- January 16, 2025
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Lakewood Ranch’s newest coffee shop has a name that’s hard not to notice.
Bad Ass Coffee originated in Hawaii in 1989 and longtime friends Danny Slavin, 62, and Michael Miller, 59, have now brought it to southwest Florida.
Though the inclusion of the word ass — named after the donkeys of Kona, Hawaii that carried coffee beans down mountains — Slavin said it initially created a hurdle for real estate developer CASTO to accept the project. The two partners didn’t give up.
“CASTO wasn’t too keen on the idea,” Slavin said on the morning of Tuesday, the store’s official grand opening in Center Point at 6588 University Parkway.
Slavin and Miller show their value by selling coffee at the World Champions Cup in 2023 at The Concession Golf Club.
That led to the PGA asking if the two owners could provide coffee for the LECOM Suncoast Classic Korn Ferry Tour event at Lakewood National, and then the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
“It was fun, and it was a great experience, but that’s how we got our store front,” Slavin said of selling coffee at golf tournaments last summer. “(CASTO’s Brett Hutchens) is a member at The Concession, and he saw us, and he was like, ‘Alright, everyone is asking why Bad Ass Coffee isn’t in our development.’ So he said, ‘Come over, I’ve got two spots. Pick which one you want.’”
Bad Ass Coffee is a nationwide franchise that has stores in 14 states, including eight stores in Florida, but Slavin said that he and Miller want their store to become a community hub more than just a stop-and-go cafe.
The shop is available to be reserved for free — with a phone call ahead of time — for any clubs, meetings or other gatherings on weeknights from 6-8 p.m.
Free delivery and curbside pickup is also available to any businesses.
This community approach to coffee is one that a top competitor, Starbucks, is scaling back.
Starbucks is enacting a policy this month that will require people to purchase an item to stay on property, per an article in the New York Times.
"Opening Bad Ass Coffee in Sarasota is a dream come true for us," Miller said in a press release. "From our convenient location, to the signature coffee ice cubes we use in our products, there’s truly nothing else like Bad Ass Coffee in Lakewood Ranch right now. We're ready to give back to the people who have always supported our family by providing a welcoming space for local groups and offering convenient delivery options to our local businesses. This is our way of saying 'thank you' and strengthening the bonds within our community."
When it comes to the coffee itself, Bad Ass Coffee’s differentiators include its beans harvested from Hawaii and frozen coffee iced cubes so drinks don’t get watered down.
Slavin said his morning routine used to be picking up black coffee from 7-Eleven or Wawa and Miller doesn’t drink coffee, but he didn’t realize what he was missing until he tried Bad Ass Coffee’s beans.
The coffee is already featured at some other establishments, with Owen’s Fish Camp offering an espresso martini and Bar Italia offering a cold brew with their beans, Slavin said.
Slavin said the lattes have been the most popular menu items so far — so much so that he’s run out of coffee ice cubes a couple of times. Breakfast and lunch items include sandwiches and snacks, each priced under $8.
There are plans for at least two more stores in the Sarasota/Bradenton area — timeline and locations to be determined — with the possibility for more if business goes well.
Though Slavin said there have already been some people who have questioned the name of the store, he isn’t worried about that impacting the potential for success and more locations.
“With the name, we’ve had some kick back,” he said. “Marriott told us, ‘Yeah, we can’t do it.’ I said, ‘You know, the word ass is in the Bible 86 times.’ I go, ‘If it’s OK with that book, I’m OK with it here.’ Especially with what’s going on in the world, is it really that big of a deal?”
