Brews News

San Antonio's favorite local coffee shop brews up 2 new Texas locations

This coffee merits a look.

Alamo City's favorite coffee shop is heading to the Big D. Local Coffee, founded in San Antonio in 2008, is opening not one but two cafes in Dallas in the hot neighborhoods of Deep Ellum and Highland Park.

The Dallas locations will be branded as Merit Coffee, which aligns with Merit Roasting Co., the companion coffee roasting facility. Merit's expansion into the Dallas market follows a successful launch in Austin in 2017.

The Deep Ellum location is at 2639 Main St., #140. Construction will begin in November, and they hope to open in early February.
The Highland Park location is at 4228 Oak Lawn Ave. Construction will begin in December and they also hope to open that one in February, too. Hope springs eternal.

The Deep Ellum location will be the first shop to feature a full training center where employees will learn the ins and outs of coffee, how to prepare the perfect espresso, and more.

"Entering the Dallas market is a high-water mark for the Merit brand," says Robby Grubbs in a release. "I started my career in the coffee industry in Dallas over two decades ago so launching in Deep Ellum and Highland Park is a major point of pride. We’re looking forward to bringing the Merit Coffee experience to the Dallas community."

According to the release, expert knowledge and gracious service in a fresh modern setting at Merit Coffee has become the hallmark of the Local Coffee brand in San Antonio.

Austin firm Michael Hsu Office of Architecture designed the two Dallas locations to be modern, light-filled spaces with white powder-coated steel, warm natural wood, and navy blue accents.

“Like in San Antonio and Austin, we selected these Dallas locations because they offer dynamic daytime foot traffic and vibrant culture all week long,” said Bill Ellis. “We don’t aim to blanket a city, but to find the very best real estate for Merit Coffee and we found it with these two locations.”

There are six locations of Local Coffee in San Antonio. The company opened their first location outside of San Antonio with the 2017 opening of Merit Coffee at Seaholm in Austin.

Grubbs and Ellis launched Merit Roasting Co. in the Southtown neighborhood of San Antonio in 2014 to bring a higher quality coffee bean to their shops. Merit Roasting Co. beans are brewed at all Local and Merit Coffee shops, as well as restaurant and retail wholesale accounts in Chicago, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, and throughout Texas.

coffee

NEWS YOU CAN EAT

3 closures and a holiday miracle wrap up San Antonio restaurant news

San Taco/ Facebook

San Taco will shutter at the end of December.

Fair warning: the last San Antonio food news round-up before Christmas isn't as jolly as we had hoped. This week, three restaurants revealed they will not make it until the new year. Never fret, Hallmark addicts. There's a reason to don gay apparel when you read to the very end.

Openings and closings

One of Alamo City's most well-regarded taquerias is wrapping up business. The San Antonio Express-Newsfirst reported that midtown's San Taco would shutter to allow owners Gaby Hinojosa and Charlie Gonzalez time to focus on their other projects, including their first child. The restaurant publicly confirmed the closure through a shared Instagram post with local influencer South Texas Foodie. Opened in October 2022, San Taco was widely praised locally and earned a spot on Texas Monthly's inaugural top 50 tacos list. Hinojosa and Gonzalez's other businesses, Panfila Cantina and Tutto Pepe, will remain open.

Carpenter Carpenter Hospitality is reeling in Grayson Street's Go Fish. The restaurant debuted in January 2023 but never quite found its footing. In October, it relaunched as an oyster bar, the latest in several menu shifts. Although the social media announcement did not give a date for the closure, it appears to be immediate.

Axeshack has been prematurely chopped from Cibolo's growing culinary scene. The axe-throwing bar and restaurant posted a Dear John letter on the San Antonio Restaurants Facebook group, explaining a recent fire inspection required a vent hood that the owners could not afford. The last day of business will be December 29.

Twist! Godai Sushi Bar & Japanese Restaurant is ending a very M. Knight Shyamalan year with a reopening. In July, the iconic San Antonio filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy, citing almost $346,000 in debt. In August, owner William "Goro" Pitchford reported the concept was gone for good. Via comments on the San Antonio Restaurants post, an employee confirmed the restaurant is back in action under a new owner, Steve Han.

Saucy deep South chain Taziki's is expanding westward. According to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records, the Birmingham, Alabama-based franchise is planning its first San Antonio location at 22103 Bulverde Rd #104. The broadly Mediterranean restaurant mixes gyros, salads, and mezze with Southern surprises like pimento cheese. It is also one of the more responsible players in the nation's fast-casual scene, earning REAL certification from the United States Healthful Food Council.

Other news and notes

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus — or at least some semblance of holiday magic left in San Antonio's gloomy hospitality year. On December 10, Woodlawn Lake juice shop The Lemon Girls became the latest local business to ask for support weathering the currently rocky hospitality climes. On December 17, it was one of 30 U.S. businesses to receive a Queer to Stay grant from the Human Rights Campaign. Launched in the pandemic, the yearly grants support needful businesses that serve the LGBTQIA+ community.

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