Homecoming

This post is something I’ve been thinking about writing for awhile now, and a cool Friday morning seems like the perfect time to do it. For those of you who have not heard the news, Argonaut had an incredible opportunity come our way to acquire Redeye Coffee. We’ve been the proud new owners of both their Midtown and Capital Circle locations since July 1st. This is an especially exciting acquisition because Redeye is actually where I started as a barista, and learned how to run a coffee shop when I managed the Midtown location for a couple of years. It’s also the place that taught me the power a coffee shop has to strengthen a community, and many of the relationships I made while working at Redeye have stayed with me to this day.

This exciting announcement coincided with a sadder one: making the decision to close our TOC location. It was not made lightly, but once the Redeye acquisition went from dream to reality, it became clear that we were not equipped to handle everything that meant without downsizing the current Argo operations. Our time at TOC was instrumental to us getting to where we are now, and we will be forever grateful for the opportunity they gave us 6 years ago when I was just a former coffee shop manager with a dream and a poorly written business plan. 6 years later, we are now almost 4 months into the post-acquisition era, and I have to say that we are pretty happy with how things are going.

Since acquiring Redeye, we have been working on several changes at both shops as we take the best each had to offer and combine it to create something even better. The changes have been a lot more noticeable at Redeye, as we have now:

• Switched to making even more of our syrups in-house

• Changed the food menu to mostly match Argo’s to provide a faster experience for our customers

• Made some in-store design changes to the furniture and layout of the shops to provide more seating and easier access to our merchandise and bagged coffee / tea

• As well as several less exciting behind-the-scenes changes that have worked to improve our systems and processes of how we run the shops

Argonaut’s Cascades location has also had some big changes since the acquisition, but not ones you might notice as easily:

• We’ve now fully switched to using our in-house roasted espresso and coffee for all of our drinks

• Changed up the way we make iced drinks slightly to make it a more pleasant drinking experience for our customers

• Had an awesome mural painted in our breezeway

We still have so many fun changes planned over the next year, and I hope that you are as excited as I am to see them come to fruition. The support from our community is everything to us, and without you none of this would be possible. This may be a full-circle moment for me as an individual, but my hope is Argonaut and Redeye will use that circle as a launching pad into a brighter and even better future.

Cascades Renovations

Hey everyone! We wanted to update you on some exciting happenings at our Cascades location; our long-awaited renovations will finally begin in earnest on Monday, 11/18. These have been in the works for over a year, and we want to take a moment to thank the great folks at the CRA for helping us navigate this whole process, as well as our contractors at OliverSperry and architects at BFBSA. Argonaut could not have done this without y’all.

The plan is for the inside of our shop to be closed to the public through Friday, and if all goes smoothly we will reopen for full operations on Saturday, 11/23. As with any construction process, there is always the chance for delays or complications but we will update you on our instagram if anything comes up.

Do not worry, though, as we will still be open for business at our Cascades location during these renovations, albeit in a limited capacity. We will be going back to our roots a bit and setting up a kiosk inside the breezeway on our patio. The menu will be a little more limited as well due to logistical constraints, but you can still expect to have your favorite coffee, specialty drinks, beer, wine, and most of our food offerings all week long.

Our hours will also be limited too, with the “kiosk” planning to be open from 7-3pm M-Fr. We will try to have some extra seating and space available for those that still wish to hang out with us on the patio during the week. Then Saturday will see a return to normal hours unless we state otherwise (again, keep an eye on our instagram for updates throughout the week!)

This will be Phase 1 of our renovations, but fortunately should be the only time we have to have limited hours or close the inside of the store. Phase 2 will come most likely in December when we install our new awning to the front of the store and make some more upgrades to the patio space. The hope is by the end of this year our shop will finally have everything that we have wanted to have to provide Tallahassee with the best coffee experience in town!

To recap:

• Renovations 11/18 - 11/22

• Inside of Cascades closed to public during this time

• Cascades “kiosk” open 11/18-11/22 from 7-3pm

• Limited food and drink menu

• Cascades reopens for normal operations Saturday, 11/23

Thank you for your patience with this, and we’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. We promise it will be worth it!

The times they are a-changin'

Hey everyone, and welcome back to the 2nd edition of Argothoughts! We wanted to update you on a few big changes coming to Argonaut, and let you know about a few other exciting pieces of news coming soon.

Our Cascades Park location will be launching phase 2 of our soft opening, and with that comes a couple big changes for the shop. First, we will finally be unveiling our long-awaited beer and wine menu and slowly adding our full alcohol service to the store! Second, we will be extending our hours to close at 7pm M-Sa, with our Sunday hours remaining the same and closing at 6pm. Phase 2 of our soft open will coincide with Halloween, and we will have some fun events planned that evening including a costume contest for pets, kids, and adults!

The other exciting news for Cascades is that we are ready to announce our official grand opening date as well: Friday, November 17th! We will be making some other big announcements about our grand opening as we get closer to the 17th, so keep an eye out on our social media or website for when those details come out!

Our other time-related update is a little less fun, but one that we think is necessary for the good of the shops. Goodwood will officially be closing on Mondays, starting tomorrow, the 30th. We have found ourselves a bit overwhelmed with all the increased baking operations that we now have to handle in addition to our regular day-to-day work, and we decided that it was in everyone’s best interest if we closed Goodwood on Mondays to give us one day a week to focus just on wholesale and baking logistics.

We’ll miss you guys on Mondays, but as always you can still drop by our TOC location or Cascades. The times may have a-changed, but we will remain the A-rgonauts you know and love.

Until next time!

Argonaut Coffee 2.0 - Launching in 3...2...1...

Hey everyone, and welcome to Argothoughts! The only place to get exclusive news and updates on the latest goings on about your favorite Tallahassee coffee shop.

First update - we have a newly revamped website. And most of it is functional! Our catering menu will be updated soon, our Events page will eventually have events, and our Artisans online shop will be the last and final big feature added to the rest of the site.

Second update - our new location at Goodwood is fully operational! Our internet is fast, the seating is plentiful, and the breakfast, lunch, and baked goods are delicious. What more could you ask for?

Third update - the big one. You know what we’re talking about. Cascades. Soft opening. The only way we wouldn’t be able to give you a specific date is if a hurricane was coming to Tallah—as fate would have it, it unfortunately looks like the date will have to wait until after Idalia makes its way through the panhandle.

We hope everyone stays safe, and our Goodwood and TOC locations will be closed tomorrow, 8/30, while we hunker down. Regular hours to come on 8/31 if we are fortunate enough to avoid Idalia’s ire.