Jumping Java Joint

New coffee shop promises bohemian touch for Dallas hospital 'hood

A new coffee shop on Gaston Road will serve the Baylor community.

Photo by Conner Howell

Bishop Arts coffee shop Espumoso Cafe is bringing a touch of the bohemian to a monolithic new medical building on the campus of Baylor University Medical Center. The new coffee shop will open on the street-side level of the new Gaston Medical Office Building, directly across from Baylor at 3417 Gaston Ave.

Espumoso is the quirky coffee shop in Bishop Arts that owner Tony Fernandez opened in 2009. In that artsy neighborhood, the shop functions as a java outpost, with Illy coffee as well as acai bowls, smoothies, and empanadas, made from his mother's Colombian-Venezuelan recipe.

And yet he's already successfully transitioned to an office building environment with the opening of a second Espumoso in the Plaza of the Americas building in 2016. That branch services the downtown worker market with coffee and acai bowls in the morning, and quick, cheap fare for lunch.

The Baylor location will duplicate that worker-bee angle, with a focus on the Baylor community as well as hospital visitors and clientele. The demand for coffee in the area is serious, as anyone who has waited in the drive-through line at the Starbucks on Gaston and Haskell knows all too well.

This is along the same strip of Gaston where Metro Diner and The Petal Pusher flower shop once stood. Nothing can stop the Baylor machine. The new medical building is an ungainly zero-lot structure, but it does have some retail storefronts at street level. Two other restaurants have already opened there: Grabbagreen, the healthy fast-food spot, and a branch of Potbelly Sandwich Shop.

Mitch Campbell, who's helping Fernandez with the build-out of the Gaston space, says that the shop will offer an aesthetic counterpoint with warmth and color.

"The decor incorporates a modern Colombian style that's warm yet minimalist, versus the environment at Baylor where everything is black and white," he says.

But the Baylor location will also include a valuable element from the Bishop Arts branch that the downtown location lacks: lots of cozy seating, so that people can linger.

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News you can cheers to

Assembly Icehouse in Plano adds swanky adults-only cocktail lounge

Photo courtesy of Assembly Icehouse

Espresso martini at Assembly Icehouse.

An east Plano restaurant and entertainment venue is expanding with a chic new lounge aimed exclusively at the 21-and-up crowd: Assembly Icehouse, the sports bar and family-friendly restaurant at Assembly Park, is adding a cocktail lounge, giving the mixed-use development its first adults-only destination.

According to a release, the 2,200-square-foot lounge will go in the former Tacoro Tacos & Tequila space, which has closed.

The lounge will offer a more upscale atmosphere than the adjoining icehouse, and will focus on premium cocktails, spirits, music, and socializing, the release says. Features will include a vinyl listening station with an extensive record collection, a pool table, and private spirit lockers where regulars and members can store personal bottles for future visits.

Yes, memberships will be available. So swank.

The lounge's name, opening date, membership details, and beverage program will be announced later, the owners say.

Assembly Icehouse, announced in fall 2024, opened in November 2025 as one of the anchor restaurant concepts at Assembly Park, the redevelopment of the former Plano Market Square Mall at 1717 E. Spring Creek Pkwy. Developed by Triten Real Estate Partners, the project has transformed the aging shopping center into a mixed-use destination with apartments, offices, restaurants, and a central park.

The 4,850-square-foot restaurant was developed by Dallas hospitality group Blender Brands and features elevated bar food, more than 30 TVs, live entertainment, and expansive indoor-outdoor spaces overlooking the property's lawn. The menu includes smashburgers, chicken and waffles, double-fried wings, and sandwiches such as the Tejas Philly.

Assembly Park in Plano. Rendering courtesy of Assembly Park

The adjoining lounge will mark the latest evolution for Assembly Park, which also includes Cliff Coffee and other food-and-drink concepts from Blender Brands. (The now-closed Tacoro had operated as a quick service, pick-up and go Mexican restaurant and taqueria.)

"Assembly Icehouse has been embraced by the community in a way that exceeded our expectations," says JR Muñoz in the release. "As we looked at what was next, we saw an opportunity to create something completely different within Assembly Park. This lounge will offer an elevated adults-only experience where guests can relax, enjoy great music, share exceptional spirits and feel like they're part of something special. It's designed to be a destination for connection and conversation."

Blender Brands, founded by Dallas-Fort Worth entrepreneurs Jacob Cox and Danny Wilson, also operates Select Start Arcade & Bar in Deep Ellum, Good Side Pizza Pub, and other hospitality concepts across North Texas.

Assembly Park's location, the former Plano Market Square Mall, was a 300,000-square-foot shopping mall that was built in the 1980s. Triten acquired it in 2021 with the goal to create a walkable mixed-use neighborhood featuring dining and retail, creative office, and urban-style living options with a connection to the outdoors, centered around a freshly planted park and event space. It includes the Annabel at Assembly Park, an apartment community with 304 units that opened in summer 2024.

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