We are a family owned and operated European-style coffee shop and roastery
where we share our love of coffee and our European heritage with our customers.
Our Mission
Our mission is to deliver the highest-quality roasted coffee while educating our customers about the unique origins behind each bean. We believe that when you start with exceptional coffee and roast it with care, the quality of the cup will speak for itself. We’re committed to building strong relationships — not just with our customers, but also with the trusted partners who supply our beans. Above all, we strive to create a welcoming space where people can come together to enjoy great coffee, great food, and genuine connection.
The Origins of Gypsy Souls
Gypsy Souls Coffeehouse was originally founded in 2014 by an airline pilot, the original Gypsy Soul, who had the vision to create a unique waterfront space in Redington Shores, Florida, that served the finest locally roasted coffees from around the world. In 2016, Ryan Dean became the owner of Gypsy Souls Coffeehouse. Since then, Gypsy Souls Coffeehouse has become more than a small coffee shop. It became a foundation for something larger. In 2017, with a vision to expand into roasting and to plant deeper roots in the growing city of St. Petersburg, founder Ryan Dean asked his parents to join him. Together, they began searching for a space where they could create something new for the business: a roastery and a second café.
They found the perfect location. After a full buildout, they opened the second Gypsy Souls Coffeehouse and launched Gypsy Beans Coffee Roasters on September 13, 2018. Not long after, they purchased their first roaster and began producing small-batch coffee in-house.
Ryan learned roasting under the guidance of the previous roasters at Gypsy Souls, becoming a skilled craftsman in his own right. Overtime, he perfected the roasting process. The new location in St. Petersburg began to thrive, and our team started expanding their reach through wholesale coffee sales. While we have always sold our beans in our physical location, we wanted to bring our coffee to customers nationwide. In April of 2025 we launched our online store, which marked our journey into become a nationwide coffee brand!
Our Coffee Philosophy
For founder of Gypsy Souls, Ryan Dean, coffee has always been more than just a morning habit — it’s been a consistent presence in many people's lives, a ritual that marks the start of each day, no matter where life takes you. That simple act, brewing a cup of coffee, is how so many people start their mornings.
Over time, Ryan’s appreciation for coffee evolved into a deeper curiosity about its origins, the craft of roasting, and the way it brings people together. We want to provide all of our customers with the most comfortable, delicious, and best start to their mornings as possible.
At Gypsy Souls, coffee is more than a beverage — it's a craft. Every cup we serve begins with a commitment to sourcing the finest green beans from partners who care about the growers and the communities they come from. We choose Organic, Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, Estate, Co-op, and small-lot coffees because we believe quality starts at the source.
We roast our coffee in-house at our St. Petersburg location, using small-batch techniques taught to us by experienced roasters and refined through years of hands-on dedication. Over time, Ryan has become a master roaster, ensuring that each batch we produce brings out the best of what the bean has to offer.
Our roasting style is guided by balance, precision, & passion so that the final product speaks for itself. Whether it's a smooth cup from Guatemala or a bold roast from Ethiopia, our goal is to highlight the natural flavor and story of each origin.
From our very first shop to our current roastery, we’ve believed that coffee has the power to bring people together and provide comfort and familiarity. It’s why we focus on hospitality, consistency, and connection, so that every cup not only tastes great, but feels like home.
Ryan Dean, A Founder's Story
Before founding Gypsy Souls, Ryan Dean’s professional life followed a winding road. He spent time working in wine sales and sports journalism, but throughout each chapter of his career, one thing remained constant: his love of coffee. Every morning began the same way — with a cup of coffee in hand — and over time, that daily ritual became a driving force behind a bigger dream.
In the early 2000s, Ryan’s parents, Ned and Dena, moved to the Tampa Bay area of Florida. His grandmother joined them in 2010, and Ryan followed soon after. Once he arrived, he began working at a beachside coffee shop part time while holding a marketing position at another company. A small, local place that gave him a chance to dive into the coffee business. It was there that his interest in coffee deepened and path began to take shape.
When that shop eventually closed in 2014 due to the owner relocating, Ryan found a new opportunity. He began working at another cafe on the beach — Gypsy Souls Coffeehouse.
By 2016, Ryan had purchased this business outright. From that moment on, he poured everything he had into further growing Gypsy Souls Coffeehouse.
He worked long hours, often by himself. He talked to customers, recommended local restaurants and things to do in St. Pete, and made sure the coffee always spoke for itself. With the help of a few part-time baristas, Ryan built something real, a beachside staple that attracted locals and tourists alike, becoming the go-to spot in the area for nearly a decade. Today, Ryan not only operates our St. Petersburg cafe, but has built Gypsy Souls into a business that produces that highest quality coffee and he is the driving force in bringing our coffee to customers across the United States.
Our Eastern European Walnut Roll
This is Ryan’s great-grandmother Anna’s recipe. Anna, or Baba which means grandmother in Serbian/Croatian, was born in 1894 in the Austria/Hungarian Empire region, part of which later became Yugoslavia. She travelled to the United States at age 19, alone. Her mother put her youngest child, our Baba, on a ship to freedom to escape the war and turmoil back then to have a better life in the United States. Passing through Ellis Island in the early 1900s, our Baba ended up in Northwest Indiana located about twenty miles from Chicago. She married and raised six children there. This was an amazing journey for someone so young! Baba was a wonderful cook and baker. The nut roll was something her mother and grandmother had taught her. She remembered what she could, and then she learned from other ladies in her neighborhood. It wasn’t written down, so when Ryan’s grandmother, Helen (Mimi) and great aunts wanted to learn from her, they had to follow Baba around with measuring utensils, so they could get more exact measurements – not just a hand full of this and a teacup of that. And Ryan’s grandmother (Dena’s Mom), Mimi, perfected it!
Sadly, Baba passed away in the late 1970s, and Grandma Helen (Dena’s mom) passed away in 2023, but we believe they would both be proud of us carrying on the tradition of their nut roll, which Dena now bakes following her mom’s recipe! The immigrant ladies in Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area all learned to cook and bake from each other bringing what they remembered from their families in other countries to their kitchens in the United States. Bakers today still make similar and slightly different versions of nut roll (or potica) throughout the US and Eastern Europe, including countries like Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Ukraine, and others. Great family memories! Always remember, food and music bring people together. We are proud to serve you our Yugoslavian version of walnut roll, which pairs nicely with our coffee. Welcome to our Gypsy Souls Coffeehouse & Roastery!
