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Dixie House Cafe buys Arlington’s Skillet N Grill restaurant Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The owners of Holy Water Coffee, a new coffeehouse at 712 E. 100 South in Salt Lake City, take the beverage so seriously that they call it their “holy water.”
The term isn’t a dig at religion, said co-owner and co-partner Nick Price. It’s more of an “homage” to the “religiosity of the city,” he said, even though Holy Water Coffee bills itself as a “secular coffee experience.”
But like a church that opens its doors to the masses, Holy Water Coffee is an accepting spot by design, Price said, even with its specialty coffee. (The term “specialty coffee” refers to coffee that scores over 80 on a 100-point scale of quality, according to roasters.)
“I think that a lot of people that work in that field can be a little pretentious,” Price said. “And then the customers are intimidated.”
So instead, “we wanted to create a space that was inviting and welcoming and friendly,” he said. And “the quality of what you’re going to get is as good as anything else in town, if not better.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) An oatmeal cappuccino at Holy Water Coffee, on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023.
Price, who runs Holy Water Coffee with co-partner and co-owner Erin Butler, became interested in coffee through his work as a musician.
While playing drums for Meg & Dia and later in Dia Frampton’s band, Price traveled extensively on tour, and “when you load in to a venue and then you have nothing to do until the show, you go to a coffee shop,” he said.
While visiting big cities across the country, Price was not only playing shows but also forming opinions about coffee, something he now refers to as inadvertent “market research.” He didn’t expect his newfound knowledge would become useful until he was a broke musician living in Los Angeles, needing a job.
Price said he “randomly fell into” work at Handsome Coffee, a roastery in downtown L.A.’s Arts District. Far from making latte art, at least in the beginning, he started out setting up and taking down Handsome Coffee espresso machines at events around the city.
One of the owners, who happened to be a world barista champion, noticed Price’s interest and asked if he wanted to learn more.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, I really do. I’ve never had coffee this good, I didn’t know it could be this good. I don’t understand what you guys are doing or how, but this is really intriguing to me,’” Price said.
The two of them hit it off, and Price became the owner’s protege as they spent time together talking about coffee, tasting coffee and pulling shots of espresso. Eventually, Price started working in the roastery itself.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Sectional seating at Holy Water Coffee, on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023.
After Price moved back to Utah in 2015, he helped start Three Pines Coffee that year in downtown Salt Lake City. But once he met Butler and the two of them decided to open Holy Water Coffee, he wanted that shop to be “its own thing.”
Holy Water Coffee opened in June, in a space occupied for nearly 50 years by International Guitar & Banjo. “We went over and took a look at the space and I just couldn’t say no,” Price said. “I was like, ‘This is beautiful. This is going to be so cool. We have to do this.’”
Wanting to make Holy Water Coffee as “as warm and inviting as possible,” Price said, he and Butler opted to let in tons of natural light (the front of the shop is made up of windows) and picked a neutral color scheme of cream, blond wood, black and brown. They also included a decaf option, and made sure there was plenty of comfortable seating.
The result is a shop that’s light, bright and airy, with a circular coffee-making station in the center. Cozy basket-shaped lighting hangs from the ceiling, and the tables are adorned with fresh flowers.
And since Holy Water Coffee is located next door to Wasatch Touring, you can drop by for a cup of coffee while getting your bike or skis worked on.
All the coffee comes from Olympia Coffee, based in Olympia, Washington. Everything they roast is direct-trade sourced, which means they have relationships with the farmers, who in turn receive more money for the coffee they grow, so they’re able to “grow the best coffee that they possibly can, year after year,” Price said.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Erin Butler and Nick Price, owners of Holy Water Coffee, on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023.
Compared to most coffee you’d buy in a grocery store, “the way Olympia is doing it, you really taste where it was grown, what elevation it was grown at, how it was processed, how it was roasted,” Price said. “It’s just really fun, so every coffee has very unique characters.”
The simple menu features filter coffee that’s brewed with a batch brewer ($4), or there’s a pour-over option ($5) if you’d like to sit and have a cup of coffee brewed just for you. There are espresso options like a standard cortado ($4.50 for 4 ounces), cappuccino ($4.50 for 6 ounces) and caffe latte ($5 for 8 ounces, $5.50 for 12 ounces). Decaf isn’t stated on the menu, but it’s always ready — just ask.
