PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — What started as a search for a great cup of coffee has grown into a community cornerstone that's donated nearly $20,000 to local charities and created a launching pad for aspiring food entrepreneurs.
Oceana Coffee's new Lake Park headquarters, housed in an ocean-blue building that took five years to complete, represents a dramatic expansion from the company's humble beginnings roasting small batches in 2009.
"We started roasting for ourselves just out of sheer desperation for a great cup of coffee," Oceana Coffee Co-owner Amy Angelo said. "My husband's Australian, and we had just moved back here. I grew up here. There was really no coffee like what we were used to, so it really started as a selfish hobby, just in the garage, quarter cup at a time."
Now, the Lake Park facility houses a roastery with a capacity of one million pounds of coffee annually, featuring an Italian roasting machine (dressed in ocean blue). The operation has grown from that garage startup to three locations, with a fourth opening soon at the new Allen B. Miller Hospital.
But the real transformation is in the facility's mission to support other local businesses. The building houses three distinct operations designed to help small businesses scale: The roastery itself, Florida Canning, which helps beverage startups get their products to market and Culinary Studio, a 24/7 commercial kitchen with private studios and shared hourly spaces.
"We saw a need, and yeah, we might have gone a little overboard," Angelo joked.
The Culinary Studio has become exactly what food entrepreneurs like Frank Verner needed. Known as "Frank the Cheese Guy," Verner has known Angelo for nearly 30 years and operates his specialty cheese business from the facility.
"It is like a home away from home," Verner said. "In the industry, there aren't a lot of us that spend a lot of time at home, and if we have significant others, they're usually out on the road with us as well."
Verner prepares for the Green Market and creates custom charcuterie boards for events, while appreciating new touches in the building and the collaborative atmosphere.
"One chef was just asking me for an item that I may or may not have had, and so it's that kind of thing—people help each other here," Verner explained. "It's a very community-based building. People don't really understand unless they're in it, but it's a hard business to be in. So, serving people is what we do, and so to do that well, you have to have comfort."
The facility has become a destination for culinary events. The annual Culinary Clash competition features four rounds of local chefs competing, with tastings open to the public. Last year's winner, Chef Michael Andrzejewski, discovered the facility through networking after moving from Buffalo to Florida.
"The facilities here are incredible—everything we need, from small kitchen areas to the wholde big line setting, we can really do a lot" Andrzejewski said. "I really enjoy it. Met a lot of great people, really became part of the West Palm Beach community."
The space also offers ongoing programming, including weekly cooking classes and monthly ServSafe certification courses. Event spaces host everything from Verner's charcuterie and wine tastings to formal dinners.
The facility is projected to help create and scale around 120 different companies, bringing at least 500 jobs to Lake Park.
Beyond supporting food entrepreneurs, Oceana has found another way to strengthen community connections through its Cup of Kindness program, launched in 2018.
The program operates through a voting system at each coffee location. Customers can read about featured local charities and vote for their favorite by dropping a coffee bean into designated jars. This quarter's organizations include the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, the African Orphan Educational Foundation and Vita Nova.
The charity with the most votes each quarter wins $500, and Oceana creates special coffee bags with $5 from each online sale going to featured organizations.
"We see so many great local nonprofits, and they are always looking for resources, but not just resources—exposure into the community," Angelo explained. "All these great charities have a great cause, and they're helping local people, and a lot of us don't know that it's going on."
Since 2018, the program has donated close to $20,000 to local charities.
"It really just shows you how much great good is going on here," Angelo said. "People are really driven to help their community, which is awesome."
Local nonprofits can apply for the Cup of Kindness program at oceanacoffee.com.
