And yet more on Cafe "Happiness"

TAMPA HEIGHTS - For the three thirtysomething owners of Cafe Hey, the recently opened coffee shop is an opportunity to re-create the artsy, engaging and warm atmosphere they have experienced in other cities in the United States and abroad.

They also see a chance to contribute to the city that helped raise them and perhaps transform an area on the edge of downtown that, while undefined, screams potential.

"When you go away and come back, you make the comparison," said co-owner Anne Vela, who has lived in Baltimore, New York, Washington and Savannah, Ga. "You look at what the potential might be.

"You want to contribute to your environment rather than bemoan what is lacking," said Vela, 30, who has a bachelor's in liberal arts from St. John's College in Annapolis, Md.

Her business partners are her husband, Chris, an architect at PBS&J in Tampa, and S. Cheong Choi, manager of Oceanic Restaurant Equipment. Cafe Hey, 1540 N. Franklin St., is located on Oceanic Supermarket property; Choi's family owns the business.

The three met when they attended Plant High and got reacquainted in 2005.

They started rehabilitating the 800-square-foot storefront two years ago during weekends and evenings. They opened in October.

The cafe sells coffee - latte, cappuccino, iced coffee, espresso, Cafe Cubano, cafe con leche and a regular cup of Joe - teas, sandwiches, salads, soups, muffins, scones, brownies and cookies.

The name Hey means happiness in Cantonese, said Choi, who was born in Malaysia and raised in Tampa.

The owners want to do more than just serve customers. They want people to gather, meet and connect at the cafe. They plan to hold coffee tastings, art shows and music performances, and hope to expand by about 300 square feet.

"There is a certain energy in a coffee shop that is very different from a restaurant," said Choi, 32.

"It is not just a meeting place for people, it is a meeting place for ideas," said Choi, who has a bachelor's in political science from the University of Georgia and a master's in European studies from Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.

"You feel a certain loyalty for your hometown and seeing it do well," he said.
The partners also want to boost the area's business potential.

"Doing this is adding to the urban fabric that the city needs," said Chris Vela, 30, who holds a bachelor's in arts and a master's in architecture from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Tampa Heights resident Heather Frankel is a Cafe Hey regular. She enjoys the coffee, the food and the owners. She said the cafe is exactly what the area needs.

"We have over 2,000 homes in Tampa Heights," said Frankel, a real estate agent. "We need food, cafes and places to go."

Anne Vela said she is enjoying interacting with customers and seeing the area slowly transform. Soon the Bush Ross law firm and the Hillsborough County Bar Association and its nonprofit foundation will open across the street.

"The community is forming," she said. "It can only get better."