop soon,right?
Speaker 3 (16:52):
Absolutely.
Again, thank you so much forhaving us on your program.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Thanks for tuning in to the Fort Myers Beach Good
Neighbor Podcast, wherecommunity meets paradise.
If you love what you heard,share it with a friend and keep
the good vibes going Until nexttime.
Stay sunny, stay salty and keepbeing a good neighbor.
Also, to nominate your favoriteneighbors, local legends,
heroes or island businesses tobe on the show, go to
CaboWaboJimcom.
That's CaboWaboJimcom, or call239-427-4100.
(17:21):
We want to send out some islandlove to Eric Tibbs from Edward
Jones State Insurance USA andHome Well Care Services Fort
Myers.
They are the businesses thatallow us to share the soul of
our community with everylistener, from local stories to
the positive vibe of island life.
Here's to celebrating all thatmakes Fort Myers Beach the slice
of paradise we all love.
Welcome to the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor
podcast, where the sun's alwaysshining and the stories are even
brighter.
Each episode we bring youcloser to the neighbors, local
legends and beachside businessesthat make Fort Myers Beach the
slice of paradise we all love.
Pull up a beach chair, grab adrink and let's meet the people
who make this island feel likehome.
We want to send out some islandlove to Eric Tibbs from Edward
(00:21):
Jones State Insurance, usa andHome Well Care Services Fort
Myers.
To Eric Tibbs from Edward JonesState Insurance, usa and Home
Well Care Services Fort Myers.
They are the businesses thatallow us to share the soul of
our community with everylistener, from local stories to
the positive vibe of island life.
Here's to celebrating all thatmakes Fort Myers Beach the slice
of paradise we all love.
Here's your host, cabo, jimSchaller.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
Welcome Fort Myers Beach.
Good Neighbors.
We're all about no shade, justsunshine.
Drama-free, positive vibes.
That's what it's all aboutToday.
We've got good neighbor, jasonThomas from Badass Coffee.
Welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Absolutely.
Always a pleasure to get toknow people on the island here
and then share their storieswith our listeners.
So without further ado,obviously you're in the coffee
business.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
I am Just share a little bit about Badass Coffee.
So Badass Coffee originated onthe big island of Hawaii in 1989
.
It was kind of a mom and popshop and became very popular and
caught some attention of somebigger wigs that said, hey, we'd
like to make this a biggerthing.
(01:25):
And that's exactly what theydid.
So we have grown since then.
Our franchisee the franchise isactually operated out of Denver
, Colorado, by a Royal Alohacompany.
There is approximately 37badass coffees nationwide.
(01:47):
Yeah, they range anywhere fromColorado, California, Tennessee,
Florida We've got them all overthe place, but my concentration
right now is South Florida.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Nice, nice.
So why Fort Myers Beach?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Fort Myers Beach seemed like the perfect location
for our operation and it seemedlike the perfect time to get
involved with the community.
Myself and our investor teamwas really looking around at all
the different locations ofwhere we could plant a flag and
really do some some good thingsand some fun things.
(02:27):
And the opportunity, withSantini Plaza being what it is
and you know, it's historywithin Fort Myers beach the
return of Fort Myers beach doingback to hopefully what it was
and maybe something even more um, seemed like something we
really wanted to be part of.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Absolutely so.
Are you from Southwest Floridaoriginally or no?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
No, actually my wife and I, we relocated down here a
little over two years ago fromChicago.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
We had both considered living in Florida for
a long time and we couldn'treally come up with an idea of
where it was that we wanted toland.
And we packed up our car andgot a dog sitter to watch our
dogs and said we'll be back soon.
And we took off on an 18-dayroad trip that started at
(03:21):
Virginia Beach, virginia roadtrip that started at Virginia
Beach, virginia, and we droveall the way down the Atlantic
seaboard till we got to Key West, turned around, came up the
western side of Florida, backthrough Georgia and finally got
back to Chicago.
And we sat down and we said youknow I was expecting a big
battle.
