January Restaurant of The Month: Mangos & Marley
Clean Eating, Chill Vibes, a Story of Inspiration & a Life-Long Dream Realized
Hello everyone! 2022 is upon us and we’re super excited about our first blog of the year!! You’ve got to check this place out! Meet our new friends Graham & Nina Johnston at Mangos & Marley - A Coastal Cafe, in Downtown Dunedin. Owners, Graham & Nina’s story begins when they met while Graham was managing, and Nina was bartending at a corporate chain restaurant 17 years ago. After several years of the restaurant life, Graham and Nina both left and moved on to new careers. Graham owned and operated a successful business and Nina became a flight attendant. Their Dream, however, was always to open a restaurant of their own.
This dream of theirs took over 6 years. They had offered to purchase, gone under contract and then fell out of contract on 2 separate occasions while trying to purchase a restaurant. Then, in October of last year, the Johnston’s received some incredibly tough news. Nina was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Nina faced a long road but responded well to the treatments. Once things started to look up, they took this new-found inspiration and sat down to discuss what was most important in their life. Family, friends, community, and the dream of owning that restaurant were top of their list. Finally closing on a small space behind Seeds on Main Street in the heart of Downtown Dunedin, their life-long dream was realized. They opened Mangos and Marley November 15th, 2021. Since then, they’ve met so many people doing what they love most, which is “loving on their community,” this is something Graham said, they cherish dearly. When you meet them, you will know this is for real.
Business is bustling and the new restaurant is a huge hit, so let me just tell you why. Graham and Nina have created such a unique environment with an amazing “just chill” vibe. From the super cool playlist of music to the colors and style of design, this place has a great atmosphere. The service was perfectly on point and fresh food came out fast. Lots of smiles, kind words and passion shared about the food and drinks being served all around us. The most popular dish on the menu is the Cuban bowl and/or the Bahama bowl. Nina was raised in Key West Florida and was heavily influenced by her Cuban roots and those authentic family recipes that have been passed down generations. They’ve also got Ropa Vieja…so you know I’ll be back for that! Graham’s favorite drink is the mango tea or any one of his local craft selections of beer(especially the Mango IPA).
While we were there, we had the amazing Bruschetta as an appetizer, and split up, family style, the Cuban Bowl, Coastal Turkey Avocado Press, Island Chicken Sandwich with sides of Black Beans & Kettle Chips. Everything was delicious and tasted so fresh and homemade. And that’s because it is. One of their main focuses of the restaurant was “FRESH CLEAN EATING,” and to have everything made in house. Next time you decide to head to Dunedin for lunch or dinner, Stop by to see Graham and Nina at Mangos & Marley. We absolutely love them and we think you will too. Check them out online or on social media at these links below.
