A nostalgic coffee shop sits tucked into the Shoppes at Hallam. Its retro vibes and damn good coffee are all the reasons needed to add Pour Bear Coffee to your morning routine. “I’ve just got a love for coffee, so we decided to open this place,” said co-owner Jordan Bjorn. He and partner Rob Winters previously worked together at an engineering firm in Lakeland. The two were often on the road for work together. “We always liked trying different coffee spots,” Bjorn said. The pair loved trying different shops, roasts, and beans.
Coffee runs in the family for Bjorn, who is joined in the business by his brother Jeb Bjorn. Their mother had a coffee shop in Wildwood, Florida. She had a roaster in her shop and would roast their own coffee. Bjorn enjoyed it and would buy for himself, Winters, and others in the office. “We loved making good coffee and providing it to people in our office,” he said.
When a spot in the Shoppes at Hallam opened up, Bjorn and Winters jumped on the opportunity to create a coffee shop. They got into the space in July 2022. After doing much of the carpentry, painting, and décor themselves, Pour Bear opened for business in April of this year. The name, in part, comes from Bjorn’s last name, which means ‘bear’ in Norwegian.
With various shades of greens, yellows, and oranges, interspersed with groovy patterns and nostalgic nic-nacs, “We wanted a different vibe,” Bjorn said of their vintage motif. “If you walked into my house, it would be very similar to this.” The retro logo and bear pouring coffee mural were painted by Lakeland muralist, illustrator, and graphic designer, Maegan (Mae) Carroll-Simmons. From funky furniture to a functional bright orange rotary phone, the space feels like stepping into the 70s. The elements of woodsy and nostalgia give retro summer camp vibes. The shop is perfect for a cup of tea with a friend or a business meeting over coffee. They even have board games for a lazy afternoon indoors. I can picture myself sitting in one of the plush chairs and reading a book for hours while sipping a Sweetwater cold brew.
“We get compared to Grandma’s house quite a bit,” Bjorn said. “We wanted something cozy where you could come in, pop down on a couch, and enjoy a good cup of coffee.”
Pour Bear offers two coffee wholesalers in their shop, Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co. out of Atlanta, Georgia, and Sweetwater Organic Coffee Co. out of Gainesville, Florida. These two roasters provide fresh, ethically sourced, sustainable coffee. Their espresso beans are from Kaldi’s, and drip coffee and cold brew are from Sweetwater. You can even grab a bag of ground or wholebean coffee while you’re there. “We wanted to keep it kind of local, but at the same time, not offering the same coffee that everyone else in Lakeland does,” Bjorn said. In addition to the usual suspects, patrons can opt for a Honey Bear Latte, Raspberry Lemon Espresso Tonic, Peach Matcha Latte, or Lavender Lemonade.
Pour Bear makes delicious Jar Bars with chocolate chips and cranberries, sausage and cheese muffins, bacon and cheddar muffins, and more for sustenance. All of their goodies made in-house are gluten-free. Pour Bear patrons can also enjoy a variety of seasonal and perennial locally crafted baked goods from Bandidas Bake Shop and Meraki Bakehouse. They also offer wholesale honey from a local apiary and mushroom tinctures from Florida Mushroom Company out of Lake Wales.
Bjorn says he hopes to create a relaxed environment where people can be energized by their coffee. They hope to add Sunday to their schedule in the future, along with evening events. The Pour Bear owners would love to expand and perhaps roast their own coffee eventually.
Pour Bear Coffee
4608 Cleveland Heights Blvd
(863) 450-4180
FB: Pour Bear Coffee
IG @pourbearcoffee
Photography by Amy Sexson
