Nicole Hamilton October 15, 2026
Starting with this issue, I’m stepping into a new role as editor of Drive, and you’ll also find me here serving up this column. I’m Nicole Hamilton, and I’ve spent years at the intersection of creativity, branding, and automotive culture. But if you catch me on a weekend, I’m probably chasing down a good cup of coffee, a great car, or both at the same time.
That’s exactly what this column is. Every issue, I’ll be bringing you the people, places, and moments where automotive culture and coffee culture collide, because honestly, some of the best car conversations happen over an espresso.
Welcome to Shift & Sip.
How a St. Pete art studio became the most unexpected car hang in Florida.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t go looking for a coffee shop. I went looking for that Porsche.
One post on Instagram was all it took a flat-six sitting inside what looked like a gallery, concrete walls, flowers, espresso.. I closed the app, grabbed my keys, and pointed the car toward St. Petersburg.
What I found at Coffee Concrete known as Form43 x Sugar Baby didn’t fit neatly into any category I had for it and that’s exactly the point. Technically, it’s a collaboration between Form43, an art studio, and Sugar Baby, the coffee concept sharing its space. The barista was quick to set the record straight when I asked about the car this isn’t an automotive-themed café. It’s an art space that happens to serve exceptional coffee. The Porsche just lives there as an installation as much as anything hanging on the walls.
And honestly? That reframe made it better.
There’s something refreshing about a place that doesn’t try to be anything. No forced garage aesthetic, no checkered flags, no motor oil on the menu board. Just raw concrete, rotating original art, a meticulously pulled espresso, and one very tasteful Porsche anchoring the room like it belongs there. Because it does.
“There’s something refreshing about a place that doesn’t try to be anything. No forced garage aesthetic, no checkered flags, no motor oil on the menu board. Just raw concrete, rotating original art, a meticulously pulled espresso…”
Tucked in the heart of St. Pete’s Arts District a neighborhood that’s been quietly becoming one of Florida’s most interesting creative pockets Form43 x Sugar Baby pulls in a crowd that’s equal parts art world and local regulars. I worked from a corner table for a few hours, ordered more than I planned to, picked up some flowers on the way out, and left the way you always leave a place you know you’ll go back to already planning the return visit.
The real bonus? Just nearby, a local art studio runs its own Cars & Coffee so if you time it right, you can hit both in the same morning. Show up for the cars, stay for the concrete.
2621 Fairfield Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712
@coffee.concrete on Instagram
Open daily, 8am – 3pm
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