Kava & Co., a bar that offers alcohol-free drinks with optional infusions of CBD, kava and other boosters, has opened its third location, in Jacksonville Beach.
The newest is at 223 Ninth Ave. S. at the corner of Third Street South, the former site of the Third Street Diner.
Father and daughter Giovanni and Cianna Bommarito co-own the business.
The first Kava & Co. opened in June 2019 at 11018 Old St. Augustine Road in Mandarin, the second in June 2020 at 1224 Kings Ave. in San Marco and the newest opened June 15. The company also operates a food truck.
Kava & Co. combines a work-friendly daytime atmosphere with bar-like energy at night, all built around a nonalcoholic beverage menu.
“We are giving you that remote working vibe in the daytime, but more so leaning into bar-like vibes at night,” Cianna Bommarito said.
“Because right now, the only things we can really do is we go out to eat or we go to the bar. There’s not a space that kind of fits where if you just want to go hang out and have that same social experience and same community events.”
This business model partially accommodates 18- to 20-year-olds who can’t legally consume alcohol but seek nightlife activities. It also is welcoming to those wanting a more sober lifestyle, she said.
“We have a lot of college students who work on their computers. It does give younger adults a place to be that is not a bar,” she said. “This is their sweet spot. They don’t go to the mall because they are too old.”
That is not Kava & Co.’s largest clientele demographic.
“I think our biggest age group is 25 to 32. They are the working remote crowd,” she said.
Maximum occupancy is 104. There are pool tables, a shuffleboard bowling game and a video game, with a drum kit and other musical instruments in one corner. During the summer, the instruments will be used for Thursday open mic nights. Plans call for bands to be hired beginning in September.
The menu includes coffee ($3 to $6.50), six signature drinks ($5 to $8), smoothies ($5.50 to $6.50), coffee milkshakes ($5 to $6.25) and a frozen Red Bull slushy ($8).
Signature cocktails combine cider, fruit juices, ginger, honey, whole fruit and spices. They are $7 to $13.
Drinks can be enhanced with a $5 booster of protein or CBD; those 21 and older can opt for kava, THC, kanna or kratom. THC is the psychoactive compound in marijuana, while kava, kanna and kratom are plant-based substances often used for relaxation or mood effects.
Food options include flatbread pizza ($13), quesadilla ($14) and an acai bowl ($9). Breakfast is a bagel or breakfast sandwich ($5 each).
The Bommaritos started working together in Michigan at a dispensary that sold CBD and filled medical marijuana prescriptions. When CBD and THC products became legal in that state, the law allowed people to grow small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Other stores sold marijuana products without the licensing, higher taxes and other fees a dispensary had to pay, she said.
“Basically, when it became legal there, nobody came in,” she said.
The two decided to move to Jacksonville to be closer to family.
They opened another dispensary, CBD Cafe, on Old St. Augustine Road.
However, CBD, a non-intoxicating form of marijuana used to relieve pain, anxiety and insomnia, is not legal in all 50 states. Having CBD in the name was a flag to insurance companies and financial institutions that are federally regulated and cannot do business with those selling CBD, she said.
They decided to rename it Kava & Co. to simplify doing business.
The Jacksonville Beach location underwent a considerable remodeling, Cianna said. Nearly everything had to be replaced. The iron pipes had corroded. Vagrants had broken into the building years ago and stripped much of the wiring. Rotten food was left in the refrigerators. She said she had to don a hazmat suit to tackle that cleaning job.
About the only item that remains from the diner is the counter that serves as Kava’s bar.
Coastal Design & Home Services of Orange Park was the general contractor that pulled the permits and rewired the building. Giovanni did the rest of the work, Cianna said.
She estimates the remodeling cost $275,000. There are eight employees at the Jacksonville Beach location and a total of 28 at all three bars.
It opens at 9 a.m. daily, closing at midnight Sunday through Wednesday and at 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Those under 18 years old are not allowed in after 9 p.m.