• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

    Even More Coffee Talk

    Origin Natural Food debuts on McKinney Avenue, with new faces and flavors

    Conner Howell
    Jan 23, 2013 | 11:32 am

    A few months ago, we told you about Origin Natural Food, a healthy food spot and coffee shop coming to the Knox-Henderson area. At the time they didn’t have a permit to start construction, but this past week they’ve just finished all the finer touches. They got their brewing machines and a new chef to boot as they prepare for their grand debut Friday.

    Jeff Smith is that new chef. When he was looking to expand his catering business from California, Smith had talked to a few other companies in Dallas before he met Origin owners Jessica Myers and Russell Aldredge. But when he learned about Origin, the off-site kitchen in Addison and their plans for the future, he was sold.

    “It seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up,” Smith says. And Smith’s expertise in healthy cuisine made him a match for Myers and Aldredge as well.

    “I think it’s important to offer a menu that’s easy and simple, with some seasonal specials, and to treat this place like a restaurant,” says chef Jeff Smith.

    “I think it’s important to offer a menu that’s easy and simple, with some seasonal specials, and to treat this place like a restaurant,” Smith says.

    Simple and organic, with free-range chicken from Windy Meadows Family Farm and fresh eggs from Vital Farms. They tried to find grass-fed beef locally, but with the drought, Smith will have to source it from California for the next year or two.

    “I knew about the drought in Texas, but it’s been exceptionally impactful,” he says.

    Smith and his staff will prepare fresh meals on a day-to-day basis, cooking the day before and delivering the meals to Origin for people to enjoy the following day.

    And the coffee?

    Cue Louie Corwin, a barista and new addition to the team. He is the coffee manager for Origin.

    A friend of Origin’s manager, Andrew Key, Corwin got involved on a chance meeting with the three owners at another coffee shop, and he is now leading the training on the barista staff. Key is training the staff on point of sale and food knowledge.

    “Consistency is our main focus,” Corwin says. “We want every barista to be at the same level, so no matter when a customer comes in, they can expect the same thing they got before.”

    “Consistency is our main focus,” says coffee manager Louie Corwin. “We want every barista to be at the same level.”

    The Origin standard is an artisan brew using blends from Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters, such as Hidden City, which is used for the signature espresso.

    Origin’s founders are committed to what is fresh and wholesome and serving it on a plate or in a cup, so rather than recruit people with years of barista or restaurant experience, they instead wanted people with a passion for learning and sharing with customers.

    “You can learn coffee brilliance and food brilliance, so we wanted to train a team with the personality to involve people in the process from food to coffee,” Key says.

    Big brown refrigerators line the walls by the entrance. So you can pick your meal first, or walk over to the menu literally hanging on the wall and see what Chef Smith has prepared for that day.

    The coffee bar works in clockwise motion from the front of the shop to the back, but only when it’s busy. There’s enough room to casually browse the menu, check out all the new machines — like the lime green La Marzocco — and even peruse the self-serve Sterling Tea nook in the back corner.

    And likely Key and Corwin will be there, fixing drinks, talking coffee and food with staff and customers, and tackling the daily grind of Origin coming into its own.

    Although they are still trying to find solid ground, Corwin, Myers, Aldredge and Key are all hopeful about the future of their new Origin shop.

    “It doesn’t stop with one,” Key says.

    The coffee bar sits in the middle of shop, creating an open atmosphere for baristas to navigate between brewing machines.

    Origin Natural Food
      
    Photo by Conner Howell
    The coffee bar sits in the middle of shop, creating an open atmosphere for baristas to navigate between brewing machines.
    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars

    most read posts

    Gourmet European Market to open in north Dallas with pierogi and more

    Peach cobbler concept to open 2 locations at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport

    Restaurant-bar siblings to open in century-old downtown Dallas building

    RIP Rain

    Dallas Caramel Company founder Rain McDermott dies at 52

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jun 11, 2025 | 7:41 pm
    Rain McDermott
    Courtesy
    Dallas Caramel Company founder Rain McDermott

    Dallas entrepreneur Rain McDermott, who founded artisan caramel maker Dallas Caramel Company when she was only 34 years old, died after a battle with breast cancer; she was 52.

    Her passing was noted on the company's Facebook page, stating that "it is with the heaviest hearts that we share the passing of our beloved founder, Rain McDermott. Rain lost her courageous battle with breast cancer, but not without an incredible fight—full of strength, grace, and unwavering spirit. She gave her all, just like she did in everything."

    A native Texan, Elizabeth Rain Reglin McDermott grew up in Houston and moved to Plano at the age of 7. According to her biography, when she turned 9, her father took her on a date to the Reunion Tower which inspired her creativity and propelled her desire to leave her own mark on the city.

    She started Dallas Caramel Company in 2007 to satiate her curiosity: Could she make delicious caramel that would satisfy her sweet tooth?

    Her caramels and turtles, which were made at a facility in Wylie, were described as bold, unapologetically delicious, and as big as Texas, in 11 flavors — many inspired by Dallas, including Sea Salt, Orange, Cinnamon, Marshmallow, Espresso, TX Drunken Nut (Texas Whiskey & Texas Pecans), Pumpkin, Bacon, Apple Pie, Chocolate, Lemon Meringue, and traditional Original.

    Services were not yet announced but according to the post, the company will carry on "her mission of world caramel domination, one delicious piece at a time."

    Friends meanwhile called her "the sweetest and kindest soul," "an amazing woman and mentor," who was "adored for her enthusiasm and determination." Customers expressed gratitude for her wonderful caramels and doting personal service.

    "Rain's sweet smile lit up every room, her hugs could fix just about anything, and her love for caramel was only matched by her love for her husband Sean and her dogs Wylie and Maui," the post said. "She poured her heart into Dallas Caramel Company, and every bite of caramel tells a little piece of her story."

    dessertsdeaths
    news/restaurants-bars
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Dallas intel delivered daily.
    Loading...