You know there was a lot ofnice places around there.
(03:43):
And we both kind of looked ateach other and said, yeah,
southwest florida, yeah, no, itwas over.
There was no debate, there wasno discussion.
Um, we currently reside innaples and um, and have barely
looked back.
I'm actually going back tochicago this weekend for for
(04:04):
some family things.
And some of my friends werelike, well, you're coming back
to stay.
I said nah, no, I said you guysjust don't understand what the
life is out here in SouthwestFlorida and how beautiful it is
and amazing how much fun we'rehaving.
We've got two stores right now,one in Naples and the one in
Fort Myers Beach, and I couldn'tbe happier.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Absolutely.
I'm from that Midwest as well.
So Wisconsin, illinois, samestory.
But I moved down here in 89,back when Van Ness Coffee
started, I guess.
So I've been down here forquite a while, seen a lot of
changes, and you know you pickedthe right spot because there's
(04:50):
a lot of midwestern people onthis side of florida and this
little southwest florida hubdown here, so a lot of friendly
people, which is, uh, makes theliving here extra nice as well
too so absolutely.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
I knew I was in a good spot when I was driving
down estero boulevard and I sawsomebody fly in the w, which, if
you're a cubs fan, you knowwhat that means.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Right, right, exactly , I won't talk about it.
I was born in Wisconsin, so I'ma Brewers fan.
So a little rivalry there rightnow, especially now with us
battling out for the best recordin baseball.
But hey, we'll take it becausewe're not supposed to be there,
so we'll enjoy it while it lasts.
So running a business at thebeach, you know kind of sounds
(05:30):
like a dream job, right, but weall deal with storms.
You know what's been yourbiggest challenge so far, maybe
your proudest moment.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
The biggest challenge ?
Uh, there hasn't been so muchof challenges as just
opportunities.
I in Chicago for the last 40years.
I was in hospitality.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Um, I've been everything from a bus boy to the
general manager of a finedining white tablecloth
steakhouse, um dishwasher toexecutive chef of a private club
on Michigan Avenue downtown.
So I mean, it's almost aHemingway writing itself story
of let's run away to the tropicsand open up a coffee shop and
(06:18):
just kind of kick back and enjoyourselves.
And you know, coming down, andyes, the storms are definitely
something to worry about.
But wherever I seem to end up,there's always going to be a
challenge.
In Chicago we had the winters.
In Florida we have the storms.
(06:40):
It's a fact of life and wemeasure our way through it and
we measure our way through itand we try to prepare for it the
best we can and pray that itdoesn't hit us.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
And as long as we stick together as a community
and help each other and workwith each other, that's the
important part of who wesurround ourselves with.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
Absolutely, and you know that was part of the thing
about coming down to Fort MyersBeach and not being certainly
not a native but not really alocal per se is that I wanted to
make sure that we got involvedwith the community as best we
could.
So one of the first things wedid was join the Chamber of
Commerce.
Their outreach has been atremendous help.
(07:21):
We really appreciate everythingthat they've helped us along
with.
We really appreciate everythingthat they've helped us along
with.
We want to make sure that, eventhough Badass is a franchise
store I don't want it to be adrop off and run kind of place.
We want this to be the badassof Fort Myers Beach.
It means more to us to be partof the community than it does
(07:44):
just to be another business inanother location.
We have the opportunity ofopening a lot more stores but,
that being said, each store.
I really want to concentrate onmaking sure that we're part of
the community, and Fort MyersBeach is definitely something
that we're trying to getinvolved with.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
And I love that.
It's all about immersingyourself in the community and
giving back to the community andsupporting the community,
because they're the ones thatultimately support you as a
business as well, so I love thatrelationship.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
It's really lent itself very nicely, you know,
being in Santini Plaza and beingable to talk with the people in
the area.
We're kind of the last stop onthe south end of the island
right now and I want to makesure that we're reaching out to
the people that are here yearround, or the people who own the
(08:35):
homes that are here, that youknow they recognize it.
