Unique combination is building a community.
When Sherrick Ervin was a kid, the world of comics provided an escape for him, gave him a different take on the things happening in the world, and drew him into reading.
Ervin enlisted in the Army where he worked for six years as a systems analyst and computer programmer. The Army deployed the native Floridian to South Korea, then the Pentagon. The Army assigned native Floridian, Michelle, also a systems analyst and computer programmer, to McDill, then the Pentagon. Michelle and Sherrick met while working at the Pentagon. Today, the couple has been married for nearly 30 years and have four children, and they are also grandparents.
“Sherrick always wanted to open a comic book store,” Michelle said. “He collected books since he was a young boy. So, it was always a dream of his to do that, but life happens, and he didn’t get to do it then.”
Sherrick and a partner did put together a business with a warehouse full of comics and bought and sold them online. “I would rather work with people face-to-face, interact with them, build relationships, and get to know what they like,” he said.
“During the pandemic, we were looking for spaces, and found our building, but the space was really large for a comic book store,” Michelle said. However, the Sherricks opened Plant City Comic Cafe (PC3) in May 2023, at 303 S Collins St.
“With him collecting comics, we would always go different places,” Michelle said. “When we were in New York or California, we would always go to a comic book shop. But they were all very crowded, so you couldn’t move around a lot. Going with him, I was always moving out of the way, or if we had a car, I wouldn’t get out. He would be worried that he was making me wait too long. So, I remembered all those feelings. And I said, ‘Maybe we should start a cafe because it will give people an opportunity to stop rushing.’ We try to give that vibe, and we try to bring in that energy level. We are not rushing you at all. Take your time. Hang out. We really hope that people want to come if they are working, or doing different things, and that they will relax here, because it is a community thing.” Michelle is also a licensed, degreed chef. As she trains the Comic Cafe staff, she reinforces in them, ‘It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s customers first.”
Comic Cafe carries Wuz Here coffee, a business owned by a Columbian family in Tampa, which supplies them with freshly roasted beans and barista training. The cafe also offers tea, ceremonial grade matcha, and Asian sodas, among other things. Staff make pastries in house, or get them from Moreno Bakery in Brandon. The rest of the food is a mix of Western and Asian influences. The cafe offers hamburgers, 100 percent beef hot dogs, all named after comic book characters, and french fries. A build-your-own ramen station that includes vegetables and proteins is set up. “We do want to add to this menu,” Michelle said. “We started off with a very simple menu. Poke bowls and onigiri is on the way. The mangas and the graphic novels are a lot of the reason we have that Asian influence.” Michelle created the dishes, and trains the cooks how to prepare them. “This is the best hot dog I have ever had,” one customer, Anne, said.
“I want people to see this as a destination spot that we can go buy comics, and have a bite to eat,’ a good bite to eat, not just anything,” Sherrick commented.
The space is large enough to hold a comic area and a cafe. However, there are even more comics. “The books that we have on display on the floor are only five percent of the total books that we have,” Sherrick said. “I have three storage rooms with comic books in them. We get a lot of collections in from people off the street. That is another reason I wanted to have a store front; so people know we are here and they will bring the collectibles to us to sell. Several comic book enthusiasts and dealers travel weekly or monthly to Comic Cafe from as far away as Naples and Winter Park to buy comic books.
Word is spreading about the unique combination of comics and chef-created cafe food, and the community of people that it connects together is steadily growing.
