By Maria Scudella-Beltran | content@livinginoaklandpark.com

Calusa Coffee Roasters is located at 161 East Commercial Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334. They opened in 2013 as the first coffee roaster in Oakland Park and have been serving caffeinated treats one cup at time.

Calusa’s owners are Luis Arteaga, a six year Marine Corps veteran and Maria Jurado. They chose the name Calusa because of the Calusa people, a Native American people of Florida. Besides the unique name, Calusa’s approach to sourcing and serving coffee is different from other coffee shops, making the Calusa coffee experience a singular one.

Calusa Coffee: What’s Brewing in Oakland Park?

Calusa roasts their own coffee and some of their most popular items include bags of coffee as well as signature drinks and that are espresso-based such as lattes and Cappuccino and most recently there’s been a large demand for Cold Brew Coffee.

Calusa beans are sourced from around the world. Calusa’s owners can accomplish this variety of beans because of the relationships they’ve built: “We have strong relationships with a shortlist of incredible coffee importers that have been in business a long time and that have a long term working relationships with coffee producers. Because of this, we get access to some incredible coffees from around the world, that have their own unique taste profiles,” explains Luis Arteaga.

As many other business owners have previously stated, the City of Oakland Park is very welcoming and accommodating in helping small business owners realize their dreams and the owners of Calusa enjoy doing business in Oakland Park.

Freshness Guaranteed

Calusa does have a special way to guarantee freshness in every cup they serve. “We only grind our coffee just before making and suggest to our clients that buy our bags to do the same. The type of grind we use will depend on the brew method. For example, espresso will use a fine grind, whereas a French Press will use a coarse grind.”

Calusa may be small, but their range is large. Their customers include local residents as well as customers from all over. “It’s always a pleasant surprise to hear how far people have come from to get a bag or a cup of coffee. We have had people travel from as far out as the Middle Keys and as far north as Jupiter and Hobe Sound areas. This is not to mention the clients from around the country who order our bags online or who stop by when they come to Florida on vacation,” says Luis Artega.

Calusa’s Growth

As the first coffee roasters in Oakland Park, Calusa has left an impression on Oakland Park residents and they’re not done! They have future goals and plans for their business. Luis shares some of these goals with us: “In the future, however, we would like to source the coffee ourselves but we are still a growing business and not able to do that quite yet. Our goal is simply to provide great coffee to restaurants, people, and have a place where people can come together”.

So there you have it OP family if you haven’t been to Calusa’s yet, make it a point to go by and try a cup of their freshly brewed coffee. Calusa’s is open Monday thru Friday 8 am -2 pm and Saturday and Sunday 9 am -1 pm.

To learn more about Calusa you can visit them on Instagram @calusacoffee or check out their website http://www.calusacoffeeroasters.com.

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About the Author

Maria Scudella-Beltran was born and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey, right outside of New York City. She moved to South Florida in 2004 and graduated from Florida International University with a bachelors’ degree in Marketing and Communications.

In 2010, she purchased her first home in the North Andrews Gardens area in Oakland Park. After several years of working in the retail industry, Maria took on a part-time internship at a marketing agency and continued her education through Walden University where she earned her Master’s degree in Marketing and Communications.

Currently, she works in Marketing and during her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband and traveling.

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