Help Cool Beans A.M.I. Stay Open After Hurricane Helene

Hello friends! My name is Morgan Bryant. I am the owner of Cool Beans AMI, located on the north end of Anna Maria Island, Florida. I grew up in Manatee County & have lived on the island since 2015. Within the past few months, my family has endured quite a few challenges. While currently being 8 months pregnant with my third child, I have also had to embrace being a single mother, as my husband decided to leave us in July. This has resulted in being overwhelmed with bills, finding new housing, providing for my children on my own & trying to manage a business – which is my main source of income. With a new baby coming in 5 weeks, I am doing everything I can to try to navigate these overpowering life changes.

As many of you know, a catastrophic category 4 hurricane recently struck our island & created mass amounts of damage. Anna Maria Island has endured record breaking destruction due to Hurricane Helene. We are incredibly fortunate to still be standing at Cool Beans AMI, however, looks can be deceiving. Just as we thought we were in the clear and reopened, we discovered that there was a significant amount of damage done to our shop forcing us to close again. Unfortunately, we have lost nearly 90% of our appliances, which is how we are able to run such a successful coffee shop. Using the best of the best when it comes to our equipment is important to us because we want our customers to receive top quality coffee & espresso. Not only that, but we also lost furniture, speakers, food, equipment, & more. We are incredibly devastated to know that we wont be able to get back up & running as quick as we had hoped. To top things off, we have recently been informed that all of our walls will have to be torn into due to flooding & water damage. We are being told that this process could take up to a month, which in turn means we would not be able to be open during that time. I currently have 2 employees who have helped make the shop what it is today. When they come into work, it is not just a job for them, but a sense of being a part of something bigger. We have grown into a tight knit family here & rely on each other to get through things when times are tough. We so desperately want a sense of normalcy, as this coffee shop is our passion & livelihood. While we recognize that not every part of the island was as lucky as us, we still need help from our community to be able to get back on our feet and make it through this month. Any of the proceeds made will go towards new appliances, equipment, product, payroll, & all around improvements of our coffee shop. Whether it’s a donation, prayers, positive vibes, or words of encouragement, we are immensely grateful! Thank you to those who support & have continued to support us through these 3 fabulous years of being open. We are AMI strong & will continue to push through any challenges that we may face. Thank you & God bless! Love, Morgan Bryant, Mandy & Ashley