In light of social distancing and the crazy new way of life we are all having to experience, thanks to the Coronavirus, my son and I still managed to get out of the house on Sunday morning to help welcome Aroma Joe’s to the Tampa Bay area!

I had been anticipating the arrival of this New England coffee shop to our area for several months now. I had read about their Pompano Beach location and found out they had plans on branching out to the Tampa Bay area. I reached out to the general manager of the upcoming Land o Lakes location, Glen Cote. He was very happy to answered my email and social media questions and kept in contact with me throughout their construction process. So needless to say, through great communication on Glen’s part, I knew exactly when they would be opening.

Although the media strongly advised against going out to high-traffic, crowded areas, including restaurants and coffee shops, I basically threw caution to the wind and still ventured out for their soft opening. I’m a huge supporter of locally-owned businesses so a little pandemic wasn’t going to stop me from being part of Aroma Joe’s opening here in Tampa Bay!!!

My son and I were warmly greeted by the entire staff in the coffee shop and behind the counter! The vibe of Aroma Joe’s is your typical coffee shop but in a good way! The interior is as friendly and inviting as Glenn and his wife were! You walk into an abundance of flavored syrup line shelves and prepackaged coffee bags (for purchase) and brewed coffee urns.

They had a vast selection of specialty espresso beverages either iced, frozen or hot for you traditionalist! they even had a specialty drink for St Patrick’s Day called the Shamrock macchiato. If you know me you know that was the beverage I chose and it was bangin! Mint and espresso who knew …. delicious!

My 14 year old is into a big coffee drinker, I guess that’s a good thing, but he does enjoy the frozen cappuccino drinks. He ordered the Cappuccino FroJoe and drank it right down to the bottom of the plastic cup, with a huge smile on his face the whole time!

Since it was breakfast time, I ordered the Maple Ham Swiss Croissant… Yum!! It does come with eggs but as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not an egg fan. I kindly asked Glenn to 86 the eggs for my breakfast sandwich and he happily obliged. How can you go wrong with a hot melty breakfast sandwich to accompany your icy cold espresso drink?!

I know everybody is leery of venturing out of their houses where it’s a germ-free, safe environment but I also believe you should partake in commerce and help local businesses. This Aroma Joe’s location has a drive-thru that, last I heard, will remain open through all safety precautions and is happy to fulfill your caffeine needs!

I definitely think we should all heed the health and safety warnings and use extra precautions right now but please patronize local businesses that offer drive-thru service as much as you can right now!!!

That being said, I’m jealous of all the Land ‘o Lakes and Lutz people that have this gem of a coffee shop in their backyard!!! Stop a new Aroma Joe’s and let them know Tampa food mom sent you… And don’t forget to tell me what you thought!!!

Drink up friends!

Rachel