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The Minimalists
The Minimalists are Emmy-nominated Netflix stars and New York Times–bestselling authors Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus. Alongside their podcast cohost, T.K. Coleman, this simple-living trio helps millions of people eliminate clutter and live meaningfully with less. Learn More.

Photo Tour: The Minimalists Open a Coffeehouse

Exciting news! In January 2016, we, along with a trio of like-minded friends, opened an intentional, multi-roaster coffeehouse—Bandit Coffee Co.—in St. Petersburg, Florida. We’re thrilled to soon be spending more time in the Sunshine State, especially after the theatrical run of our documentary, Minimalism.

Last weekend we published a photo tour of our simple, well-curated shop on Instagram. You’ll find photos from our tour, as well as some favorites from our cofounders and customers, at the bottom of this post.

Based on the feedback, the vast majority of our audience loved the tour; however, a handful of naysayers confused our new endeavor as an advertisement, saying we “preach about minimalism,” so we “shouldn’t sell coffee,” and that only “actions are intentional, not shops.”

But, of course, there’s an appreciable difference between advertising and communication. We use our social platforms, blog, and podcast to share our lives, express our views, and communicate with people who find value in our message. We don’t, however, advertise (read why we don’t advertise), and we don’t preach anything. We simply share our story, and this coffeehouse is a new chapter within that story. Besides, minimalism is not about deprivation—it is about curation. Bandit is something we’re passionate about, and our team has worked hard to create a meaningful space that aligns with our values.

Perhaps Joshua Weaver, one of our cofounders, explained it best: “The shop is indeed intentional. St. Petersburg desperately needed a quality place to socialize and pass the time during the day. Our coffee selection is something we’re really proud of. Not only does it benefit the consumer by great taste, but we also get to support some amazing roasters, all of whom are independent companies. These roasters ethically source directly from farmers, or act with fair-trade importers—both of which have helped revolutionize how we look at sourcing coffee responsibility. As far as our pricing, our customers come from all backgrounds and enjoy being in a nice space where they can spend as little as two bucks for a cup of coffee. It’s not about fancy aesthetic—it’s about intention. The products we sell have been carefully and purposefully chosen, many of which are from local artisans who create functional products. We aren’t a corporate company, and we don’t want to be. We want to bring people together. We opened the shop with a primary objective in mind: to invest in people—our staff and the local community. Coffee comes second to that.”

Thankfully, most folks understood what we were attempting to do: “I honestly look at these photos as ‘look at this beautiful thing we created.’ I find them inspiring, and I only wish there was a shop so serene and intentional where I live. Personally, I enjoy these photos, and I never once thought of them as advertisements. … [The Minimalists] just want to share the joy of starting something new.”

Exactly.

Bandit Coffee Co. is now part of The Minimalists’ life, and we’re eager to share it with you via the photos below (and in person, if you’re ever in the area).

And if you are in the Tampa Bay Area, you can join Joshua Fields Millburn and the local minimalist.org meetup group at 7 PM EST on March 9, 2016, for a special free meetup event at Bandit Coffee Co.

Bandit Photo Tour

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