Sure, of course we're lookingfor some of the tourist trade,
but at the end of the day, we'remore about being Fort Myers
Beach friendly, and part of itNot this weekend but next
weekend we're having a formalgrand opening and we've decided
that part of our giving back tothe community is that we've
(08:58):
chosen a local charity, and thatis FMV Strong, to get a portion
of our proceeds from our grandopening celebration.
So again, it's what we can doto participate in the town, you
know, not just be another stopon the road.
(09:20):
Let's see what we can do toreally dive in and be part of it
, I love it, I love it, I loveit.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
See, good midwestern people right, that's what it's
all about.
So so outside of work, you knowthis could be very demanding.
It sounds like two coffee shopsand, uh, kind of semi-retired I
mean from your for big jobs,but it's still a full-time job.
What do you do outside of workwhen you get a moment?
Speaker 3 (09:44):
uh, do you know outside of work?
Um, I have a moment.
Do you know, outside of work?
I have a beautiful wife that Ilike to spend a lot of time with
.
We had two white rescue pitbulls.
Unfortunately, we lost one ofthem in the last couple of weeks
.
He had run a good life, so Ispent a lot of time with my dogs
.
I'm looking forward to gettingback into golf.
(10:06):
I had a shoulder injury for awhile and a back injury, and I
don't know if you know anythingabout being a chef, but it's not
real good on the knees either.
So I'm trying to recoup myphysical condition a little bit
to get back out on the golfcourse.
You know messing around town.
I recently bought a JeepWrangler so that I could
(10:27):
actually be part of the beachlife and as soon as the summer
heat breaks down, I also have amotorcycle that I like to tool
around on.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Well, there you go.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
You'll see me around town, if you, if, if you come by
the store, you also see we'vegot a 1973 Volkswagen Samba van
parked out in front, so youmight see me tooling around the
beach on that as well.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
Very good, it's all about being outdoors, right?
We don't have to shovel snow,we don't have to worry about the
cold weather getting to ourbones and aching and everything.
It's.
Get outside and enjoy yourself,right.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
Exactly.
I was joking around with mywife this morning and said I'm
going to be up in Chicago onThursday.
I said have you seen theweather?
It's going to be like 70.
Where's my buffer coat?
My blood's already thin afteronly two, a little over two
years.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Mine's definitely thin, for sure, that's yeah.
I go up there, I take asweatshirt, and summer and pants
, and people are like, lookingat me, like are you crazy?
I'm like, I'm from Florida,this is cold.
Speaker 3 (11:28):
That's it.
I'm embracing it 100 percent.
I'm leaning into it as I goback up there.
It's like you know there you go.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
So are there certain things trending within the
coffee industry that we canshare with our listeners?
Speaker 3 (11:41):
Yes, Uh, the coffee industry has actually taken a
really neat jump over the lastseveral years, but you know it's
it's still on that turn withthe way young people look at
their their own health and howthey handle themselves in a lot
(12:01):
of places.
Um, coffee shops have takenover for some of the night spots
.
So, you know, instead of goingclubbing, people end up at
coffee shops for first dates.
It's really kind of aninteresting turn of events.
You know, when I was in my 20s,a coffee shop was not on my
list of places to be unless itwas very early in the morning
(12:25):
from a very late night.
And now I'm finding it to be areally, you know, a fun, popular
spot for the 20-somethings andeven the teenagers.
And you know, with our spot weare very much a beach theme.
You know it has a Hawaii vibebut nonetheless we're pushing
(12:46):
for it to be just beach themedbecause I want it to be Fort
Myers Beach.
So you know, there's lots ofT-shirts and hats and fun music
and we're looking to dodifferent events that will help
bring people in.
Just for kicks, we put acornhole game out front, just to
you know.
Pass the time while you'resipping your coffees front, just
(13:11):
to, you know, pass the timewhile you're sipping your
coffees.
Um, but it's, you know it's.
It's more than just a spot tograb a cup of joe and run out
the door.
