Northwest Hillsborough has its first community coffee awards. CitrusParkCarrollwood Weekly took nominations from May until midnight on September 29, which was National Coffee Day, and published the winners on October 8. Six days before the results came out, Buddy Brew Coffee opened a café inside the Sprouts at 15110 N. Dale Mabry Hwy.
The shops neighbors voted for are places you drive to on purpose: Citrus Park, Gunn Highway, Carrollwood Village. The newest specialty coffee on North Dale Mabry, and the farthest north of the shops below, sits beside the produce aisle. So for anyone heading out from Avila, getting a good cup this fall comes down to which drive you're already making.
The winners neighbors picked, and where they are
The newsletter says every winner was "chosen by our community," and the quotes on its results page come from readers' nomination forms. You can read the full write-ups in the 2026 Daybreak Mug Awards results.
| Award | Shop | Address | What voters singled out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Choice, Overall Favorite | Citrus Park Cafe | 7512 Ehrlich Rd. | Peet's coffee, a Cuban sandwich, the Cafe Havana |
| Best Hidden Gem | The Bean Bar Co. | 11406 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Unit 109 | Espresso |
| Best Atmosphere | Perfect Press Coffee Co. | 4526 W. Village Dr. | The Horchata Latte and a boutique-style room |
| Best Specialty Drink and Best Place to Work Remotely | Eclipse Cafe | 6118 Gunn Hwy | A creative specialty menu and room to work all day |
Citrus Park Cafe won the most votes. The newsletter calls it a mom-and-pop spot just off the Upper Tampa Bay Trail. Its Cafe Havana is espresso with sweetened condensed milk and steamed milk, finished with cinnamon. One voter's nomination, published in CitrusParkCarrollwood Weekly, summed it up: "It's like Cheers with coffee." Plan around the calendar before you go. The newsletter's September issue noted the café is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Eclipse Cafe on Gunn Highway won two awards. According to Eclipse's own history, two cousins took over the established café on January 25, 2025, and built a menu around functional mushroom coffee and matcha. The newsletter's results page credits the second award to remote workers who "happily set up shop all day," and its write-up invites readers to "sit by the moon."
All four winners are destination shops. Each is worth the trip, and each one is a trip you plan.
Reading North Dale Mabry by its address numbers
North Dale Mabry addresses go up as you head north, so the numbers give you a rough sense of where each shop sits along the corridor.
- Foxtail Coffee, 10907 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. A Florida-grown company that started in Winter Park. Its location page lists daily hours of 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., a full espresso bar, cold brew, and a Kelly's Homemade Ice Cream counter in the same space.
- The Bean Bar Co., 11406 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Unit 109. The Best Hidden Gem winner. The company also runs a second shop at 17018 Palm Pointe Dr. in Tampa Palms. Its Carrollwood page lists weekday hours of 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekend hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Buddy Brew inside Sprouts, 15110 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. Open since October 2. Buddy Brew lists it as open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Until October, the specialty coffee closest to the northern end of this list was in the 11000 block. The Sprouts café moves that marker into the 15000 block.
The Bean Bar's voters went for espresso. In one reader's nomination, published in CitrusParkCarrollwood Weekly, Tal from Carrollwood called it "one of the best espressos I've had in the States," good enough to buy in two-pound bags for home. The newsletter also says "some exciting changes" are coming at The Bean Bar and points readers to the shop's Instagram and Facebook for updates.
A Tampa roaster on the grocery run
Buddy Brew isn't a newcomer to Tampa. Dave and Susan Ward co-founded it and opened the flagship café and roastery on West Kennedy Boulevard in 2010, according to Buddy Brew. The roastery is still at 2020 W. Kennedy Blvd.
The Carrollwood café came out of a partnership Sprouts announced in June 2026 to open ten Buddy Brew cafés inside Sprouts stores across Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida. The Business Wire announcement describes the menu as handcrafted espresso drinks, cold brew, specialty beverages, and breakfast items, along with limited-edition selections sold only at the Sprouts cafés. Carrollwood followed the Westchase café.
This is the change that matters most for Avila. A coffee made by a roaster with a sixteen-year Tampa track record now fits into a Saturday grocery stop. You no longer need a separate drive west or south for it.
The other roaster in the north
Elevation Coffee Roasters, at 4952 Northdale Blvd #101, roasts its beans in-house and makes its food from scratch. It appeared on the newsletter's National Coffee Day list in late September. When it opened, the Tampa Bay Times reported in 2019 that the shop grew out of garage roasting by Jonathan Mitchell and his brother, and that owners Jonathan and Michelle Mitchell planned to roast on-site with beans from Peru and Colombia.
That makes two roasters in the northern part of the area. Elevation is the one you visit as a café. Buddy Brew is the one you pick up with groceries. Neither one placed in this year's awards, and the newsletter has already said it will run the contest again next year.
A fall coffee loop, in order of commitment
- The grocery stop. Buddy Brew at Sprouts, 15110 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. Ask about the Sprouts-only limited editions.
- The espresso detour. The Bean Bar Co., 11406 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. Its Tampa Palms shop on Palm Pointe Drive also works if you're heading east.
- The late cup. Foxtail Coffee, 10907 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, open until 8 p.m. with ice cream on the other side of the counter.
- The weekend sit-down. Perfect Press Coffee Co., 4526 W. Village Dr. Perfect Press lists Tuesday through Friday hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., weekend hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Mondays. A June 2025 profile on That's So Tampa mentioned a Pistachio Praline Latte alongside the Horchata.
- The workday. Eclipse Cafe, 6118 Gunn Hwy, this year's pick for remote work.
- The pilgrimage. Citrus Park Cafe, 7512 Ehrlich Rd., the overall favorite. Go Wednesday through Sunday.
If you'd rather have trivia and movie nights with your cortadito, Fin & Bean Cafe at 3804 W. Linebaugh Ave. is locally owned, serves Cuban coffee, stays open late, and keeps an aquarium in the room. Hours change from season to season, so check each shop's own page before you head out.
When you're ready to talk about what your own home could become, Jose Cardenas is glad to sketch it out over a cup from any shop on this list. Let's Artfully Market Your Home.
