Green Cup Café set to reopen at new location years after Hurricane Ian impacts

Green Cup Café, a local business in downtown Fort Myers, is reopening after nearly three years following Hurricane Ian's impacts in 2022.

The café maintained its resilience for over two years, which culminated in a new location and a fresh restart.

While the opening date has not been defined, the café is finalizing its finishing touches.

Rob Podgorski and his girlfriend, Jennifer Carbajal, are the owners. They’ve had a lease on the building for a year but have had many setbacks and delays since.

The Journey

Before Ian hit, the quaint 900-square-foot Green Cup Café, which opened in 2014 on Dean Street in downtown Fort Myers, was located.

However, before the storm impacted the shop, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the old owner leaving, and the couple took over the business. When the storm hit Southwest Florida, the café was among the many small businesses that lost everything in the historic storm. Along with the company, which had floodwaters that reached four and a half feet high, Podgorski’s house was flooded. In addition to the damage, Podgorski juggled issues with the location’s landlord.

“There's not a lot of small businesses after Ian that came back. Most of the businesses that were destroyed by that came back, usually with large financial backing. Most of the small businesses pretty much didn't,” he said.

While they were closed, they held pop-ups at other local businesses, such as Remedies Parlor, Millennial Brewing, Shift Coffee, and Palace Pub & Wine Bar, a gesture that Podgorski appreciates.

“They all gave us space to do pop-ups there, and we would do food because we had no jobs, so we needed a way to make money. We already knew what our guests liked, but it gave us a new way to try new things with our guests,” he said.

When looking for a new spot, they were looking for an affordable and valuable location. The couple toured Cape Coral and Estero locations but ran into pricing issues. Podgorski said it was challenging to navigate a space that matched their needs.

However, thanks to a close contact, they eventually found a spot in a building across from the downtown Fort Myers library. Podgorski is the secretary for the River District Alliance, which holds events like Music Walk and Art Walk in downtown Fort Myers. He had a contact through them who told him the space was available. It used to be home to Kava Culture, but the business moved to Hendry Street just a few roads down in 2024. With this spot available, they took the opportunity.

Food and Drink

The 900-square-foot café was not just another third space; it promoted health and sustainability practices that carry over to this new chapter in the café’s journey.

“With the new space, we're just trying to achieve a third home for people with healthy, sustainable food. To us, it's like a dojo to practice wellness and sustainability. This is a passion of our lives. It is an extension of what we do. This is what we live, and we just want to provide that same thing to the community, and our goal is just to give back to all the people that gave to us,” he said.

With this new space, Podgorski and the team hope to sustain a third place for the community, welcoming guests who need a space to study and socialize.

“Nowadays, you get a lot of businesses, especially in the fast casual world, that you're there seating to get you to be uncomfortable so you leave faster. We built our restaurant to be as comfortable as possible to allow people a safe space to come. Some people can come on dates and talk, hang out, do work and homework, read books,” he said.

Podgorski credited the community for coming together after Ian through donations and showing up to help clean the café.

“When our business was destroyed, we had 50 strangers show up the next day. I didn't even know most of them, and they helped us clean the café,” he said.

Podgorski wants to return the favor by offering a healthy alternative to the community.

“It solidified our mission to try and do our best to be involved in the community and provide something that helps them. It’s not just food that fills your belly, but food that will also help your soul and help you heal. You can practice healing wellness through food and promote wellness activities like yoga and mindfulness,” he said.

Podgorski said they have started shifting away from espresso-based beverages and increasing their tea portfolio. They will also now use a juicer that makes cold-pressed juices and practice alkaline juicing methods.

“I bought a juicer a week before the hurricane that cost like $20,000, and it was the one piece of equipment that didn't get flooded because I put it six inches higher than normal. So we have a juicer now and we'll do some cool, cold-pressed juices,” he said.

The restaurant focuses on vegan options, but they also have standard options. He hopes to highlight vegan items and increase the use of mushroom-related cuisine. One of their new big dishes is a lion's maine mushroom sandwich, which Podgorski said tastes like chicken. Another new item is the “Eat Less Chicken,” a Chick-fil-A-inspired sandwich. There will also be new dessert items and other specials on the menu.

“We're just really pumped to be able to provide what we were doing and just kind of put a new twist on it,” Podgorski said.

This new space will be 1400 square feet, an increase from the former location. Podgorski said they can hold more events in more space.

Community Support

Podgorski credited the community’s constant support, which he said doesn’t go unnoticed.

“We're grateful to the community. Jennifer and I go out in public often, and the number of people giving us positive words, praise, and support has been wonderful. This has been one of the most tumultuous experiences in my life. It’s been spiritual in every way, and this is the biggest art piece we'll ever make, and the amount of support we've had from our community has just been overwhelming.”

Podgorski added, “The amount of times we've wanted to quit, and then the amount of people that are just rooting for us is just very lengthy, and we're just really grateful to be able to be here because after the hurricane, there's a lot of people that lost their lives, there's a lot of people that weren't able to rebuild, and then there's the people like us that at least get a chance to try to start over again. We're just really grateful to be here, and we're grateful to just be able to provide back to the community and just get back to what we were doing.”

Four of their original workers are returning, making it a full-circle moment. Alexa Rios was one of the first people to work in the business when the couple took ownership of the café. She chose to stick by their sides. 

“I got to witness the delicate dance that is trial and error, the highs and lows of opening and running a business, a new, inspiring reality that I was so happy to play a part in making two people's dreams come true,” she said.

Almost three years later, Rios is excited to return to the café and continue where it left off.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be up and running again. I’ve been doing whatever I can to help move things along. I love being around passionate, genuine, radiant, and knowledgeable humans. I’m more than honored to be able to play the part again in getting things off the ground. We’ve missed everyone as much as they’ve missed us!” she said.

Look forward to the announcement, which can be any day now.