On July 9, GulfPerk Coffee Bar owner Elliot Sutton announced the permanent closure of the beloved Gulfport café in a post on the shop’s social media pages.
“The plan was always to reopen GulfPerk. Unfortunately, that just isn’t how things turned out,” Sutton wrote. “I’m sad to say that GulfPerk, officially, will not be reopening.”
Nearly two years have passed since Hurricanes Helene and Milton swept through Tampa Bay. GulfPerk has remained closed since those storms, with Sutton holding onto hope that the shop might one day reopen…