Ah, the words on everyone’s lips these days are “Buy Local!” I agree with the sentiment, for the most part, and if you haven’t been to Local Coffee & Tea out on Siesta Key … well, it’s a great place to buy, sit, sip, and enjoy all things local.

Local Coffee & Tea on Siesta Key

In fact, owner Michael Duranko has raised the “local” idea to an art form — first, by incorporating the concept into the name, and developing multiple locations (in addition to the Siesta Key location, they’ve got “Locals” in St. Pete and two others, I think, here in Sarasota); and second by creating a philosophy/mission statement that says it all: Promoting Local Products & Services / Protecting Local Environments / Celebrating Local Treasures.

Um, I guess that makes ME a local treasure! Why, you ask? Well, Duranko has been kind enough to carry and sell copies of my book Sideways in Sarasota in his coffee shop ever since the book first came out last summer. My Reality Chick column (upon which the book is based) had run primarily in the Siesta Key-centric newspaper, the Pelican Press, and Duranko was kind enough to support this “local” writer after my column ended in the paper, by graciously allowing me to put a few books on his counter for folks who might be interested in a bit of reading with their cups of tea and coffee.

It’s pretty encouraging to see local business owners focused on strengthening the economic foothold of local coffee vendors, local cupcake makers, and even local writers … if you are jones’n for a cup of something, I hope you’ll swing by one of Local Coffee & Tea’s several locations and … Buy Local!