This Manatee Avenue hot spot is closing, but a piece of it may live on in your kitchen
There’s good news and bad news when it comes to the fate of one of Manatee Avenue’s most-cherished coffee shops.
The bad news is that Latte Luna will close its doors for good on Saturday.
The good news: You’ll soon be able to keep a piece of the popular café in your kitchen.
Deb Short opened her shop in May 2013, offering genuine family recipes and a cozy spot for visitors to come and hang out. When she noticed that there was nothing of the sort in Bradenton, she decided to “fill the hole.”
“Most people come in and feel that they’ve immediately stepped into grandma’s house,” Short said. “And the staff actually cares about the customers. We’ve sat with customers having a rough time and it just feels like home.”
Latte Luna’s employees said they grew accustomed to chatting with customers. Over the years, the coffee shop hosted Bible studies, craft groups and customers who made sure to stop by every day.
Rory Smith, a barista, said his guests came to mean a lot to him and he hopes the feelings were mutual.
“I hope that we were their favorite coffee shop and that we were more than just people who made them coffee,” Smith said.
Customers will miss the relationships that were forged at 2715 Manatee Ave. W., as well, said brothers Joshua and Jacob Harrison, who have been regulars at Latte Luna for years.
I hope that we were their favorite coffee shop and that we were more than just people who made them coffee.
Rory Smith
a barista at Latte Luna“It kind of became a landmark on Manatee,” Jacob said. “You’d drive past and see it, and it’s kind of like a beacon of light.”
Short’s attempt to find a new owner to purchase Latte Luna in July due to health concerns never worked out. She previously told the Herald that she was pitching the sale as a franchise opportunity with the possibility of “Lunas all over the place.”
Now, the news of the impending close is hitting her hard.
“The circumstances are beyond our control,” she explained. “It’s not because we’re choosing to close by any means.”
It’s hitting her customers just as hard. Their outpouring of support is what inspired her to want to create a cookbook. A GoFundMe page was created by one of the regulars to help provide Short with a gift in return for how well she took care of the community for the past five years, according to Lauren Solis, another Latte Luna barista.
“Everyone loves that ‘grandma’s cookies’ vibe and that’s what Deb has done here and provided for the community, so I think (the cookbook) is great,” Solis said. “It gives them the opportunity to not fully say goodbye.”
The Latte Luna cookbook isn’t available yet, though. Short said she’s been too busy preparing to shut her doors to finalize which recipes will make it, but she does have an idea of what kinds of dishes to expect.
“We’re going through our things that we have on our menu, and we’ll have some additional things on there, too,” Short explained.
She said those interested will be pleased to know that the whole spectrum of food will be in the cookbook — from coffee to main dishes to desserts, and everything in between.
“What we serve is so unique. It’s not something you’re going to find anywhere else. A lot of the recipes are ones we’ve created ourselves or they come from family members, like my grandmother’s mac n’ cheese, for instance,” Short said.
A release date hasn’t been set. Short hopes that she’ll be able to put the cookbook together in about a month.
Short said updates will be available on the Latte Luna Facebook page. When the time comes, those interested likely will be able to purchase the books online.
Furniture and kitchen equipment will be liquidated starting Monday as the staff work to clear the building.
Ryan Callihan: 941-745-7095, @RCCallihan
This story was originally published March 20, 2018 at 3:49 PM with the headline "This Manatee Avenue hot spot is closing, but a piece of it may live on in your kitchen."