Coffee news

Black Sheep Coffee from the U.K. brews up new shop for Little Elm

Black Sheep Coffee is now open in Little Elm.

Photo courtesy of Black Sheep Coffee

A new Dallas-Fort Worth outpost of Black Sheep Coffee, the U.K.-born coffee chain that focuses on showcasing robusta beans, is now brewing in Little Elm.

Black Sheep Coffee will host a grand opening celebration at its newest location at 26912 E University Dr., Suite 100 on Saturday, January 10, with $2 lattes and location-specific merch, along with giveaways and other opening day festivities, according to a release.

The Little Elm location is the fourth in DFW, joining the first Black Sheep location in DFW, which opened in Dallas on Mockingbird Lane in 2023, and shops in Grapevine and Plano.

“Little Elm is booming, and we’re thrilled to become part of this vibrant and dynamic community,” says Gabriel Shohet, co-founder of Black Sheep Coffee, in the release.

Black Sheep Coffee was founded by college roommates Shohet and Eirik Holth in 2013, and has since expanded to a slew of locations across the U.K., Europe, Asia, the U.S., and the Middle East.

Black Sheep has earned a reputation in the coffee world for its use of 100% robusta beans, which were previously scorned by baristas and serious coffee snobs as inferior to the arabica coffee bean, which is most pervasive in coffee shops. The robusta bean can be richer in flavor than arabica beans, and, perhaps most importantly,

"We're the only coffee company in the world to focus 100 percent on specialty robusta," Shohet told CultureMap in 2023. "Everybody is always touting arabica, but if you can find a great robusta that’s not commercial grade, you have a cool product."

Those robusta beans are brewed into both classic coffee drinks like Americanos and drip coffee, along with inventive lattes like the Cardamom-Oat Latte and Lion’s Mane Latte, the latter of which is spiked with a “focus mushroom blend.” There’s also a “Babyccino,” or steamed milk with cocoa or cinnamon for the kids, and “Puppycinos” for patrons with furry friends.

In addition to the coffee, Black Sheep locations also serve matcha drinks, fruit-infused lemonades, smoothies, and adorable heart-shaped Norwegian waffles stuffed with fillings like Nutella, strawberries, and Biscoff. Bagels, breakfast sandwiches, acai bowls, and pastries like danishes and croissants are also on offer.

The Little Elm outpost of Black Sheep Coffee is part of a major expansion into Dallas-Fort Worth for the brand. In 2023, Shohet told CultureMap that the chain had plans to open as many as seven locations in the metroplex, along with potential franchise locations.

Black Sheep Coffee in Little Elm is now open from 5 am-9 pm Monday-Friday, and 6 am-9 pm Saturday and Sunday. To score the $2 latte deal on Saturday, you’ll need to download and order your drink through the Black Sheep Coffee mobile app.

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Sushi News

Mizu Sushi opens at Greenville Ave Dallas address with sushi history

Mizu Sushi

A new sushi restaurant has debuted on Dallas' Greenville Avenue at a location with a long sushi history: Called Mizu Sushi & Handroll Bar, it opened in late November at 2014 Greenville Ave. in the space most recently occupied by Kaiyo Sushi but previously, for many years, Teppo, until it closed in 2022.

Mizu is from chef Roy Ahn, a Dallas sushi veteran who has owned or managed sushi restaurants such as Little Katana, Kome Sushi, and Sushi Zen in Southlake; he also owns Otaru, which he opened in the former Lucia Dallas space in Bishop Arts in 2024.

Ahn specializes in good sushi done well and at a fair price, and that formula is in play at Mizu, where the goal was to provide an old-school traditional sushi restaurant that could serve as a relaxed alternative to the current omakase trend, says Ahn's son, Chris Ahn.

"A lot of places that have opened lately have been omakase, but we wanted to offer an option where you don't have to break the bank," Chris says. "Not everyone has $300 — when it's that expensive, it's not easy to be able to indulge all the time."

If you really want omakase, they do have an omakase-style offering — "but we are also there if you don't want a formal experience — if you just want to come in and order a few items a la carte, and in a more casual style," Chris says.

Their menu features traditional sushi and hand rolls, with all the classics from tuna to uni to hamachi. "That's my father's style — to offer a variety of good-quality fish from Japan and around the world," Chris says.

They also have a full bar with cocktails, wine, beer, and sake.

They took over the location from chef Jimmy Park, who opened Kaiyo there in November 2023, but who says he wanted to place all his focus on Shoyo, his award-winning restaurant.

Mizu means water, Chris says.

"Japan is surrounded by water, and if you look inside the restaurant, it has a lot of blue neon lights that are reminiscent of water," he says. "We just wanted to creat a place with music, vibes, good lighting — just a nice place to get traditional sushi," he says.

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