We recently connected with AILEEN LIPTAK and have shared our conversation below.

AILEEN, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I had worked at Archives Book Cafe and loved bookstores and coffee. Archives went through two more owners before I purchased their equipment and searched for my perfect location. I had many ideas I was ready to share with the book reading and coffee drinking world.

2006 I found that location and began my coffee dreams. The first location was intimate and a great learning curve for what the future was to bring. 2011 Undergrounds Coffeehaus made its move to its current location and as I was able to keep the intimate feel, we were also able to grow triple the size.

We now had the room to breathe and to try new things. We have a rentable space that is used for meetings, workshops, music shows, art shows, party’s and more.

We are entering our 16th year of business and what a ride it has been. I am loving our community and family feel with our customers. I am humbled by the love we have received. I am so excited to see what the next 16 years will bring. Come to our Sweet 16 Anniversary party, Saturday, Nov. 5th. It is 50’s themed and we encourage everyone one to wear pink &/or black – Pink Ladies & Thunderbirds. I attached the ad for more details.

AILEEN, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Undergrounds Coffeehaus is late night coffee. Open till 11:30pm through the week and open till 1am Friday & Saturday.

We are a true coffeehouse. We invite you to sit awhile, relax, eat tater tots and drink our sweet caffeine creations. Maybe grab a book, work on your computer, study for school. Undergrounds is home to many musicians, artists, writers, the creative types and we love their ability to create within our walls.

Our balcony is an attraction itself. Sit out there and watch the busy world go by while sipping on a Banana Split latte. (espresso, strawberry, banana, chocolate, choice of milk with whip cream and sprinkles) Maybe catch the rain whilst you engage the balcony.

We have snacks galore. Our tater tots are South Florida famous with flavors ranging from Jerk, BBQ, Rosemary, Garlic Bread to more classic Salt and Pepper along with naked. We have super loaded tots which is tots covered in cheddar cheese, bacon and ranch dressing.

We have cakes, cookies, candies, popcorn, pizza, ramen and the list goes on.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Covid 2020 was a huge business killer. It took out many local businesses and as I watched business close around me, I held my breath as it was killing us too.

However, our community would not let us drown. Donations were made to keep the old girl afloat. We did crowd funding, reached out through social media and explained our dilemma. It was a rough almost two years of struggle as the world dealt with what Covid meant and what it was doing.

Our community banned together and donations came in. Our landlord was amazingly gracious with us and was a true angel in keeping us here. Slowly we were able to get back to normal but in the process learned a lot about who we were, our customers and how things changed due to Covid.

We are in a much better position now and thank our community and others for believing in us. What an amazing feeling to see the love people have for Undergrounds.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

Undergrounds Coffeehaus started as a partnership and as all things come to end, so did that. Brett Combs and I owned Undergrounds together for nine years. It was a labor of love as we learned and figured out what worked in the area we grew up in.

As his and I’s relationship came to an end, this mom and pop coffee shop became just a mom shop. I have been running the coffeehaus on my own for seven years and even through Covid. I have learned a lot about myself as a person and business owner. The sacrifice’s, sweat and tears has gotten us to this point and I am thrilled to be able to share Underground’s with you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: undergroundscoffeehaus
• Facebook: Undergrounds Coffeehaus
• Twitter: Undergrounds Coffeehaus
• Youtube: Undergrounds Coffeehaus

Image Credits
Door Dash Olivia Easter