Southern Shores Coffee

Southern Shores Coffee roasts its own beans and serves them from a small storefront in Gulf Shores, Alabama, where it has become known locally for a trademarked drink called the Bushwacker coffee, a nod to the frozen Bushwacker cocktail that is closely associated with the Alabama Gulf Coast.

The shop functions as a working roastery as much as a coffee counter, with beans roasted on site and sold both by the cup and by the bag for anyone who wants to bring the flavor home. Featured roasts have included a Banana Foster blend, a Black and Tan blend, and a Blueberry roast, alongside whole bean bags and K-cup pods for home brewing. Whole bean bags are sold for $17.99 and K-cup pods for $12.00, giving visitors two ways to bring the roast home besides ordering a cup at the counter. That roast-it-yourself approach sets the shop apart from coffee shops that simply brew beans sourced elsewhere.

Beyond the roasted beans, the menu covers a full espresso and coffee lineup, along with breakfast sandwiches, burritos, and paninis, making the shop a reasonable stop for a quick breakfast or lunch rather than just a coffee break for anyone staying nearby in Gulf Shores.

The shop keeps morning-focused hours, running from 7am to 2pm Monday through Friday and 7am to noon on Saturday, which fits the rhythm of a beach town where visitors are often out the door and onto the sand well before lunch.

Frappe-style iced drinks are part of the regular menu too, giving the shop a cold-drink option suited to the Gulf Coast heat for anyone who would rather skip a hot cup altogether on a hot Gulf Shores afternoon. Branded merchandise, including t-shirts priced at $25.99 and coffee mugs priced at $15.00, is available for anyone who wants to take the shop’s name home along with a bag of beans.

Southern Shores Coffee operates as a family-owned business rather than a franchise, and its focus on house-roasted beans has made it a starting point for coffee drinkers looking for something distinct from the national chains found along the highway into town. The same family also runs a second location in historic downtown Foley, a short drive inland from the coast, where the business expands into a full restaurant concept called Scallywags Pizza, serving thin-crust tavern pizzas alongside Chicago-style stuffed pies and New York-style slices. The Gulf Shores storefront, by contrast, stays focused on the roastery and its breakfast and lunch counter, keeping the two locations distinct even though they share a family and a roasting philosophy.

For visitors staying in Gulf Shores who want to start the day with coffee that was actually roasted nearby, Southern Shores Coffee offers a straightforward, no-frills option with breakfast food to match, all from a shop that has built its identity around the beans themselves. The Bushwacker coffee remains the shop’s signature order, a caffeinated nod to the blender drink found on menus up and down the coast, giving out-of-town visitors an easy way to bring home a taste of the trip in bean form. Regulars can also follow the shop on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X to keep track of new seasonal roasts as they are introduced throughout the year, since the rotating roast list changes more often than the core breakfast and lunch menu. Between the working roastery, the breakfast counter, and the sibling location in Foley, the shop has grown into a small but distinctly local coffee brand along this stretch of the Alabama Gulf Coast, one that still starts every cup with beans roasted a short walk from where they are served.