James Frank, who owns the new Coffee Latitudes Café on County Line Rd., west of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. (in the same plaza as Five Guys and LA Fitness) with his wife Olga (right), is what I call both a perfectionist and a true “artiste.”
James, who is from Croton-on-Hudson in the northern part of Westchester County, NY, decided at a young age that he wasn’t going to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a plumber. He was in a culinary program in high school and, after about a year in a technical school, found a vacated restaurant location in his hometown and, at age 19, he opened The Malt Shop.
“That was in the 1980s,” James says, “but do you know what was popular in the ‘80s? The ‘50s! So, of course, we had a black-and-white checkered floor, a counter with all the stools, a jukebox in the back…so it was very malt shop-ish.”
By 1990, James sold that restaurant and had an opportunity to sell coffee in Manhattan, which he did for about two years.
“I realized, with my entrepreneurial spirit, ‘Hey, I can do this on my own,” and, for many years, he supplied coffee for the corporate offices of Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, Perry Ellis and CNN. “When September 11 happened, I wanted to sell my business and by November of that year, I sold that business and went on my first sabbatical. By June of 2002, I relocated to Florida.”
From 2002-15, his new coffee supply business sold to the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Bucs, Morgan & Morgan and many more. “If your large office had a coffee machine, there was a good chance it was one of mine,” James says. “I had divisions in Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota and Ocala, but a Japanese company that wanted to break into the Florida market bought that business, so I was on sabbatical again. I traveled to Germany, Paris, Switzerland and finally said, I’m not yet 50, I can’t just do nothing. I have to find something else.”
So, he opened his first Florida café — Café Liberty Bistro — on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. at Van Dyke Rd. “It was definitely a ‘foodie’ kind of place,” James says, “a place where you’d go to get a short rib grilled cheese (left) or waffles loaded with pork belly, sage or chicken…huge waffles.”
Olga, who is from “Da Bronx” (but you’d never know it from her non-NY, Latina accent) also worked with him in the coffee business in Manhattan and moved to Florida with him to work at his coffee business here, By 2020, when James sold the Dale Mabry café just before Covid, he and Olga decided to open a new café in Spring Hill they called Café Connections.
“The guy who sold me the café in Spring Hill was impressed by my Dale Mabry store, so he opened a similar café there and ironically, he sought me out and sold it to me,” James says. “We moved to Spring Hill because the café was there.”
But, the other guy who had bought his Dale Mabry café ended up closing it about a year-and-a-half later and said to James, “If you want it back, take it. We’re moving back to India.” Instead of buying it or reopening it, the main thing James wanted from that store was its 5-kilo coffee roasting machine.
But, when Covid happened, instead of keeping the Spring Hill café open, James and Olga sold it and began roasting coffee at home.
“At that time, Olga, who is legally blind, became a cancer survivor,” James says, “so even though we were considered to be an ‘essential business,’ we decided to go ahead and close. It was a blessing in disguise for us, because the coffee business started to take off.”
At that time, the “coffee business” was primarily online and appearances at the Market Elaine at The Grove and the Fresh Market at the Shops at Wiregrass, which ended up leading to a Coffee Latitudes kiosk at the mall. After almost four years in business there, they sold the kiosk (which is now closed) a few months ago to focus their energies on the Coffee Latitudes Café, which has now been open for almost a year.
“We just happened to be visiting this plaza and drove by the place,” Olga says, “and saw that The Juice Factory (the previous tenant) had closed. When we first asked about it, the guy told us that he already had a Letter of Intent to take it over, but ended up calling us back a couple of months later. The first time James saw the brick walls inside, he said, ‘I want to open a café here.’”
So, while the 5-kilo coffee roaster is still in their garage, James bought a 10-kilo roaster to have in the store and has been able to expand his already extensive collection of coffees from every coffee-growing region around the world, from Asia to Africa and from South to Central America.
The Coffee
When he first opened, James told me to always ask “What coffee are you brewing today?,” but now, the day’s brews are posted on a chalkboard sign (below, right photo) on the counter where you order. Another small chalkboard sign tells you the day’s food specials.
I love all of the Latin American coffees — from Bolivia, Honduras, Costa Rica and even Mexico, and I have been somewhat surprised to also enjoy his Sumatran and Indonesian blends.
