By Cindy Peterson
OMG Coffee Excellence Brews More Than Coffee
OMG Coffee Excellence brews more than just coffee.
What started as a small booth at a flea market has steadily climbed its way toward achieving the status of coffee empire. OMG Coffee Excellence, owned by Philip Brown and Karen Smith, recently moved to its newest location at Stackd Brownies in Mount Dora.
But OMG Coffee, which stands for Original Made Goodness, is more than just a coffee shop; it’s a pursuit of the perfect cup of coffee.
“I was a truck driver and had to leave for health reasons,” Philip says. “While on the road, you find all kinds of coffees at truck stops and other cafés, so I set out to make the best cup of coffee.”
Philip’s mission is to create the finest coffee blends imaginable. He reached out to his friend and master coffee roaster, Eli Michael Ornberg, and together, they brought the OMG Coffee brand to life.
In 2016, Philip began selling his gourmet coffee at Renninger’s Flea Market in Mount Dora. But his journey didn’t stop there. Philip took his brews mobile with a food truck, setting up at events and for a time, outside the food court at Lake Square Mall. There, he offered his signature coffee shakes infused with OMG Coffee and a variety of his signature “freakins” — mini donuts, topped with sweets like cinnamon sugar, S’mores, cookies and cream, glazed chocolate or Samoas.
Karen Smith joined the scene with her homemade baked goods during the pandemic, and the response from the community prompted OMG Coffee to establish its first brick-and-mortar location in Tavares in 2021. The combination of killer coffee and yummy treats proved to be a recipe for success.
“We had booths next to each other at Renninger’s and figured, ‘what goes better with coffee than baked goods?’” Karen recalls.
Together, they continued the OMG Coffee venture.
OMG Coffee roasts its own blends for its café in addition to providing wholesale coffee to numerous establishments throughout the region. Some of the popular flavors include Carolina Pecan, Jamaican Me Crazy (Kahlua, caramel and vanilla), T-Rex Xtreme (extra kick), German Chocolate (chocolate and coconut) and the intense OMG X espresso. Bags of these signature blends are available in-store and online.
John Bryant, owner of Stackd Brownies in Mount Dora, took over a bakery at Renninger’s Flea Market last year. It just so happened that OMG Coffee is the coffee shop portion of the bakery. A good friendship developed between Philip and John. When Philip was looking to add another café location, it made sense to open up shop inside Stackd Brownies’ new store in Mount Dora’s Key Food Plaza, as well.
“This is a great place and now people can get his awesome brownies and a cup of coffee,” Philip says. “We are going to focus on our wholesale distribution, getting the OMG brand to more local restaurants.”
At the café, customers can enjoy lattes, espressos, cappuccinos and Americanos or simply savor a classic cup of Joe. Bottled 64-oz. cold brews are also available to those seeking a pick-me-up.
But specialty shakes truly steal the show. These shakes made with coffee or milk come in classic flavors like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, as well as adventurous concoctions like Oreo mint, S’mores, Nutty Buddy and Butterbeer. The caramel macchiato is by far the fan favorite, but mocha latte shakes are a close second.
OMG Coffee Excellence also offers breakfast and lunch items including breakfast paninis on NY bagels, bowls, sandwiches and gourmet hot dogs that are available all day.
The Cuban sandwich (ham, pulled pork, pickles, provolone cheese and mustard) is their top seller. The Sammie (turkey or ham) is also extremely popular. They also offer a classic pulled pork sandwich, Carolina pulled pork with slaw, grilled cheese and The Ultimate with ham, turkey, bacon, provolone and honey mustard.
Craving something sweet? Try a gourmet brownie from Stackd Brownies. They offer everything from the classics to the creative with choices like triple peanut butter, chocolate cheesecake, coconut, peanut butter cup, S’mores, raspberry filled, cookie dough, Oreo and more.
Recipes
Stackd Brownie
(Yields 16 brownies)
Cuban Sandwich
Pulled Pork
Caramel Macchiato Coffee Shake
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Let us know!
Let us know!
Originally from the small town of Berryville, Arkansas, Cindy has become a multimedia specialist in journalism, photography, videography, and video editing. She has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Central Arkansas and produces Style Magazine's Sports Hub Podcast and the Healthy Living Podcast. She also produces for Beacon College’s Telly Award-winning PBS show, “A World of Difference.” When she isn’t working, Cindy loves traveling the National Parks with her husband , Ryan, and son, David, photographing wildlife.