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

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.