It's become a social experience.
Now it has, it really has it's adestination of you know, of a
place to go and enjoy, whetherit be a coffee, whether it be,
you know, a coffee cooler or anenergy drink or a bite to eat.
(13:33):
We've got sandwiches, we've gotpastries.
It's, but it's, it's more thanyou know.
We don't have a drive-through,and that's intentional.
We want people to be able tocome in, sit down, hang out in
the cafe for a while, meet theirfriends.
You know, I got a line of headaround that chairs outside so
you can sit outside.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I've seen people sitting out there already.
I love it.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yeah, almost see the beach.
You can certainly smell it onthe right day.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Yes, yes, and we love that.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
So, as a first time visitor coming there, what is
something somebody should try?
Well, it depends on your likes.
You know our, our Kona coffee,which is our kind of our feature
item, which is all brought infrom the Kona part of the big
Island of Hawaii, which, ifyou're not familiar with, I kind
of put it up there with, say,the Napa Valley of California
for wines.
(14:26):
It's one of the best growingregions for coffee in the world
and it's certainly something toexperience.
We've got several differentthings that you could try on the
menu.
You know the coffee cooler isfun if you're looking for
something, if you're hot,there's a bunch of different
frozen drinks that we serve up,but again, you know, when I lean
(14:49):
into it it's for the cone ofcoffee.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That's it.
That's what it's all about.
So how do our listeners goabout contacting you if they
wanted to come by grab a cup ofcoffee or just learn a little
bit more?
Speaker 3 (15:00):
So we're located at 7205 Estero Boulevard.
We're at the very south end ofthe Santini Plaza.
Again, if you have any troublefinding us, because we're still
waiting on our sign to beinstalled, we do have this
bright teal bus parked right outfront.
We're working with thecommunity and hopefully soon
(15:21):
we'll be able to unveil a muralthat we're going to paint on the
south side of the wall outside.
To unveil a mural that we'regoing to paint on the south side
of the wall outside.
It's going to have its featurebehind.
It is mostly like the 60s and50s postcard style of Fort Myers
(15:41):
Beach emblem on it.
You know, again, because we wantto make it Fort Myers Beach
centric, we're including theclock tower and we hope to have
some shrimp boats out on thehorizon, nice, a little tiki hut
and just some, you know,instagrammable moments to be out
front.
You can look us up.
We don't have a website as ofour own.
We have the corporate website,which is badass coffee of Hawaii
(16:04):
.
Hopefully we will be able toget some social media coming up
in the near future, but best betis just to come on down by the
store, and we're there from 7 amto 5 pm, seven days a week.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Perfect, can't miss it, can't miss it.
Any last words for ourlisteners.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
I just want to say thank you for the wonderful
first couple of weeks that we'vehad.
We've had an incredible turnoutand the people could not have
been nicer and we're having somuch fun just being part of the
beach and getting to meet ourneighbors and you know, we just
look forward to a very long andhealthy relationship with the
(16:43):
community.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Thank you for what you're doing and thank you for
being such a good neighbor, andwe'll see you at the beach or
maybe the coffee shop soon,right?
Speaker 3 (16:52):
Absolutely.
Again, thank you so much forhaving us on your program.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Thanks for tuning in to the Fort Myers Beach Good
Neighbor Podcast, wherecommunity meets paradise.
If you love what you heard,share it with a friend and keep
the good vibes going Until nexttime.
Stay sunny, stay salty and keepbeing a good neighbor.
Also, to nominate your favoriteneighbors, local legends,
heroes or island businesses tobe on the show, go to
CaboWaboJimcom.
That's CaboWaboJimcom, or call239-427-4100.
(17:21):
We want to send out some islandlove to Eric Tibbs from Edward
Jones State Insurance USA andHome Well Care Services Fort
Myers.
They are the businesses thatallow us to share the soul of
our community with everylistener, from local stories to
the positive vibe of island life.
Here's to celebrating all thatmakes Fort Myers Beach the slice
of paradise we all love.
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