Tampa Bay Gets Roasted

Tampa Bay got to see what all this Elite stuff is really about at the first-ever Elite Event at Felicitous Coffee House! Yelp Gets Roasted was a smashing success, despite the fickle Florida weather Gods deciding to rain on our inaugural parade. Rani and all the staff at Felicitous, a shabby-chic icon that just moved to their new bungalow location in the middle of the University district, have provided a home for local artists as well as the cofferati of Tampa for almost two years. So we decided to throw them a housewarming party… Yelp style of course!

Nothing goes better with great coffee than a delicious cupcake, so the ladies of Delectable Dozen made sure we had all the sweet treats we could eat. Elizabeth D. delighted in the sugar snacks, stating "the cupcakes were generously passed around with mouthwatering descriptions of each. My favorites were the banana cream and Madagascar." For those people that needed something with a little more substance, Angela from Meals N' Heels gave us something to settle all that caffeine. Jim B boasted of the bite-sized portions "Meals n Heels' snacky things were top notch – esp the tuna tartare, and the owner is a doll."

In addition to the delish coffee drinks from Felicitous, we also had our friends at FUZE drop off a few bottles to keep the hydration going, as most of the coffee going over the counter was blended with cordials that might make not make the rain, rain go away… but it sure helps makes the drops more fun to watch.

You can't have a coffee-house collaboration without some tunes, so we got four of the Bay Area's best local acts get together and play some great music to keep the party hoppin. Acoustic versions of everything from Bob Dylan to T-Pain filled the air… but this version of "Buy U A Drank" meant an iced cappuccino, of course.

Newbie Acelyn B put a wrap on the evening nicely, stating "even though we got rained in, I think it helped us all mingle and made the event that much more fun. I definitely love the vibe of Felicitous and will be back with friends to get another Banana Dream!" And for everyone that was lucky enough to attend, you can chat about all the fun here on Talk, or write your own review on the event page.

Props to our photog Patrick Burley for the super shots.

We'll do this again as soon as the caffeine buzz begins to come down. How's October sound??

Collin S.

Tampa Bay Community Manager