Louis C. Morehead, III is a Florida native through and through. In fact he was the first baby born at Cape Canaveral Hospital. As an adult he owned a plant nursery for over 20 years but after an arm injury he “nurtured” another idea in what was to soon become The Florida Key Lime Pie Company.

Using his family’s old recipes he created real Florida Key lime pies and tropical cheesecakes. Inspired by his great grandfather’s business in the citrus industry, he created a logo that looked like a citrus crate sticker with a distressed feel and an old school font. He even created his own color, Pantone 101, to match the unique shade of the Key Lime (it is yellow, not green) just right. He started going to restaurants door-to-door to sell the desserts.

 

“I did it backwards. I had no business plan,” he admits. “But when people tasted the product, it sold itself.”

He concentrated on selling the pies to restaurants with much success. He sold his nursery and decided to find a location for the wholesale business. After he was shown the current location in Cocoa Village, he knew the plan changed.

“We’re opening a Key Lime pie store.”

At the heart of the store is creating a vacation-like feel, selling all local and Florida products to support businesses during a challenging economic time. But more than that he wanted to inspire the shoppers too; like a vacation in the Florida Keys, the floor was designed to emulate the feeling of walking on water. All visitors are offered a tour and free tasting of the famous Key lime pie and other treats.

Besides homemade pies and cheesecakes, Florida crafted beers, Florida wines, fresh made salsas, hot sauces, Key Largo chocolates, Key lime candies, Key lime candles, Key lime coolers, sea glass candies, Tortuga Rum Cakes and more. One new item that has a lot of people talking is “Mushies” — a Mason jar filled with slices of pie “mushed” into it and eaten right out of the jar.

If just a tasting isn’t enough, visit the “Conched on the Head” Tiki Bar for a full portion of the Florida crafted beers or tropical fruit wine. The bar is built from Florida southern yellow pine and cypress and is thatched with Florida’s sabal (cabbage) palm fronds. The bar is open Tuesday through Sunday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

What began as just a vision in an empty property is now a colorful and Floribbean experience for locals and visitors and according to Louis, there’s much more planned for the future.