A suburban coffee concept has big plans for Dallas-Fort Worth, including opening a location at a key address in Uptown.

The concept is White Rhino Coffee, which started its DFW colonization in 2020, unveiling locations in Bishop Arts and Arlington.

Now there are two more in the works for early 2021:

• Uptown Dallas, at 2909 Thomas Ave., in the State Thomas District. Tentative opening date: January.
• Fort Worth, at 1201 8th Ave. Tentative opening date: February.

White Rhino is known for its craft coffee, pastries, and Southern bistro style fare. Their menu includes espresso drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos, plus food including sandwiches, salads, toasts, bagels, and tacos.

They do signature drinks such as Mint Condition with white chocolate, mint, and vanilla; plus seasonal offerings such as Cookie Butter Latte; plus premium tea by Los Angeles purveyor The Art of Tea.

White Rhino was founded in 2007 by entrepreneur Chris Parvin, who opened locations in Cedar Hill, Red Oak, and Waxahachie, where he attended the Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

They favor old buildings; the Waxahachie shop, which opened in 2018, is in a century-old structure they carefully preserved.

"We think about what neighborhoods are best for our brand, and that champion landmark locations," a spokesperson says.

Arlington is a cunning re-do of the former Worthington National Bank building at 401 E. Border St. They kept the original structure but added a kitchen, patio, and amenities such as parking for bicycles. Former drive-up teller lanes were retrofitted for drive-thru/to-go orders.

The location in Bishop Arts is an outlier: It's in a new building at 223 W. Seventh St., on the street level of the Victor Prosper apartments.

But Uptown will be more prototypical. It's in the historic State-Thomas District, in a two-story home built in 1910, with two patio spaces on the facade looking out on the street. The space has been vacant since 2013 when the Londoner Pub closed after five years.

Doing things thoughtfully is a Parvin motif, from the soothing aqua packaging to the spiritual mission of his company, Parvin Group: to create profitably growing companies that "give back to the kingdom of God, make the world a better place, and enrich the lives of employees."

"We have had incredible success in building coffee shops where people feel like they can create unity around coffee," they say. "In each community that we're a part of, we do our best to give back to community causes; each coffee shop has a donation budget for local causes."

"Our world is all about cementing community around coffee — to bring people together and give back to the communities."