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New tower will include coffee brewer’s first U.S. storefront

A boutique condominium tower nearing completion in downtown St. Petersburg will soon house an award-winning Panamanian coffee company’s first retail location in the United States.
DDA Development, the firm building The Nolen, recently sold the 23-story tower’s ground-level retail space to Savage Coffees. The Panama-based coffee producer and roastery will occupy 2,091 square feet.
Bowen Arnold, principal at DDA Development, noted the husband-and-wife who founded Savage Coffees have two sons who live in St. Petersburg. The company also operates a roastery in the city.
“They were really kind of focusing on St. Pete for their first retail operation in America,” Arnold told the Catalyst. “I think this is going to be a super high-end coffee place – it’s not going to be Starbucks or something like that.”
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The Nolen, a 23-story boutique condominium tower, will soon open at 126 4th Ave. NE.
Jamison and Leslie Savage founded Savage Coffees in 2016. The company has garnered acclaim for its Geisha line, an exotic variety grown on a Panamanian farm, Finca Deborah.
In May, coffees produced on the farm took first, second and third place at the World Barista Championships, held in Busan, South Korea. Jamison Savage was also the first to implement carbonic maceration in coffee processing.
Carbonic maceration involves sealing coffee cherries in a container pumped with carbon dioxide. The process, which enhances flavor, is akin to winemaking.
“It is with great pleasure that I’m able to announce the first Savage Coffees Café, located in downtown St. Petersburg at The Nolen,” Savage said in a prepared statement. “Sharing our fine coffees with the St. Pete community is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time, and The Nolen is the perfect location.”
The 23-story tower features 31 residences on a half-acre site. Savage called The Nolen one of St. Petersburg’s “most exclusive residential buildings.”
The café will open to the public about a quarter mile west of bustling Beach Drive. Arnold said financial services firms inquired about the building’s limited commercial space, but it only has parking for residents.
He thought an upscale coffee shop could find success due to the neighborhood’s foot traffic. Arnold believes Savage Coffees was the “right fit” for the boutique tower.
Arnold said a backroom lounge area could serve as a wine bar at night. Savage has enlisted a design team and St. Petersburg-based Place Architecture, The Nolen’s architectural firm, to create the café.

DDA Development believes Savage Coffees is an “ideal fit” for The Nolen and the surrounding neighborhood.
Arnold expects the development to welcome residents by the end of February – the recent hurricanes caused construction delays. “Time is money,” he said. “There’s no question this was a pretty tough year.”
Inking the deal with Savage Coffees provided positive news. While Arnold could not discuss the sale price – it was not “millions of dollars” – he said it was also not an “insignificant amount.”
He said Savage Coffees is navigating the city’s permitting process, which could take months due to an influx of storm repair requests. However, he noted Savage Coffees has a “really cool” retrofitted van that could serve drinks onsite before the café officially opens.
“I do think they’re talking about some kind of pop-up concept,” Arnold said. “Just so they can introduce the concept to the neighborhood and St. Pete.”