James says Coffee Latitudes specializes in organic, chemical free, Fair-Trade coffee from small family farmers, including Flhor Zelaya of Honduras (left photo), who has been growing coffee in her native country since she was only five years old. Flhor now supports 200 women to harvest her coffee that is not only organic, but also grown by bio-diversity farming. James is proud to sell his huge variety of beans to his ever-growing roster of appreciative customers.
“And, we roast all of the coffee ourselves in the café for the freshest experience,” James says.
He also says that organic loose teas have been another great addition to the Coffee Latitudes expanding beverage menu.
“We serve it in little pots at the table,” he says. “We also get a little geeky with serving coffee pour-overs and French press coffee at your table.”
James also has told me that I have been storing my coffee all wrong at home. I knew that keeping coffee beans (we grind our own at home) in the refrigerator is a no-no, but I thought keeping it in the freezer was better. Wrong again.
“The best way to keep your coffee fresh is in an air-tight container in a cabinet or pantry,” he says. “That way, it doesn’t pick up any smells from the refrigerator or freezer.”
Olga adds, “Our bags of bulk coffee beans all have a valve on the back to only allow air to go out, not in. Our customers love them!”
And, while Coffee Latitudes does offer lattes, cappuccinos, café mochas, affogato cafés (with Italian gelato and fresh roasted espresso that will have you singing “Amore”) and other hot and iced coffee drinks, don’t expect them to taste like those processed, over-sugared drinks from those “S” or “DD” chains. “Even our regular coffee needs less cream and sweetener than you might be used to at home,” James says.
Other drinks include cold brew, chai, matcha organic green and loose leaf teas (hot or iced), hot chocolate, smoothies, frappes and a variety of “mocktails.”
And Finally…The Food!
James says Coffee Latitudes specializes in “artisanal comfort food for breakfast and lunch.”
For breakfast, he imports croissants from France and “legit” bagels from New York City.
“We bake the croissants and bagels (the latter are ‘par-baked’ in New York and shipped frozen; available in plain, everything, “rainbow” and more) here and offer deluxe egg sandwiches (scrambled, over easy or sunny side up), on your choice of bread (including a ‘New Yorker’ on a Kaiser roll) and choice of meat (bacon or ham). You can even add fresh avocado (like the photo below) or have the bagel toasted with butter or cream cheese. Or, enjoy a fresh Belgian waffle topped with chocolate chips, strawberries or blueberries.”
Coffee Latitudes’ best-selling “Afternoon Bite” is the yummy shredded short rib grilled cheese at the top of the page. We used this photo to emphasize what James calls “the crown” — that crispy cooked cheddar and smoked gouda cheese blend that runs over the bread and makes not only the taste, but also the visuals, unique.
“You ‘taste’ food with your eyes first, then the aroma and then the bite,” he says.
Our other lunch-time favorites include the triple-decker Turkey Club shown above, the Giacomo (Italian for James), a shareable sammi with hot capicola, salami, ham and mortadella with provolone, red onion and Campari tomatoes on Italian bread with Sicilian red pesto. Or, try the Italian-style avocado toast on toasted garlic bread, with avocado, mozzarella, tomato, red onion, a balsamic drizzle and Italian seasoning. There’s also chicken Caesar, tuna, ham or turkey wraps and “You Chef” sandwiches, plus Caesar and other salads.
The restaurant also displays its bagels and croissants, along with a variety of pastries and desserts, some of which are made or baked in-house, in two display cases.
‘Soup For You’ & Giving Back, Too!
With apologies to “Seinfeld,” James does make some of the best fresh soups anywhere. Jannah is pretty much addicted to the creamy tomato bisque, served with shredded cheddar cheese and house-made croutons. I constantly have to call the eatery asking what soups they have and if it’s tomato, I have to buy two of them.
One time, when he didn’t have the tomato, Jannah tried James’ creamy broccoli cheddar soup, so she now has two favorites! He also makes a mean, cinnamon-y carrot soup that’s great on a cold day…like we had most of January.
Coffee Latitudes also raises money for local charities with its own “Rise & Shine” program.
“For example,” Olga says, “for St. Patrick’s Day, customers can make a donation to have their name printed on a gold coin or green shamrock in the café’s front window, with all of the proceeds going to a local charity. If you know of a charity in need, stop in and let us know!”
Coffee Latitudes (6431 E. County Line Rd. in New Tampa) is open every day for breakfast, lunch & early dinner, as follows: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; 8 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information about Coffee Latitudes (including a great coupon special), see the ad below Or, call (813) 575-8000 or visit CoffeeLatitudes.com. And please, tell James and Olga that I sent you!
