The Islander: Karma Coffee & Books
Bringing the World to SPI
R. Daniel Cavazos
Will Everett traveled the world as a journalist, producer, and a development specialist working with Afghan farmers to put U.S. aid at the ground level.
Starting in 2005, Everett would spend 10 years – on and off – living in Afghanistan, a country he grew to love. Security concerns became too much in 2015. Everett’s employer, the U.S. Agency for International Development, advised him to leave Afghanistan.
He worked from home for USAID, but not from his native Houston. By that time, Everett had developed an affinity for South Padre Island.
He first knew it as young man when visiting his father, a Port Isabel restaurateur. Everett found himself returning to the Island time-and-time again. His travels took him everywhere. Returning to South Padre was a constant.
"The Island was calling," Everett said of his frequent returns. "If I can’t get out to the world, the Island is about as close as I can get in the (Rio Grande) Valley."
Pictured: Will Everett
Adding to the Mix
Everett would bring some of that world to Café Karma on the 5200 block of Padre Boulevard.
He opened the Island business in 2017 and his partner in the venture was a friend he met in Afghanistan. Roin Khurami served as an assistant to Everett’s USAID work. His support of Khurami made his immigration to the United States possible.
Their self-described "laid back coffee shop," as stated on Café Karma’s Facebook page, is getting an upgrade. Books are being added to the mix of coffee drinks and sandwiches.
Karma Coffee & Books
Coming to the Island at 2500 Padre Boulevard is Karma Coffee & Books. A visit to the emerging business on the first of September found books being shelved and a city inspector checking on the progress being made toward opening.
Beautiful animal paintings with coffee shop themes were hung. They face the coffee bar and include jazzy portrayals of racoons, ravens, kangaroos, and wolves.
``It’s a real patchwork,’’ Everett said of how Karma Coffee & Books is laid out. ``We didn’t go out and get a designer. We did it ourselves. We wanted something to reflect who we are.’’
Taking the Baton
Everett’s first exposure to business came through his father, Eddie, who after his own work-related travels, came to Port Isabel in the early 1980s – and stayed.
Eddie Everett would become a PI fixture for decades with his Fast Eddie’s BBQ and The Lost Galleon restaurants. Visiting his father years ago introduced Will to PI and the Island. His affection for the coastal communities has never left him.
Expanding his business with Khurami further solidifies Everett’s ties and commitment to the Island. Adding books to his coffee shop business is an important element. Everett sees Karma Coffee & Books picking up where Paragraphs, a longstanding SPI business, left off after recently closing.
Its owners retired, passing the bookshop responsibilities to Everett. He is passionately taking that baton with their support.
"I wanted a bookstore because I felt a need to add a cultural component," Everett said. "You want your personal values to go beyond adding dollars to your bank account. There’s a fulfillment in going beyond dollars."
He feels that satisfaction when visitors from the world-at-large come to his coffee shop. Everett recalled a recent visit to Café Karma from an Israeli businessman. He fondly recalled the conversation with a visitor from a part of the world Everett has been to often. It’s an example of the allure South Padre Island brings that is unique among Valley communities.
"I loved it," Everett said of the Israeli’s visit. "It’s the kind of thing that happens here (Island), but isn’t likely to happen in Brownsville or Mission."
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Island Matters | P.O. Box 2778 | South Padre Island, TX 78597
