Second Sips debuts on Longboat Key

A new coffee shop with a familiar name is now open for business on Longboat Key.

Sips, a Whitney Plaza-based coffee shop popular on the north end of the Key, has expanded into a second space at 3172 Gulf of Mexico Drive. The opening is highly anticipated among coffee lovers on the Key and couldn’t come sooner for the owners.

“You know how it goes in construction. There are always unforeseeables. We ran into a lot of those in the last couple months. We’re definitely excited that we’re finally open,” Sips Co-owner Chris Carter said. “Our goal was to get open kind of at the beginning of the season. Now we’re in the back end of the season. So I’m glad we made it with a little bit of time because season kind of goes until April. Knowing how the island operates, you’ve got to make the most of the season.”

Support from the community has been great so far, though, and foot traffic is typically consistent enough to carry the business through the sleepy summer months.

“We stay busy throughout the slow season. I think people are vacationing here and visiting here for months even through the summer. So I think we don’t see a lull like maybe some of the other businesses,” Carter said. “I think part of it is coffee is just a hot commodity.”

That hot commodity has become a hit on the north end, with Sips becoming a popular “third place” for Longboaters stopping in for a cup of joe and a chat with their neighbors.

“I think part of it is just the community up here on the north end. I think they come in to see Justina and I and the family, and Emily and Mike (Condensa) who run the Pilates next door. A lot of business comes from them,” Carter said. “A lot of it is just the connections we made. People come to support us because they appreciate what we do. We have a lot of return customers. That helps our business as well.”

Now, with a more central location, Sips is closer for some of those return customers, and business has been good even without a formal announcement.

“It’s a soft opening. We haven’t actually made any official announcement that we’re open,” Carter said. “It’s been word of mouth and people passing by, and it’s been going well. We’re staying really busy.”

With 859 square feet of space, the second Sips is cozier than the original location. Just one table is available inside, with most space taken up by the kitchen and the espresso bar. Another difference between the two Sips is a tweaked menu that includes a build-your-own breakfast sandwich option.

Also on the menu are acai bowls, baked goods, smoothies and juices. And, of course, lattes. 

“We definitely will add some specialty lattes down there that we will rotate through the season,” Carter said. “Down at the second store we will probably rotate flavors a bit more. Next month going into spring we were thinking of doing a strawberry matcha with cold foam. We’ll try to make the coffee experience a little different.”

Carter said Sips has been adding staff since he signed the lease for the second location late last year.

“We knew that we would need to get some staff on board and trained up. We thought we’d be able to open sooner, so we tried to expedite the process,” Carter said. “I think the biggest hurdle is trying to staff both locations.”

The goal is to increase staff to about 12 or 13 people.