This coffee house is rapidly expanding. It’s coming soon to Bradenton
It’s one of the fastest-growing businesses in the region and Kahwa Coffee is coming to Bradenton. Like all of its newer stores, it will feature a drive-thru.
The company opened its first store in downtown St. Petersburg in 2006 and the Bradenton location will be its 15th, with most stores stretched from St. Petersburg to north Tampa. Current locations include one at University Town Center mall, one in downtown Sarasota and another in Lakewood Ranch.
The Bradenton location will be in the Promenade Plaza in the 6700 block of Manatee Avenue West. According to the city, Kahwa will take over the former Verizon building next to Five Guys. The plaza also hosts Fresh Market.
The plaza is owned by Promenade Associates LP, one of many corporations under the umbrella of Benderson Development, which purchased the plaza in 1993 for $900,000. According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s website, the property is valued at more than $5.1 million.
The drive-thru requires a special use permit and that process is underway with the city. The project has undergone two reviews with the pre-application development committee and is scheduled to be heard by the planning commission April 17. From there, the final project will head to the city council for approval.
“We are growing quick,” Kahwa Coffee founder Raphael Perrier said. “Bradenton and Sarasota are a really good market for us so this will be our fourth store in that area and we are looking for more. I think this is a fantastic location with it being on the way to the beach.”
Kahwa isn’t just expanding storefronts. It’s a wholesaler to major venues, as well as local restaurants such as Chateau 13, Bradenton’s newest restaurant on 13th Street West, which recently opened to much fanfare.
The coffee is roasted in Tampa Bay and their website states their “baristas go through intensive training to make sure each coffee we serve will be the best coffee you’ve ever had.”
So what’s with the funny name?
Well, coffee is said to have been first discovered in the Kaffa region of Ethiopia and while over time different countries came up with different names for coffee, the original name is said to have been Kahwa.
Kahwa offers several specialty drinks, pastries and online products, and is environmentally conscious with a recent transition from plastic straws to glass straws. To learn more, visit kahwacoffee.com.
There is no available timeline to redevelop the Bradenton location. Perrier said the first step is to have permit in hand, which could be as early as the end of April. Once the permit is hand, he said they will move quickly with the renovations.
This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 11:12 AM.