Java On My Mind

Chef-driven Coffeebar gets brewing in Old Town Lewisville

Coffeebar has little in the way of competition in Old Town Lewisville.
Photo courtesy of Coffee Bar
Coffeebar uses beans from La Colombe in Philadelphia.
Photo courtesy of Coffeebar

More coffee is brewing, this time at Coffeebar on Main Street in Lewisville. Founders Rob Vassilakos and Eric Foster most recently dabbled in food trucks.

"Our first truck was The Munch Box," says manager Sean Elwell. "We did a lot of types of food you wouldn’t expect from a food truck."

But calamity struck when the truck caught fire. They decided to scrap the food truck business and explore coffee. "In Old Town Lewisville, we don't have much competition," he says. "There are a couple of cafes that sell coffee, but no one dedicated to coffee like we are."

That includes the use of coffee beans from the well-regarded La Colombe in Philadelphia, whose owner, Todd Carmichael, appears on the Travel channel show Dangerous Grounds.

"It's a really great coffee," Elwell says. "They have a couple of coffee shops in New York and other cities, but their goal is to focus on wholesale. They supply the Four Seasons and all sorts of great restaurants in New York, such as Jean Georges. They made sure we were very well-educated about our coffee. They’re very particular."

That's how they came by the recipe for their frozen coffee drink.

"The company didn't want us to make Frappuccino-style drinks because they're so sweet," Elwell says. "But everyone asks for them. So instead of blending ice with coffee, we freeze the coffee, then blend that and add a little cream."

Sounds good. Coffeebar is also doing house-made pastries, muffins, biscuits and cookies such as peanut-butter and ginger snap; the latter came from a recipe belonging to Elwell's grandmother. They do specials such as banana muffins with maple and bacon, gingersnap s'mores with house-made marshmallows, or moon pies made with zucchini bread instead of the usual chocolate cake. There are a few savory items, too, such as individual pizzas to go, served 11 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday.

"We are all chefs by trade. We have all worked in kitchens," he says. "Rob worked for Chris Ward at The Mercury, and he ran a catering business. Eric [Foster] worked with Rob and has managed a couple kitchens and hotels. I worked with Eric at a Hilton hotel. We're extremely passionate about all sorts of stuff."

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McDonald's News

McDonald's closes 2 CosMc's beverage spinoffs in Dallas-Fort Worth

Photo courtesy of CosMc's

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After less than a year, McDonald's is cutting back on its CosMc's beverage spinoff, and that includes shutting down locations in Dallas-Fort Worth.

McDonald's introduced the beverage led concept in December 2023, when it opened the first location in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The concept — which seemed to be competing with Swig, the drive-through drink chain from Utah — features coffee, lemonade, slushies, and energy drinks, plus bites such as the Egg McMuffin, hashbrowns, and McPops — like doughnut holes.

They went on to open six more locations, all in Texas: two in San Antonio and four in DFW. Both San Antonio locations still show up on the website as open but two have closed in DFW so far, as follows:

Watauga at 7304 Denton Hwy.
Arlington at Abram's Alley, 300 E. Abram St. #150

Their website currently shows the Dallas location at Campbell Road, which was the original location, as still open, as well as a location in Fort Worth on McPherson Boulevard.

Despite the closures, McDonald's still plans to continue the test in the US for the foreseeable future, a spokesperson says, including opening two new smaller format stores in Texas in 2025.

That includes a location in Allen at 861 W. Stacy Rd.

The plan is to close three of the larger locations that were remodeled into CosMc’s locations — meaning that one of the locations currently still open is due to close.

"Since opening CosMc’s, we have had the benefit of testing out different location sizes and setups – from revamping larger restaurant spaces to building smaller prototype locations that focus more on the drive-thru and digital experience," their statement says. "We learned that the smaller format stores allow us to test new, unique circumstances that are reflective of our customer base. As a result, we will open two new smaller format stores in Texas in 2025, and close three of the larger locations that were remodeled into CosMc’s locations."