Lucky Cup Coffee Co. will open inside The Factory later this summer | the Factory

When longtime friends April Lupkey and Lauren Kirk quietly opened Lucky Cup Coffee Co . inside the Galaxy Hotel in downtown St. Pete last summer, most of their customers were hotel guests.

Some days, they made just two drinks.

Then a friend ordered a matcha latte that wasn't even on the menu and shared it on social media.

The post took off, and the tiny hotel lobby café quickly became one of St. Pete's fastest-growing coffee shops.

A year later, the pair is preparing for its biggest step yet.

Today, Lucky Cup announced it’ll open a second location at 2606 Fairfield Avenue South inside The Factory, a massive creative campus in the Warehouse Arts District that is home to local businesses like FloridaRAMA, Daddy Kool Records, and St. Pete Athletic.

The 2,150-square-foot café will feature an expanded coffee program, a spacious outdoor patio, and an entirely new evening concept.

Daytime service is expected to begin later this summer, with beer, wine and evening programming debuting this fall.

Lucky cup coffee owners april lupkey (l) and Lauren Kirk (R) | lucky cup coffee

"We knew at some point we'd get to a place where we'd outgrown the space that we're in currently," Lupkey said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising. "The hotel space can feel quite limited, and there's so much more that we can give our customers."

Success came faster than either owner expected.

What began as a two-person operation has grown into an eight-person team, forcing Lupkey and Kirk to quickly learn how to scale a business while maintaining the quality and personality that attracted customers in the first place.

"We used to eyeball everything," Kirk laughed. "Now we're thinking about what selling 500 coffees in a day means for inventory, prep, recipes, and managing a growing team."

That attention to detail is reflected throughout Lucky Cup's menu.

Nearly every signature drink can be ordered with either espresso or matcha, including favorites like the Banana Bread latte, made with house-made banana syrup and cinnamon, or the Oh Honey, featuring honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and a touch of salt.

While seasonal drinks rotate throughout the year, those two originals have remained the café's best-selling beverages.

A recent drink special at lucky cup, Toasted rice lattes with ube cold foam | lucky cup coffee co

The breakfast menu has also developed a loyal following.

In addition to pastries and other baked goods, Lucky Cup offers eight breakfast and lunch items, ranging from sandwiches and bagels to loaded toasts.

The most popular food item is the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, or BEC, served on a choice of sourdough, bagel or croissant.

The menu also features avocado toast topped with microgreens, pickled onions and hemp hearts, and a banana toast layered with peanut or almond butter, honey and cinnamon.

That growth has given Lupkey and Kirk the confidence to think beyond coffee.

In the evenings, Lucky Cup will transition into a neighborhood gathering place with local craft beer, wines, mocktails, and shareable plates.

Lupkey and Kirk also hope to experiment with wine-based cocktails as the concept evolves.

The interior of Lucky Cup’s new cafe in the Warehouse Arts District | Costar

As for the outdoor patio, Lucky Cup plans to utilize the space for live music, night markets, game nights, and other community events.

"When people ask me to describe St. Pete, I say it's a feel-good place where everybody is into art, culture, and activity," Lupkey said. "I feel like The Factory kind of embodies that. If you had to put St. Pete in one building, it would be The Factory."

For Lupkey and Kirk, the expansion is about more than opening another coffee shop.

"It's nice to be able to create an experience for someone," they said. "That's what drives both of us."

They credit the St. Pete community for making that possible.

"We both would like to express how thankful we are to the community," Lupkey said. "Without their support, there's no way that we could be taking this huge step."

Be sure to follow Lucky Cup Coffee Co. on Instagram and TikTok to stay up to date on the latest specials and the grand opening of its new location.