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In Gainesville, cold weather brews up coffee sales

By Barbara Dimajo - WUFT contributor

Some Gainesville residents use more than just gloves or boots to keep warm when temperatures drop.

Hot and steamy drinks from local coffee shops are keeping them toasty, and coffee business owners aren’t complaining.

Maude’s Classic Café is one of the shops that is experiencing high traffic and demand for hot beverages.

“It’s definitely busier in the evenings,” said Amanda-Gaye Smith, a night manager at Maude’s Classic Café. “People are coming in to study, and they stay for a while.”

Smith said people order more iced drinks during the summer and do not tend to linger in the shop. When the weather is cooler, customers tend to order hot drinks and hang out longer.

“When it’s colder,” Smith said, "it’s definitely good for business.”

Gainesville resident Andrew Mullings, 23, could be seen at Maude’s or Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate on days he wants to study and relax, but when the weather drops he notices the shops are busier.

“With the nice weather, people are usually waiting around and sitting outside people watching,” Mullings said.

Anthony Rue, owner and manager of Volta Coffee, Tea & Chocolate said the coffee market in Florida almost always improves when the weather cools down.

“People will curl up in a chair with a big mug of coffee and enjoy the weather,” he said.

Contact WUFT News by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news @wuft.org