Miss Pensacola's Constant Coffee? Some of its best baristas and recipes return in new cafe

Constant Coffee & Tea was an East Pensacola Heights staple for creative coffee flavors and a calm and inclusive café space.

When it closed its doors permanently in December of 2022 after nine years of service, the words “peace out" on the roadside letterboard replaced the cheeky quips that used to delight drivers along Scenic Highway.

Now, almost a year after Constant’s last day of operation, some of the former baristas are finding their “second wind” and reviving some of Constant’s most-loved recipes through a new coffee trailer, Second Wind Beverages & Snacks.

Coffee connoisseurs will once again be able to indulge in a creamy, house-made pistachio rose latte, feel the cozy comforts of one of Constant’s signature chai lattes, or enjoy a floral lavender latte made fresh from the fragrant stems, sometimes blended with a drizzle of sweet farmers market honey.

Sean Bush, a Constant barista who has now begun work at the newly debuted Second Wind Beverages & Snacks, went straight to work in curating the special blends of syrups when the coffee trailer opened this fall.

Bush said although the closure was sad, owner Phillip Switzer gave him the blessing to use the recipes and was even the coffee trailer’s first customer on opening day.

“When Constant officially closed its doors to the public for the last time, I could vividly remember the swell of emotion I felt,” Bush said. “I lost my home. I lost my place of refuge. I lost the place where my family gave me security. I felt an agony I had not before. My bosses especially changed my life … luckily, I can say now that Second Wind is becoming that new place where we are bringing that same old quality Constant spirit together with a new invigorating one to make something new.”

Constant was the place where Bush first met the Second Wind owners, Liv and Noah Brandt, since Liv’s brother, Alexander, was also a barista there. Now, the four of them have all poured their passions into Second Wind.

“We hired Alexander and Sean, so they are definitely our inspiration and our passion for keeping this alive and going,” Liv Brandt said.

Brandt never worked at Constant but did had experience working for larger coffee companies such as Starbucks. To Brandt, the benefit of the smaller space was the opportunity to focus on forming relations and establishing a presence in the community.

“Rather than having like a set menu that is more focused on, ‘you get this item or that,’ I'm more focused on, ‘How can I help you? What do you need? You have your grandchild being born today and you need to go to the hospital or something like that? You need espresso,’” Brandt said. “Everybody is in a different place in their life, you're getting a cup of coffee for whatever reason. Let me make sure you're taken care of.”

However, when opening Second Wind, Brandt was also intentional about the menu they were curating.

The Counter Culture Coffee beans are ethically sourced. The syrups are made with real ingredients versus artificial flavorings. There are a wide array of options that support the customers’ dietary needs through options like non-dairy milks, monk fruit simple syrup, decaf espresso and a wide variety of flavorful herbal teas. The coffee shop owners say customers can feel confident about the small ingredient list that makes up each item versus the artificial additives that typically fill a nutrition label, and they can taste the difference down to the touch of spice in the brown sugar cinnamon latte derived from steeped cinnamon sticks.

“I went through a health journey myself the last three years," Brandt said. "I lost over 160 pounds trying to take care of myself. So, opening something that's also typically like very sugared or a lot of artificial things, it was something I wanted to stay away from."

Second Wind also created it to be a safe and inclusive safe for all people in the community, including the LGBTQ+ community, with a rainbow logo branded on their Second Wind stickers.

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Although the Brandts’ vision was originally for Second Wind to take shape as a sit-down café, they soon learned the mobile trailer had its own set of advantages.

Although its location changes regularly and can be tracked on the Second Wind website, the trailer will have a regular spot at Level Up Gaming at 1132 Creighton Road, which the team feels aligns with their mission as well.

“In addition to exciting updates in the upcoming year to support us and other fellow small business owners, they (Level Up) already discount everything from (the manufacturer’s suggested retail price) in the shop to focus on the fun creating a safe third location for people to enjoy,” Brandt said.

Even as a mobile café, they hope that the trailer will be a place to find respite and energy.

“It's not just like a drink. It's more of a place to meet, a reason to get together or to plan your next steps or things like that, and that's what I want to be,” Brandt said.

As the trailer progresses, they plan to add more snack items and lean into the second part of their business name. For now, you may see a variety of sweets or baked goods to choose from that will grow with time.

For more updates and information on where to find Second Wind, follow along on its website and Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Second Wind Beverages & Snacks ready to offer Pensacola a pick me up