Pámpano Coffee Opens on 5th Avenue, Bringing Specialty Coffee and Plants to Downtown Zephyrhills
The new shop from Shaila and Jonathan Thomas is open this week at 38428 5th Ave. with limited hours: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. most days, closed Wednesdays, and an 8 a.m. start Sunday.
Pámpano Coffee is officially open this week in downtown Zephyrhills, at 38428 5th Ave., putting a locally owned specialty coffee shop right in the middle of the historic district's walkable core. Main Street Zephyrhills confirmed the opening, and for now the shop is running short hours: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, closed Wednesdays.
Morning only. If you are used to grabbing coffee after lunch, this is not that.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Mon, Tue | 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. |
| Wed | Closed |
| Thu, Fri, Sat | 7 a.m. – 1 p.m. |
| Sun | 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. |
Those are the opening-week hours. The shop's own website lists a slightly different regular schedule, closed Mondays with an 8 a.m. start on Saturdays, so it is worth a quick check on their page or socials before you drive in for an early weekend cup.
Who is behind it
Shaila and Jonathan Thomas own the shop. They bought a historic home in downtown Zephyrhills in 2023, and by their own account the coffee shop grew out of settling into the neighborhood and wanting a place where people could gather and stay a while. They describe Pámpano as specialty coffee, plants and a cozy community space, which is a fair summary of the model: small, slow, sit-down.
The name comes from John 15, the passage about the vine and the branches. The couple say the faith reference is deliberate and that they want the business to become part of the community rather than just operate in it.
It landed on 5th Avenue, which matters
Most of the restaurant news in Zephyrhills lately has happened away from the historic core. Trattoria Napoli, the chef-owned Italian restaurant from Matthew Zappoli, opened on 7th Street. Gall Boulevard and Stadium Drive have collected their own new tenants. The 5th Avenue blocks kept the festivals, the clock plaza and the Saturday foot traffic, but the new food and drink openings have mostly been going elsewhere.
Pámpano goes the other way. It is a storefront on 5th, the kind of tenant that gives people a reason to park once and walk, and it fills the gap between a market morning and a lunch stop.
Practical notes
Downtown parking is street parking plus the lots off the main blocks, and it gets tight on event Saturdays. Because the shop closes at 1 p.m., the busiest stretch is likely to be the first two hours after open. A new small business in its first week is also, realistically, still working out its rhythm. Expect a line, expect an item or two to sell out.
Main Street Zephyrhills has been pushing new tenants into the district for the past couple of years, and the association has been holding its business mixers at new downtown spots, including Pámpano. The next stretch of the downtown calendar runs through the district's regular event weekends on 5th Avenue, which is when the block is at its fullest and a 7 a.m. coffee shop suddenly makes a lot of sense.
For more on new openings and the businesses filling out downtown, keep up with us at Zephyrhills Community Website, and tell us what you thought of your first cup over in the Community Forum. You can read more local business stories on our business page and browse what else is on the way in coming soon.
Header photo: User:Wknight94 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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