New Tampa's locally owned coffee shop, Coffee Speaks N Tea Talks, is a dream for owner Arlene Brooks.
Brooks opened the shop in 2019, right before the pandemic forced her to close.
"So I lost my mom in November 2016. I knew I wanted to have a memory of her every day. And so the coffee is a part of the memory of my mom waking up smelling coffee every day. So that was there, how that came. And other things just kind of pivoted and moved away into the space, and I left corporate America. Now I'm doing the things that I love," said Brooks.
Brooks didn't let the pandemic stop her dream, either.
It led to her starting Jazz under the Starz. Back then, the event happened in her parking lot. It's an event that continues, and so does Jazz after Dark.
"So we have Jazz after Dark every first Saturday of the month, usually and that we bring in an individual artist and it is more of a reservation-only intimate kind of vibe that we do. You have to reserve for that in advance, and we tap it out to about 32 people, and that's it. We'll be bringing individual artists whether it's a sax, a violin, or something doing jazz, sometimes it's a little music singing going on, and sometimes I sing but not all the time," explained Brooks. "And it just brings in a collective of people that want to have somewhere to go here in New Tampa."
The shop also supports local artists. What you see on the walls is rotated out.
"You can feel that comfortable and create what you want to create whether it's a meeting, whether you're just having a cup of coffee or some tea and also just chill is one of those great places," said Brooks.
If you go, try the whipped coffee and the beast chicken salad, it's only served a few times a month, so make sure you monitor herFacebook page.
