Tampa Coffee Company Opens New Cafes Through Sprouts Partnership

RIVERVIEW, FL — Buddy Brew Coffee is bringing its cafe experience to Riverview this week as part of the Tampa-based company’s ongoing expansion — the largest in its history — thanks to its regional partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market.

The new cafe, located inside the Sprouts at 12960 S. U.S. Highway 301, will open Wednesday, with a grand-opening celebration beginning at 10 a.m.

The Riverview location is the sixth of 10 Buddy Brew cafes planned inside Sprouts stores across Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida this year. The remaining locations are slated for Carrollwood, Palm Harbor, Trinity and Sarasota.

The company expects to open the remaining four locations quickly, with one opening nearly every week through early November, Susan Ward, president and co-founder, told Patch.

“We are excited about bringing Buddy Brew to new neighborhoods that we've never been in,” she said. “We were looking for neighborhoods that are rapidly growing communities, and neighborhoods that have been asking for a Buddy Brew - places where we can serve that community in a way that we never have.”

The partnership began when Sprouts, looking for a Florida coffee partner, approached Buddy Brew, Ward said.

Working together proved to be a natural fit for the brands.

“Sprouts is known for fresh, thoughtfully sourced products and a welcoming neighborhood market experience … and Buddy Brew shares that commitment to quality, to authenticity, and to hospitality,” Ward said. “So, this partnership works so well because it feels so natural. Sprouts and Buddy Brew both care deeply about … creating an experience for customers that they can feel really good about.”

For Buddy Brew, the expansion represents a significant step for a company that began 16 years ago with Ward and her husband, Dave, roasting coffee as a hobby.

As they launched the business, the couple initially focused on roasting and wholesale coffee before eventually opening cafes.

The company’s “Brew Good. Do Good.” motto reflects its original mission of focusing on ethically sourcing coffee and helping farmers thrive, which has expanded to include relationships with local communities.

“The ‘do good,’ in the beginning, was what we could see globally and how could we purchase coffee to help farmers thrive,” Ward said. “We never planned on opening all of these cafes, and since we now are about to open our 13th cafe, over the years that ‘do good’ has been focused also very locally through hospitality and how can we really be a light in this community, share joy, inspire hope through every one of those little transactions, while serving a great cup of coffee.”

The couple has also enjoyed watching Buddy Brew grow alongside the Tampa Bay area over the years.

“We feel like we're part of the fabric of this community, and it's an honor,” she said.

The Riverview cafe will offer Buddy Brew’s full menu, including espresso drinks, brewed coffee, cold brew, matcha, smoothies, breakfast and lunch items, pastries, and seasonal specialty drinks.

Wednesday’s grand-opening celebration will include a ribbon cutting at 9:55 a.m., followed by the cafe opening at 10 a.m.

The first 25 guests in line will receive gift bags containing Buddy Brew merchandise, gift cards and other items. One guest will also have a chance to win free coffee for a year.

Fall specialty drinks will be available for $3 throughout the day.

Buddy Brew’s recent Sprouts openings have drawn enthusiastic crowds, with some locations seeing about 100 people line up for grand-opening celebrations.

“These grand openings are a party,” Ward said. “We have a DJ, and it's just high energy and a lot of fun.”

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