Coffee News

New coffee shop Coffee Cove to channel West Coast vibe in Las Colinas

Coffee Cove iced coffee

Coffee Cove

A new coffeeshop is coming to Las Colinas with a tasteful laid-back California style: Called Coffee Cove, it's opening at 385 E. Las Colinas Blvd. #170, in a former Thai restaurant in the buzzy area of Las Colinas Boulevard near North O'Connor Boulevard.

Coffee Cove is from Safiya Morgan, a California native and former schoolteacher who hails from a family of coffee entrepreneurs. Her brothers own Humble Bean in Mission Bay, San Diego, and they have been providing consulting services and advice as she preps to open her own shop.

"It is a California-meets-Texas concept," Morgan says. "I am taking the California vibe and bringing it to Dallas because I miss it so much. The shop will be super chill, laid back, friendly, helpful. We want amazing product and amazing customer service. The vibe will bring itself."

For beans, she is partnering with Counter Culture Coffee, who are also training the baristas. Their coffee menu will include classics plus seasonal drinks.

Some of their specialty lattes sound decadent, in flavors such as butterscotch, pumpkin, campfire marshmallows, mocha, peppermint, white chocolate. These will change based on the season.

The menu also includes a Turkish latte and a cardamom-based spiced tea — very popular in East Africa, where Safiya’s mother is from. Hot chocolate gets a sprinkling of cardamom, as well, and they'll also serve smoothies and fresh flavored lemonades.

The shop is surrounded by offices and there's a brisk lunch trade in the area, so Coffee Cove will serve light bites such as avocados toast and pressed sandwiches that are also halal such as a roasted beef panini and a croissant turkey melt.

There'll also be croissants (plain, chocolate and almond), cookies, earl grey loaf, muffins, cruffins, and bagels provided by La Casita Bakeshop. They'll also offer gluten-free versions of items such as doughnuts.

The space is designed to provide a balance of luxury and calming, Morgan says, with plants and greenery for natural brightness, dark woods, and a mural of La Jolla Cove, Safiya’s favorite place in San Diego, to be created by local artist Hershel Yelder. She's paying attention to small details like beautiful ceramic cups from Makario Stoneware, based in Tijuana, Mexico.

They're encouraging lingering, with a a workstation and outdoor and indoor seating for about 30.

“It will provide a lounge area that feels like quiet luxury, not extravagant, where everyone belongs, everybody is comfortable," Safiya says.

BBQ News

Dallas sauce guy opens Hump's BBQ restaurant in Arlington

A Dallas sauce purveyor has opened a BBQ restaurant in Arlington: Called Hump’s BBQ, it’s at 2503 W. Pioneer Pkwy. in Pantego in a space that was previously home to Jambo's Barbecue Shack where it opened in early June.

Hump’s is from restaurateur and pitmaster Antionne Ivory, a former real estate and mortgage professional who began his barbecue journey in 2017, when he started making and selling his own BBQ sauces. He opened a vendor booth at the Dallas Farmers Market in 2019.

Ivory took the next step in 2022, when he opened the first Hump's BBQ, a takeout and drive-thru in Oak Cliff at 4367 S. Hampton Rd. It closed in April after a fire, though Ivory says they're working to rebuild it.

"I grew up cooking and watched my grandfather cook, who was a World War II military vet," Ivory says. "I named the sauce and restaurant after him."

The menu includes brisket, pulled pork, beef and lamb sausage, smoked turkey legs, and pork rib tips, sold by the half pound or pound, $11 to $30, or as a sandwich for $11-$13. They also serve whole chicken wings for $3.50 each. Meats can be paired with Ivory's sauces, which include original, spicy, and honey sweet.

There's also a whole Southern side to the menu, with fried catfish baskets, turkey legs stuffed with toppings such as mac & cheese or greens & rice, plus baked potatoes you can order with one meat for $18. On Wednesdays, they do a special: their signature chopped beef sandwich with a side and drink for $13.50.

Desserts includes peach cobbler bread pudding and banana pudding. They also serve alcohol, namely margaritas, but will be adding beer.

Ivory describes his barbecuing as Texas style, but says there's also some Cajun influences woven into dishes like the fredo sauce (an alfredo sauce with Cajun spices) on stuffed turkey legs.

The space had a perfect BBQ house feel to it, with a built-in smoker. The interior is small and homey, with a walk-up counter and wood everywhere, from the walls to the ceiling to the tables and floors. There's one TV on the wall for watching games.

"My previous place didn't have seats, but I needed seats," he says. "It's a family business and we want to create a nice family vibe and have fun doing it."

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