While building out a kitchen for his catering company, Chef Matthew Geiger realized there was enough space at the south Fort Myers location for Savour First Choice Catering and something else he always wanted — a coffee shop. 

Geiger, who started Savour First Choice in 2019 and has nearly 20 years of experience cooking and working in the catering industry, opened Savour Coffee in Island Park Shopping Center, 16520 S. Tamiami Trail, Unit 138. 

Geiger’s many years of experience were split between his home state of Idaho and then Florida, since moving to the state 12 years ago. His catering business quickly garnered success, eventually making Geiger’s commissary kitchen too limiting for him. 

“When we were building out [the kitchen], we had a little bit of extra room over here, and I was like, let’s just do it.” 

Being from the Pacific Northwest, where coffee is a staple, Geiger knew he wanted his shop to be very coffee forward.  

“The Pacific Northwest, in general, is serious about their coffee game,” he said. “If you drive a mile without seeing a small little stand or coffee shop up there, that’s a lot. They’re everywhere.” 

Unlike chain coffee spots, a cup of sugary milk with a hint of coffee is far from what guests will receive when trying Savour.  

The location offers all things espresso, including the americano, the breve, a flat white, lattes and cappuccinos. All drinks can be iced, with a regular size of the espresso drinks and hot tea costing $4.50 and a large size costing $5.50. 

Geiger uses two personally selected coffee blends at the shop. The daily blend, also offered as decaf, is a Cuban roast called Cafe Habana, which is a medium dark blend with rich flavor. The other blend is a single origin coffee called Sumatra Mandheling, which is from Indonesia with low acidity and earthy flavors. 

Geiger tried roasters as far north as Tampa and as far east as Fort Lauderdale before choosing Java D’oro Gourmet Coffee Roasters in Cape Coral. His blend is roasted and brought to him every week.  

“Our coffee is never more than a week old,” Geiger said. “It’s not sitting on shelves. It’s roasted every single week, and we get it locally.” 

Savour’s signature drinks also are on the menu, which can be ordered hot or iced at $5.50 for a regular or $6.50 for a large. The Savour Sig is one of Geiger’s favorites, which is espresso, white chocolate, raspberry, macadamia nut and milk. The Extra Basic holds true to its name, as it’s espresso, pumpkin spice and toasted marshmallow.  

The PNW, which stands for Pacific Northwest, is espresso, white chocolate, honey, lavender and milk. The Amaretto Dark is espresso, vanilla, dark chocolate and almond. There’s also an IDK option on the specialty drinks menu, which is barista’s choice. 

Even the frappuccinos at Savour have two shots of espresso, coming in either caramel or mocha flavors. 

If coffee isn’t a guest’s go-to, Savour’s made-to-order energy drinks may be the way to go. There are three options, the Purple Drinc, the Red Moon and the Blue Spark. 

 “We use a Lotus concentrate mixed with our concoction, and we make a nice plant-based energy drink,” Geiger said. “They’ve been a hit so far.” 

The coffee shop also offers Savour sodas, including watermelon cream and huckleberry vanilla cream flavors. Geiger said he loved Italian sodas growing up and thought it would be a fun addition to the menu. 

The split between the kitchen and the coffee shop also grants guests a unique experience, since they’ll be able to see what’s going on with the catering side of the expanding brand while enjoying the coffee shop offerings.  

Having been a sushi chef previously, Geiger felt very comfortable with the setup, which allows him to interact with his customers while still being productive. 

There’s currently a summer menu offering breakfast and lunch sandwiches, bowls and salads. However, the menu will likely shrink to what’s most popular once Geiger makes the switch to all food for the shop coming out of the coffee side of the location, rather than out of the commissary kitchen.  

Savour Coffee seats a total of 30 and is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays.