We close our doors around 3 in the afternoon, and by 4 we've cleaned down and the café just sits there, empty, for the rest of the evening. That always felt like a waste of a good room. So here's the idea: after hours, the space is yours. If you've got something you'd love to host but nowhere easy to put it, come and use ours.
It's a bright, easygoing room right in the heart of downtown Sarasota, on Gallery Row at 52 S. Palm Avenue — space for around 44 guests inside, with the patio on top when the weather plays along. Whatever you're planning, it's the kind of relaxed setting that makes people feel at home.
What the Space Is Perfect For
- A fundraiser or charity night. Gather your people for a cause and put the whole room to work — we love seeing the space used for something good.
- A book reading or author evening. An intimate, comfortable setting for a local writer to share their work with a crowd.
- A book club gathering. Somewhere a little more special than the usual living room — coffee, waffles optional, good conversation guaranteed.
- An artist's showcase. Hang your work, invite your people, and let the café be your gallery for the night.
- An open mic night. Bring a sign-up sheet and see who turns up — musicians, poets, comedians, storytellers. A friendly room with no stage fright attached, and the kind of night that works beautifully as a monthly fixture.
- A community jam or pub orchestra. Local players and music groups getting together to make a racket for the joy of it — bring an instrument, pull up a chair and see where the evening goes.
- An acoustic set. A budding musician after a first proper gig? This is a warm, welcoming room to play to a real audience.
- A small celebration or get-together. A club, a class, a group of friends marking a milestone — if it needs a room for the evening, this could be it.
How It Works
- We ask only a small, nominal fee for the evening so a couple of our team can be on hand.
- A limited menu of food and drinks is available to order on the night, so your guests can eat and drink while they're here.
- The evening is yours to run. Promote it however you like, and we'll help spread the word through our own channels too.
- Room for around 44 guests inside, plus the patio when the weather's kind.
- Evenings only, from 4pm onwards — that hour after our 3pm close gives us time to clean down and set the room up for you. Pick a date and start time that suit you and we'll check the calendar.
Working With Our Neighbours
Some of the best evenings come from teaming up with the people around us. If you run a business, gallery, shop or studio nearby and fancy putting something on together — a launch, a tasting, a workshop, or a slot you come back to every month — we're up for it. The same goes for local charities and community groups: if this room would help what you're doing, come and tell us about it and we'll work out how to make it happen.
We've always wanted the café to be more than a breakfast stop. Pete and Kathryn, who own and run the Sarasota café, built it to be a proper part of the neighbourhood — and there's no better way to do that than filling it with your evenings, not just ours.
Let's Talk About Your Evening
Got something in mind? Whether it's a one-off or something you'd like to make a regular fixture, we'd love to hear what you're planning. Drop us a line and we'll talk dates, numbers and anything you need to make the night work.
Prefer we do the organising? Our own evening events — pub quizzes, themed nights and private celebrations we host ourselves — live over on the events & catering page.