The Subculture community is like no other
The Subculture Group is not just a bunch of hip locations for craft coffee drinks, beer and wine or light breakfast and lunch fare in funky digs. It is about different businesses coming together, working as a community.
Locals Rodney Mayo and Sean Scott opened Subculture Coffee on March 3, 2014. They believed in fostering a community of diversity and expression to bring soul to the city of West Palm Beach, Fla.
Sean Scott, coffee roaster and co-founder of Subculture Coffee, wanted to create a place where a conglomeration of people could come together under one roof from the West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Miami and Jupiter areas.
“Going back some years, there has been a big void in the area of coffee, and I think nothing else creates such a diverse space for people, whether it'd be young, old, wealthy, or poor, everyone comes into a coffee shop every day,”Scott said. “It is one of the few places that is like that.”
Austin Wilson, a West Palm Beach local, believes Subculture Coffee is a great place to come and meet new people.
“I have been going to Subculture for almost two years now and I have met great people, had great conversations [with people] and have had a few good dates,” Wilson said. “But most of all, the greatest accommodation that Subculture offers is the atmosphere.”
The Subculture group is not only dedicated to their everyday coffee drinkers and brunch snackers, but to their dedicated employees as well.
Kerri Powers, the general manager of Kapow! Noodle Bar, is committed to making Kapow!’s signature dishes impeccable.
Not only is Powers committed to Kapow!, but also to West Palm Beach and her Subculture community.
“The Subculture Group supports each other and lifts each other up as far as doing business,” Powers said. “It is really intriguing how all the different concepts come together under one roof.”
Even though Powers has only been working with Kapow! and the Subculture Group for about 90 days, she understands the sense of community all the establishments have with each other and their patrons.
There are seven, soon to be eight different doors on Clematis Street that make it easier for The Group to work together on a project or simply borrow a salt shaker. These places include: Kapow!, Hullabaloo, Subculture Coffee, Respectables, Lost Weekend, Voltaire, Camelot and soon-to-be Sassafras.
“Everybody patronizes everybody’s respected establishments and we even borrow things from each other if we need to, and there really is that sense of community between all the different restaurants,” Powers said.
From Breast Cancer Awareness fundraisers, to Moon Fest, to Jeffro's Heroes and donating end of the night meals to people in need, giving back is what the Subculture community stands for.
“As far as coming together, we sometimes do the same fundraiser but spread out between the different restaurants,” Powers said. “So we are constantly filtering and funneling money to the people that need it in the surrounding areas.”
Next door to the Noodle Bar is Hullabaloo, a European-style restaurant and according to Subculture, the bar is considered the hang out for many locals.
Whether you are sitting at the bar sipping a craft beer while your fire-grilled pizza is prepared, or having meaningful conversations with local citizens, where you are bound to share some experiences with others while drinking or working at the bar where everybody knows your name.
Fritz Cassel, the executive chef at Hullabaloo, mentions that part of his focus is on the downtown area.
“The 500 block is kind of ours, it is definitely the Subculture block,” Cassel said. “ We have so many locations so we try to build that since of community here.”
Not only do the employees from the different groups help each other, but they come together as one group, no matter what different beliefs they have. That diversity is exactly what Subculture tries to bring to West Palm Beach.
“No matter what I do or why I am at Subculture, I feel like I belong. People come with all beliefs and ideals and they come together in one spot,” Wilson said. “That is what Subculture is, to be who they want to be and also get a good cup of coffee.”
The Subculture Group’s story is based on care. It is about simply taking a moment to relax by grabbing a few friends and bonding over a meal or a cup of coffee.