AUBURNDALE, Fla. — Auburndale has a small-town feel, with an up-and-coming downtown.
Multiple businesses have recently opened in the area.
Like Haven Coffee Roasters.
“These little, small towns have a really great wealth of culture and history,” said Lynsey Lane, owner of Haven Coffee Roasters.
Lynsey and her husband, Jonathan Lane, opened up the hub for Haven Coffee Roasters in the middle of downtown Auburndale.
“We want to be a haven for coffee lovers, for pastry lovers, for people who just need a nice place to work. A big part of what we do is educate people on what good coffee is,” said Jonathan Lane, owner of Haven Coffee Roasters.
This is now the second location for the award-winning coffee shop. The first one is in Winter Haven, but this spot in Auburndale is now their flagship— handling their main operations, including an in-house bakery and roastery.
“It’s been a really big growing experience for us,” said Lynsey.
They specifically picked downtown Auburndale to do it.
“We saw growth, we saw desire, we saw a beautiful area, a park out front. So it was a lot of factors,” said Jonathan.
Just around the corner sits Baxter’s Quality Meats.
“We’re a high-end meat business… We started this thing with a pickup truck and a fishing cooler,” said Troy Baxter, owner of Baxter’s Quality Meats.
That was years ago. Now he has his own storefront in the heart of downtown Auburndale, which just opened last month.
“I feel like people want to know where their meat comes from and know the person that gives it to them… It’s a fun thing to be part of the community,” said Baxter.
It’s a community that he believes is a very special one.
“A lot of people have been here a long time, know each other. Everybody in this area is super supportive,” said Baxter.
That support starts from the top. The city told Tampa Bay 28 that they’ve been working hard to breathe new life into downtown, as the population growth soars.
“The growth that we’re seeing in the entire City of Auburndale has really helped downtown start to develop and really blossom,” said Amy Palmer, Assistant City Manager.
If you’ve never been to Auburndale, you may want to plan a trip soon.
“For those who have never been to Auburndale... we’re halfway between Tampa and Orlando and… we bring that small-town atmosphere,” said Palmer.
“We love small towns,” said Lynsey.
The growth in Auburndale is expected to continue.
“Our population is now over 20,000, and you know just the amount of new residents that are coming in is just, it’s incredible to see... I think it helps with economic development and the overall growth of the city,” said Palmer.
Share Your Story with Larissa
Larissa Scott stays on top of everything related to education and public health for Tampa Bay 28. If you have a story you want to share, send Larissa a message below.
.
Homeowner loses decade-long legal battle against St. Pete over unrecorded water pipelines
An Odessa man lost his legal battle against the city of St. Petersburg today after a jury ruled that two massive water mains buried under his property can remain.
