Coffee News

New indie coffee shop and roaster in East Dallas takes beans seriously

These aren't just any beans, sister.

Courtesy photo

A new independently owned coffee shop has opened just down the street from the Dallas Arboretum, from a family who knows good coffee.

Honduras Fresh Coffee opened in early February at 9219 Garland Rd., in front of the White Rock Apartment complex, with coffee and espresso drinks, panini, and pastries.

They're also a coffee roaster and sell their freshly roasted beans.

Honduras comes from the Guerra family and has a little edge in that they're from the Honduras, known for its excellent coffee beans, and have unique connections to the industry and to growers.

Kristen Guerra, who is managing the shop with her mother, says that when she and her three sisters came to the U.S. to attend college, they were disappointed by the quality of coffee they found.

"We saw that coffee wasn't being handled the same way it is in the Honduras," she says. "And my father is in the business and knew growers we could work with. We saw the opportunity to open a coffee shop where we could roast and grind fresh coffee with no preservatives or added flavors, and achieve the same quality we were accustomed to, growing up there."

They have all your basic espresso drinks, plus a small menu of eats including lunch and breakfast panini served all day, in options that include chicken with ranch, turkey with mozzarella and pineapple chipotle sauce, an Italian panini with pepperoni, salami, and provolone, and a BLT with mozzarella cheese.

They're also working with a bakery to provide pastries, muffins, cookies, cheesecake, and tiramisu, which they're rotating in and out to experiment.

"We're only open a couple of weeks so we're still figuring out what people like," she says. "But we knew having pastries was important. In our country, you always drink your coffee with a pastry or a snack, whether it's morning or evening."

While they will happily whip you up a latte or cappuccino, Guerra says she counsels customers to try their coffee first, and drink it black.

"When people come in and ask what's good, I tell them to try our house coffee," she says. "Just coffee, no flavors or milk, just try our real coffee, because we take it very seriously."

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Coffee News

New Dallas coffee shop opens with good coffee — and great hair

Common Good

Common Good coffee and good vibes

A new coffee shop with some serious styling has opened near downtown Dallas: Called Common Good, it's located at 1619 N. Hall St., right off Ross Avenue, in what was previously a retail outlet for Rakkasan Tea Company, who left the space in mid-2024.

Common Good is more than just a coffee shop – it's a coffee shop-hair salon from Christopher Bermudez, a stylist who previously owned Ellum Salon in Deep Ellum which he sold in 2022. Their motto: "Good coffee, good hair, good vibes."

Bermudez was born in Mexico City and moved to Dallas when he was one year old but remained close to his culture and often travels to Mexico City, where he found the inspiration behind this new concept.

"I was inspired by the multiuse spaces in my hometown of Mexico City: coffee shops that turn into a nightclub or tequila tasting rooms in the evening. Great vibe is what we are going for," he says.

The coffee shop is in the front, while the hair salon is in the back, divided by a large glass. The salon has eight stylists, including Bermudez.

The shop also features all-vinyl jam tables where guest DJs play music most weekends, creating a cool atmosphere. The décor resembles listening rooms that are popular in South Korea, with custom-made wooden walls and modern furniture.

Good vibes at Common Good Coffee and hair salonCommon Good

Heading the coffee operation is Jesse Nava, who recently worked at Xaman Coffee in Oak Cliff, and they're partnered with Lemma Coffee for beans and barista training. The shop offers a small but solid menu, with espresso and coffee classics, plus some specialty drinks including pistachio matcha, cardamon rose latte, espresso freddo, and a Mexican mocha.

“We want to stay consistent with a small menu — we want to get it right, then eventually add to it," Bermudez says.

They plan to add food, as well, working with a local bakery still to be decided for muffins, croissants, kolaches, cookies, and bagels.

They're open Tuesday-Saturday from 7 am-7 pm, with shorter hours Sunday and Monday, from 7 am-2 pm, since the salon portion is closed those days.

They've witnessed a big demand for coffee, since the center they're in had coffee history: The storefront on the corner at 1623 Hall St. was once Method Coffee, then Fiction Coffee, which closed at the end of 2023. (It's now home to Black Swan Saloon, the resuscitated bar from acclaimed mixologist Gabe Sanchez.)

They see themselves as a neighborhood coffee shop, where residents of the multiple apartment complexes around can become regulars. They are dog-friendly, serving pup cups.

"I always believed that if you have a good product people will come," Bermudez says.

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