A tea menu is launching soon, with herbal teas, black tea, iced teas and white tea; matcha ($5) and chai ($5) are already available. The cold brew ($6), which is brewed for 24 hours, is especially flavorful iced, with milk and housemade vanilla mixed in.
To go with your coffee are hand pies from Pie Fight, and cookies, scones, cakes and cookie sandwiches from Bedlam Baking.
Holy Water Coffee is open Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Follow the coffee shop on Instagram at @holywaterSLC.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) A whole milk cortado at Holy Water Coffee, on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023.
Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.
Capital One doesn’t only offer banking and financial advice, but also warm pastries and coffee.
Capital One just opened the first North Texas Capital One Café in Stonebriar Centre. On Aug. 26, 2023, the brand new cafe will host an open house. This location marks the 55th in the nation.
With two convenient ATMs, private rooms, a coffee shop and banking expertise, the cafe is a one-stop shop for all banking, food and beverage needs. The layout is a brand new design concept, made specifically to fit the flow of Stonebriar Mall and Frisco. Throughout the cafe hang local artists’ paintings and prints, as well as a mural on the left-side wall.
Verve Coffee will soon be in every Capital One Cafe with the signature drink: the honey lavender latte. Other options such as matcha, apple cider, nitro cold brew and more will also be featured on the menu. Food options such as scones, cookies, breakfast sandwiches, flatbreads and more can also be found at the cafe.
During the grand opening, visitors will have the opportunity to try coffee from Verve while they ask questions about anything financial.
Guests can access the first-come-first-serve private room to read, study, work or even record a podcast. Students and nonprofits can reserve a free private room via Liquidspace.com to hold meetings or work on projects. For those with financial inquiries, free guidance is available in the Money and Life Mentoring room. These sessions are offered by mentors who help people understand their financial behaviors and identify barriers that prevent them from reaching financial goals.
“We’re reimagining banking,” Capital One employee Tasha told Local Profile.
The cafe isn’t only for Capital One cardholders, but for anyone who enjoys delicious coffee and food. But, cardholders will have access to 50% off drinks at Verve. Guests also have access to free wifi.
“It’s great for mall guests to relax with a drink and snack,” Tasha said. “And of course for husbands to hang out while their wife shops.”
Next month, the cafe will host a private mixer with 20-50 North Texas nonprofits and find partnerships with multiple in the area.
Tasha told Local Profile that she hopes to see Capital One Cafés continue to grow throughout Dallas, but for now, guests can visit at 2601 Preston Road # 1176, Frisco, Tx.
Tototo&Soymilk Café / Tenhachi Architect & Interior Design
Text description provided by the architects. On the first floor of a building along Nakamachi Street, near the Kichijoji Station – this is where the first branch of the soymilk specialty store, “Tototo & Soymilk” is located. This soymilk store is a new business for the client, and they researched and investigated the soymilk production process. After repeated investigations into adjusting the taste, they produced smooth and delicious soymilks while keeping the original taste of the soybeans in the soymilks.
The store has a large soymilk squeezer machine equipped, which they use to make fresh soymilk every morning. We expected soymilks to be white, but the taste and color of the soymilks vary depending on the type of soybean used to produce the soymilk. Tototo offers a variety of soymilks on their menu, even for the plain flavor alone. For example, the “White” is made from white soybeans, the “Sakura” is made from red soybeans, and so on.
When designing the store, we put ourselves in the client’s shoes and considered their commitment and feelings toward soymilk production; this made us focus on selecting materials with natural textures, such as birch plywood for furniture and porcelain red brick tiles for the floor. These materials also have colors similar to that of the soybeans.
To make it easily identifiable that the soymilks are fully handmade with no additives, we placed the large soymilk machine by the street behind the glass window. The large machine made of stainless steel gives the sense of a handmade laboratory, and this catches the eyes of the people walking down the street, making them stop by as they get interested in the store. In contrast to the existing building covered with glass, the café counter and high tables open up towards the city – and we hope this landscape will appear as if there were an open public space in this corner of the shopping district.
After two years of having the street in front of Mim's Cafe torn up for rebuilding, owner Mahmoud Shahin admits he should be relieved.
But despite the imminent reopening of Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood, the massive light poles and electrical boxes the city has stuck in front of his restaurant have soured his mood.
"They replaced three beautiful trees with the ugliest things ever," said Shahin, who gave up being a physics professor to take over Mim's in 1996. "I think it's become personal."
