New coffee shop opens in Lakewood Ranch after starting as mobile cart in Sarasota
Justin Banister, 39, founded O&A Coffee and Supply in 2015 as a mobile coffee bar on a sidewalk in downtown Sarasota, serving his brews in a uniquely friendly, conversational way.
O&A, short-hand for “out and about,” is in reference to the ability to move from Main Street to a farmers market, while demystifying pretensions that have grown up around a good cup of coffee.
“Coffee is a humble beverage and it should be served as such. In Ethiopia, they call coffee the drink of memories,” Banister said.
That’s not meant to say that coffee can’t be complex or satisfying, but that it can be the bridge to a friendly conversation with the barista and others enjoying a similar beverage.
“You should have the connection with the person making the coffee, a sense of belonging. That’s what coffee always did for me,” Banister said.
In 2019, just a few months before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, Banister opened his first brick-and-mortar coffee shop on Sarasota’s Main Street.
While the timing was bad, Banister was able to weather the pandemic without having to lay anyone off, and recently opened his second coffee shop in Lakewood Ranch’s Waterside Place.
The new coffee shop at 1570 Lakefront Drive, Unit 102, is in the south end of a building shared with Good Liquid Brewing Company, and looks out onto Kingfisher Lake. This week, guests were taking their coffee outside under the large pavilion with a waterfront view.
Among those were friends Talia Famiglio and Alexy Dashner, who sat on a couch under the pavilion.
“It’s always a warm environment and they are great people. It’s a comfortable space. They always remember my drink — an almond milk latte with a little bit of honey,” Famiglio said.
Dashner praised the barista’s for their coffee-making skills, and said she also likes O&A because it’s a local company.
Banister makes it a priority to have easy, friendly conversation with customers to learn what they want in a coffee shop.
O&A’s menu — Banister calls it a suggestion board — this week listed brews, espressos, lattes, teas, chais, hot chocolate and more, along with sandwiches, pastries and some clothing items, including shirts, hats and totes.
“We work direct trade with all our farmers and make sure they make a fair living,” Banister says of his coffee purchases from around the globe.
Banister buys from coffee farmers in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burundi in Africa, as well as from growers in Central America and South America.
Because coffee is a fruit, it is not always in season where it is grown. Coffee bought from only one source would not be fresh year-round, said.
O&A’s roasts are small farm, ethically-sourced high-quality coffees from across the globe.
O&A is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, and later on days when Waterside Place hosts special events.The business is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
For more information visit oandacoffee.com or the shop’s Instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/oandacoffee/
