This Florida building opened in 1912. A cake and coffee shop just moved in
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- 1912 Palmetto bank building converted into Eleanor’s Coffee & Cakes by owner.
- Scarberry pairs in-house pastry production with Banyan Coffee roast for menu.
- Community demand exhausted opening stock; shop limits items and offers room reservations.
In 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg on its fateful voyage, and the State Bank in Florida was chartered. It also happens to be Ella Scarberry’s favorite year.
So when the space that previously held the bank became available to lease, Scarberry snagged it to open Eleanor’s Coffee & Cakes. The new shop is along Palmetto’s historic river district on the Gulf Coast of Florida, between St. Petersburg and Bradenton.
“We’re really into the old aesthetic and old architecture,” Scarberry said.
The community’s response was strong when the shop opened in early October.
“We ran out of cups instantly,” she said. “On our first weekend, we ran out of all of our cups and had to do an emergency order.”
Eleanor’s teamed with nearby Banyan Coffee Co. to roast their coffee beans. The pastries, cakes and cookies are made in-house. Scarberry, who went to pastry school, dabbled with baking at home before setting out for a storefront.
New coffee shop opens in Palmetto
Customer favorites include the brown butter chocolate chip cookie and cinnamon roll.
“We can’t make them fast enough,” Scarberry said.
Eleanor’s makes a variety of cakes, such as the traditional white on white wedding cake, chocolate cake, espresso cake and rotating flavors.
“We do it by the slice or by the whole cake,” Scarberry said.
Most dessert menu items cost between $4 to $8, while the drink menu — featuring coffees, iced drinks, teas and refreshers — runs between $3 to $7.
Eleanor’s offers food and drinks
The shop also has a breakfast and lunch menu with quiche, breads, salads and sandwiches.
“Every recipe is a 24- to 72-hour process,” Scarberry said of the baked goods. “So once it [sells] out, it’s out.”
Scarberry co-owns the shop with her parents, Dan and Ann. But she’s the driving force.
“She’s [the] vision, she’s the work,” Dan said. “She showed me some pictures and I built some stuff.”
There are church pews, which they got from an old church in Tampa, for some booth seating, and tables that Scarberry’s grandfather helped craft.
“He’s an amazing carpenter,” she said.
There’s a quiet room near the front of the shop that customers can reserve for group or individual meetings.
“If you want to reserve it, it’s $50 an hour,” Scarberry said. “And we close the doors, clean it all good for you, bring in extra chairs if you need it, and that’s your space to hang out.”
She added: “We want to be that little corner shop that you can go to.”
The 22-year-old Scarberry said the shop is named after the nickname her friends gave her.
“I am like an old lady at heart, I guess,” Scarberry said.
Part of that is her love of history, and, in particular, the year 1912 — the same year the building that houses Eleanor’s Coffee and Cakes opened in downtown Palmetto.
“1912 was such a wild year, because ... you saw so much,” Scarberry said. “You start with the Titanic. And you see World War I ... you make it in the Roaring 20s. … People [born] in 1912 got to see a lot of change.”
The shop is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, visit www.EleanorsCoffeeAndCakes.com.
