Walk into Urban Grind Coffee Co. and you’ll enter a small, cozy Downtown coffee shop filled with the scents of brews and baking, the sounds of music and the espresso machine, and the sights and sense of local history and craftsmanship.
It was a far different environment when owner Stacey Goldberg and her husband, Craig, first looked at the 45 W. Bay St. building, whose long history included fires and service as a printing company.
The almost 800 square feet they inspected at the front wasn’t inviting.
“You can’t even say it was a diamond in the rough. It was a rough in the rough,” Goldberg said.
That was two and a half years ago. With partners, the Goldbergs bought the building, known as the Drew Building. Their neighbors within are Daniel James Salon and Folio Media House.
A central courtyard has become the Urban Garden of tables and chairs used by building tenants and patrons, a protected “outdoor” experience.
“The building always had a really nice vibe to it,” she said.
The Goldbergs already owned the Urban Grind kiosk at the next-block Bank of America Tower. Carving out a storefront coffee shop of their own tastes and design was a learning experience.
Goldberg worked with Hota Design Studio to make every inch count in the two-level shop — the downstairs for customers, the small upstairs for the kitchen, where she and her crew make the salads, sandwiches and pastries sold fresh daily.
They opened in February 2015.
The décor features the building’s brick and wood beams, but the rest of the space was gutted and rebuilt at a cost of more than $100,000, not counting the equipment.
Urban Grind received approval for a $17,000 Retail Enhancement Grant from the Downtown Investment Authority.
Goldberg uses local artisans and businesses whenever possible.
Eco Relics sold her the church pew bench, some of the wall decorations and the antique ceiling tiles that line the counter-front. A local customer and artist created the metallic logo and signs.
The Healthy Bagel supplies the bagels. A local roaster provides the coffee beans.
“It may cost me more, but it’s better quality and it helps other people like me,” she said.
Goldberg created the recipes for the changing menu of salads, casseroles and sandwiches, as well as the staples like chicken salad. Staff makes granola and the popular trail mix.
She also develops the coffee flavors, such as blueberry coffee cake, pecan sticky bun and Island Hopper, with coconut and almond.
A black wall board features drinks and staples; a paper menu outlines the weekly menu. For example, this week’s panini is turkey-apple-fig. Featured sandwiches, salads and wraps include a Berry Good Chick Wrap and Granny’s Beet Salad.
Goldberg appreciates the freedom and ability to try new items, like translating the ingredients in her mother’s baking creations for her own use.
“It’s not a chain, so I don’t have any limitations,” she said.
Goldberg and her staff of five operate the shop 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. They also cater.
She, Craig (director of financial planning and analysis at Web.com) and their children — sons ages 17 and 12 and a 7-year-old daughter — spend Sundays stocking the shop and prepping for the week.
She also works on marketing the business, social media, menus and other work. Her husband handles the finances.
Goldberg, a Maine native, Flagler College graduate and a former photo editor and visual content director at SuperStock Inc., hadn’t expected to run a business.
“I never thought this would be something I would do,” she said.
But the image business changed with the times and Craig wanted the couple to own a business.
The first venture — a laundromat — fell through. “That is so not me,” she said.
They found the Bank of America coffee kiosk through a business broker. She learned about the coffee business there and self-taught much of what she’s learned through trial-and-error.
That included enjoying her own products.
“Until I owned the shop, I really didn’t drink coffee.”
@MathisKb
(904) 356-2466