Coffee News

Italian cream-filled doughnuts will be the get at new Bishop Arts cafe

The cafe is going into a 1916 Craftsman-style house previously owned by the Kemp family.

Photo by Adam Stewart

A new concept combining coffee and wine will soon open in Bishop Arts. Called Good Companions, it's a coffee house and natural wine bar that will open at 308 N. Bishop Ave., at the corner of Melba.

According to a release, it will open on August 30, just in time for weekend coffee time and happy hour.

Good Companions comes from Exxir Hospitality, the sizzling hot group that has opened a quartet of concepts in Bishop Arts, including Paradiso and Botanist, with which it shares a courtyard shaded by 100-year-old pecan trees.

The cafe is going into a 1916 Craftsman-style house that was previously owned by the Kemp family and carefully restored.

It'll be open from 7 am to 5 pm daily, and it will serve lattes, pour-overs, Americanos, cold brews and more.

The bakery program will be overseen by pastry chef Ann Parravano, and will feature a daily rotating selection of pastries and European-style sandwiches on focaccia made in-house, as well as a few signature items, such as the pecan roll, cinnamon roll, and bombolone (aka Italian cream-filled doughnuts). Parravano has previously worked at Lark the Park, Stephan Pyles, and Stampede 66.

The release says that the cafe is a vision from Natasha Nazerian, Exxir's directory of hospitality, inspired by her grandparents' meeting in the English countryside.

"In 1952 our grandmother, Thelma, joined the Good Companions cycling club in the English countryside, where she met our grandfather Dennis," Nazerian says. "Their love story lasted for 60 years. We’ve always been touched by this sweet tale, so when we found this little house that so resembled an English cottage, we were inspired to bring their love story back to life."

"We wanted it to be the kind of place where stories begin over a cup of coffee, where good companions are made over a glass of wine, and where adventures like theirs could unfold," she says.

The cafe will showcase Nazerian's passion for natural wines with a selection of organic, unfiltered, and often biodynamic wines.

Exxir Hospitality is a collaboration between the Nazerian family and COO Jeremy Hargrove. The family includes:

Paradiso, the coastal, southern European-inspired, Italian-ish restaurant.
Botanist, the cocktail lounge with the feel of a vintage laboratory of sorts, featuring an ever-changing menu of botanical drinks.
Tejas, the upscale take on Texan comfort food with tacos and burgers.

All feature executive chef Nick Hurry at the helm.

coffee

Boots & Booze

New Deep Ellum venue vows to win hearts with food, fun, and wedding chapel

Photo by Kathy Tran

The Window at Boots & Booze will serve Deep Ellum early morning through late night.

A new all-day hangout will soon bring comfort food and cocktails, a dog-friendly courtyard, live music stage, and even a whimsical wedding chapel to Dallas' Deep Ellum. Boots & Booze, a new concept from Dallas-based Wush Hospitality Group, will debut its first phase on Friday, October 23 at 3014 Main St., across the street from Terry Black's Barbecue.

The first phase includes The Window, a walk-up kitchen; The Courtyard, an outdoor bar and gathering space; and its signature Shotgun Wedding Chapel.

“This is meant to be a place where you can grab breakfast or coffee before work, bring your dog for the afternoon, meet friends for a drink, catch live entertainment or celebrate something completely unexpected,” Sherry Hazrati, co-founder of Wush Hospitality Group, says in a release. “You don’t need a special occasion to come here. We want people to feel welcome the minute they walk in.”

The Window will serve coffee and breakfast starting at 6:30 am on weekdays, with brunch beginning at 11 am on weekends. The menu, developed by Hazrati and the group's culinary team, changes throughout the day.

Breakfast options include the Crispy Potato and Egg Sandwich and Quick Shift Meals. Lunch brings the Golden Honey Chicken Breast Sandwich, Double Onion Chopped Beef Sandwich, Main Street Philly, and Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese. Dinner offerings include Hearty Chicken, Crispy Potatoes, and After Hours Potatoes.

Weekend brunch features Hot Honey Chicken French Toast and shareable brunch boards, along with lighter and gluten-free options.

The beverage menu includes coffee drinks, sodas, cocktails, wine, and beer, including a gluten-free option. One signature drink is the Cold Fashioned, a frozen take on the Old Fashioned made with Still Austin Whiskey.

Guests can grab to-go meals or settle into The Courtyard, which has a bar, stage, and flexible seating for everything from game-day gatherings to live entertainment and community events.

The Shotgun Wedding Chapel is a "playful” element, says the press release, which is not to say it isn’t a functional wedding venue for couples eager to tie the knot. The team expects ceremonies and other pageantry year-round inside Shotgun.

Sherry Hazrati Boots & Booze Sherry Hazrati and her Wush Hospitality Group are behind Deep Ellum's new Boots & Booze venue.Photo by Kathy Tran

Hazrati says the goal is to make guests feel welcome and give them a reason to return.

“We want people to leave remembering how we made them feel and come back because they feel like they belong," she says.

The group plans to expand the concept with Boots & Booze Scratch Kitchen, a full-service restaurant led by executive chef José Luis Rodriguez Perez, former owner of Dallas restaurant Mixtitos Kitchen. Details and an opening date have not been announced.

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