The Cleveland Avenue reconstruction project, from Como to Larpenteur avenues, has sparked plenty of neighborhood angst. Much of it has been directed at Ramsey County, which is rebuilding the county road, for the loss of 160 mature trees.
Shahin said he wasn't one of those people. If some trees were in the way of replacing old sewers or utilities, he said, he understands. What he doesn't understand is why first a fire hydrant, then a couple light poles and electrical boxes had to go in front of Mim's Cafe — the only business on the block — and its arbor-covered patio.
The city, in charge of that part of the project, has refused to move the eyesores even a few feet farther down the block, Shahin said. He's even offered to pay $10,000 to offset the cost. He said he believes officials became angry with his continued requests.
"Basically, it became a reality that cannot be changed," Shahin said of what he called shifting city arguments — first citing code, then cost — as the project's completion drew closer.
St. Paul traffic engineer Randy Newton disputes Shahin's characterization.
With a joint city/county project, Newton said, making changes on the fly is neither simple nor easy. As time went on, officials felt more constrained by the need to finish much of the project in time for the Minnesota State Fair.
While possible, Newton said, changing the plan "was never [going to be] easy." Now, it's become even more difficult and expensive.
"I don't think he understands all that would go into it," Newton said of Shahin, whom he has spoken with several times. "I certainly feel for him. But I don't think we've been inconsistent."
Newton added: "At this point, it's essentially set in stone."
Shahin doesn't believe that. Neither do neighbors and customers like Jon Schumacher, the former head of the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation. Shahin, who returns to his home in Palestine several times a year, is a generous and involved member of the neighborhood, Schumacher said.
And Mim's Cafe is "an intersection" of students and staff at the nearby University of Minnesota St. Paul campus and longtime residents who live nearby, he said.
"I don't know why the city is being so obstinate," he said. "For two years, he has been in the worst possible place because of the Cleveland reconstruction. And he's never complained. He told me, 'I live in Palestine, I get how things work.'"
Schumacher added: "I don't know if it's a power play, or it's a personal thing. Would a different owner in a different situation have had more luck with the city?"
City Council Member Mitra Jalali, who represents the area, voiced frustration Friday with what she described as poor communication between city and county planners and residents.
"I just think that more proactive dialogue is needed [on such projects]," Jalali said. "My takeaway is that we needed to know about problems sooner — whether that was the number of trees, or light pole and electrical box location. Are we helping to ensure that everyday people who are impacted by this are included in every way?"
When asked what options remain for Shahin, Newton said he could choose an artistic wrap around the electrical boxes to make them more attractive. "To date, we have not heard from the owner about interest there," he said.
Shahin said his response to the city was: "Please, don't do that," adding, "I still hope they'll make changes."
If not, he said, "I'll sue."
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Dixie House Cafe buys Arlington’s Skillet N Grill restaurant Fort Worth Star-Telegram
A plate of enchiladas from Blanco Cafe.
Mike Sutter /Staff file photo
Blanco Cafe, the longtime San Antonio Tex-Mex staple known for its enchiladas and a go-to breakfast spot for locals, is leaving behind its St. Mary's Street location for another spot in the heart of the Alamo City. Blanco Cafe will move from its location at 419 N. Saint Mary's St., San Antonio, TX 78205 into the old Dalkowitz Dry Goods building at 201 W. Commerce St., Suite 105, San Antonio, TX 78205, according to a recent TDLR filing.
Owner Albert San Miguel confirmed to MySA on Wednesday, August 23, that the restaurant was leaving St. Mary's Street after 45 years after the building came under new ownership in the COVID-19 pandemic. Now they are working with Weston Urban to move into the building at Commerce and Flores streets near city and county offices and UTSA's School of Data Science campus. The St. Mary's location has since closed.
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"Some of the new hotels that are going up will be just a couple of blocks away. It will be good for all of us," San Miguel said. "It all belongs to God."
Blanco Cafe is moving out of its St. Mary's Street location.
The Original Blanco Cafe
Blanco Cafe received our Reader's Choice for "Best Enchiladas" five years in a row in 2016. The popular breakfast spot also serves up a list of breakfast plates and tacos all day.
San Miguel says he hopes to start construction in about six weeks and possibly open in January.
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Blanco Cafe still has its Medical Center location at 7934 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX 78229.
takanadalagi.blogspot.com Two new sibling bars are opening in far south Austin sometime this year. There’s cafe and cocktail bar Drifters S...
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