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First Kahwa Coffee cafe outside of Tampa Bay opens in Miami, more to come

 
St. Petersburg's Kahwa Coffee opened its first cafe outside of the Tampa Bay area in Miami on Wednesday. (Courtesy of Kawah Coffee)
St. Petersburg's Kahwa Coffee opened its first cafe outside of the Tampa Bay area in Miami on Wednesday. (Courtesy of Kawah Coffee)
Published March 21, 2018

St. Petersburg's Kahwa Coffee is hoping to find as many fans in South Beach as it has in St. Pete Beach.

The local favorite opened its first location outside of the greater Tampa Bay area on Wednesday — at 1701 Purdy Ave. on Miami Beach — and its founders say more openings across Florida are coming.

Until now, Kahwa's footprint has stayed in west Central Florida, with 12 locations in St. Petersburg, Tampa, Bradenton and Sarasota.

Read more:Kahwa and Buddy Brew lead the charge of Tampa Bay's coffee revolution

"We've done a good job in Tampa Bay as far as presence," said co-founder Raphael Perrier. "It's big enough now to start outside of Tampa."

On deck: Two more Miami locations and possible locations in Jacksonville and Orlando. The company has more Tampa Bay cafes in the works, too.

A drive-thru in Bradenton on the way from Anna Maria Island and a location at the International Plaza Mall in Tampa. There will also be two Kahwa shops inside the Rays Stadium in St. Petersburg this season, Perrier said.

The new Miami build was a quick two-week turn around. Perrier said his team took an existing coffee shop and remodel it into a Kahwa.

Husband and wife owners Raphael and Sarah Perrier opened the flagship St. Petersburg cafe 10 years ago.

Though the Miami store is the first cafe outside southwest Florida, it's not the first time Kahwa's coffee has been served outside of Tampa Bay.

Previous coverage: Kahwa Coffee to open second drive-thru store in St. Petersburg

The Perriers said they supply to more than 800 hotel and hospitality clients across the country — like a luxury hotel in Canyon Point, Utah and two resorts on the Turks and Caicos Islands.

National retailer HSN — which has its headquarters in Clearwater — also sells Kahwa blends.

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Though the new store opened to the public this week, the Perriers called it a "soft opening" with a grand opening date to be announced.

Contact Sara DiNatale at sdinatale@tampabay.com. Follow @sara_dinatale.