By Kyle Coppola
Second Bear’s Beans & Bagels Location Opens in Mount Dora
Bear’s Beans & Bagels, the popular Central Florida coffee and bagel shop known for its playful specialty lattes and community vibe, celebrated the grand opening of its second location at 18950 U.S. Highway 441 in Mount Dora today.
The new coffee shop will give people another location to visit since the original shop at 15 N. Central Ave. in Umatilla, which opened in July 2023, will continue its service, as well.
Co-owners Bear Crockett—yes, that’s his real name—and his wife, Mel Crockett, have built a following in Umatilla with creative drinks that stand out from typical coffee shop fare.
Signature lattes include the Purple Unicorn (lavender and honey), Mac Attack (white chocolate and macadamia nut) and RasBeary Cheesecake (white chocolate, raspberry and almond). Other popular options range from peanut butter cup and s’mores lattes to seasonal flavors and oversized 32-ounce “Grizzly” drinks.
The shop also offers fresh bagels sourced from a local Florida bakery, including jalapeño cheddar, cheese varieties and gluten-free options, served with toppings or in sandwiches such as “Mel’s Way” jalapeño cheddar with sausage, cream cheese and hot sauce. House-made refreshers feature fun names like Umatilla Sunset, Florida Peach and Mermaid Water.
The business honors Bear Crockett’s family roots. His grandfather, Patrick O’Dare, ran a commercial coffee business in Central Florida for decades. Family memories of hunting for good bagels at a DeLand bakery also inspired the concept. Some of his grandfather’s old flyers are displayed near the register in Umatilla.
“Coffee shops here were either a diner style or a quiet place to read a book,” Bear says. “I wanted something fun and exciting, something that showed our personality.”
Mel Crockett handles much of the day-to-day operations, supported by a tight-knit staff. The couple transformed a former tea supply store into a spunky, retro space that quickly drew lines out the door upon opening. They soon expanded the Umatilla location with a kitchen and more.
The shop emphasizes community, sponsoring local events, offering free drinks to teachers and fostering a family-like atmosphere among employees.
Steady growth has the Crocketts eyeing further expansion, with Bear mentioning ambitions for franchising down the road. For now, they’re focused on maintaining quality at both spots.
“The support from the community has been great,” Bear says. “We’re very humbled by it.”
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
