Felicitous, a small coffee shop business with two locations near the University of South Florida, survived the toughest months of the COVID-19 pandemic —and Paul Venghaus, one of the owners, never doubted it.
“It’s my wife and I,” he said. “We are the baristas. We are the bakers. We are the ones that are in it running the shop. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do to continue to make this work, because it’s our dream.”
Venghaus met his wife, Corrinne Liou, while working at the University of Tampa, where he still works full-time as assistant director of graduate international admissions. Venghaus was a Starbucks barista for most of his time as an undergraduate at the University of South Florida. During this time, he envisioned his own coffee shop as a place with a “third-place environment.”
“So, you’ve got: home, work and you’ve got this third-place environment,” he said.
Vengaus and Liou created Felicitous’ environment with a focus on artists. They are constantly showcasing art on their walls and bringing in musicians.
The pandemic, however, forced them to temporarily set aside this in-shop experience. They completely shut down their store on 42nd Street for two months, but because they built their website for online ordering as soon as the pandemic hit, they were still able to operate out of the 51st Street shop.
“We did some pivoting,” he said. “That helped tremendously, because that was basically 80% of our orders throughout those months.”
Venghaus got on his little orange scooter and delivered coffee himself. He did not enjoy it, not only because of the dangers of traffic, but also because of the different types of costumers he dealt with. People who were not Felicitous regulars, but who started ordering for the convenience of delivery, were more inclined to complain and did not have that human connection.
“The whole time I was just constantly encouraging myself and reminding myself that it was temporary,” he said. “That this wasn’t going to be ‘the new normal’.”
Besides online ordering, they offered free delivery in a 10-mile radius for a couple weeks. Michala Jackson, a third-year USF student majoring in integrated public relations and advertising, said this is something that “really amped up their game.”
Jackson has been a customer for two years and said she enjoys the shop’s work environment, particularly curated for the college student demographic. She has been slowly transitioning back to the tables inside.
“They really put so much effort into it. I mean, I love Starbucks and Dunkin but they’re thriving regardless,” she said. “With a local business, they really create an atmosphere that other places can’t.”
Students feel that Felicitous is a place where they can get work done.
“I feel like I am my most productive self when I’m there,” said Grace Boehlke, another third-year USF student. Just like Jackson, Boehlke discovered the place through friends and has been a regular since her first semester in college. Both students stayed in Tampa when the pandemic hit and consistently ordered throughout the summer.
According to Venghaus, Felicitous even received unprompted donations from customers who were concerned about them making it through the shutdown months. The support of the community and the loyalty of the student base are what has allowed them to be in the position they are in, he said.
“I know a lot of people who when they first move away from home and come here to college, Felicitous becomes sort of a safe place for them,” Boehlke said.
