A new coffee shop has opened in East Dallas, in a location with a longtime coffee presence: Called Juju's Coffee, it's a to-go shop located at 6038 La Vista Dr. in the center of the Lakewood neighborhood, in a space that was previously home to The Coffee Company.

Juju's Coffee is from Nick and Julia Rocha, a young couple from Amarillo who entered the coffee world after graduating from the University of North Texas with a mobile coffee shop they launched in 2022.

"It was during COVID, and we were sent home during spring break," Nick says. "Julia and I started fantasizing about buying an Airstream and making it into a coffee trailer, and then we said, 'Well why don't we just do it?'"

In one of those fables, they found a classic 1962 Airstream that had been sitting on a farm. It was in rough shape, and so they proceeded to renovate it themselves.

"It took us almost two years," Nick says. "It was basically gutted, it had nothing in it but rat poop when we got it."

Their first event was Mother's Day 2022, and they've since built a following, serving coffee drinks with an unpretentious charm at pop-up and corporate events, weddings, and home FC Dallas soccer games.

“One of our strong suits is getting to know people, and that's how we built a community," Nick says.

A personal connection is also how they found the shop in East Dallas.

"A coworker of mine was married to someone who worked at the Coffee Company, and said they were were ready to retire," Nick says.

The Coffee Company was a coffee roaster and gift shop that had been in that location since 1998; owners Danny Furr and Patricia Brady closed in 2022.

"We felt very blessed to get the space, and it was basically turnkey," Nick says. "They left everything as it was, with tea, coffee, and all their merchandise. Anyone who came by and didn’t know they were retired, we just gave them free bags. We knew it was bittersweet so we gave their customers things to remember them by."

They've since repurposed elements from the store including the '70s countertop which is now their bar. "We don’t have a ton of capital but we also always like to make use of something rather than discard it or throw it away," he says.

They're launching in baby steps, starting with a menu of coffee and espresso drinks, for take-away only, as follows:

• Otis Latte (named after their Airstream): Espresso, vanilla, brown sugar, and oat milk
• Neapolitan Latte: Espresso, white chocolate and strawberry
• Coffee Cola: Mexican coke and a shot of expresso

They currently serve coffee beans from two roasters: Coffee Del Rey from Plano, and Eiland in Richardson. They also serve tea, matcha, and chai.

They'll keep doing the mobile trailer, but at the shop, they hope to add seating, some snacks, and possibly make use of a unique roaster that was left behind to roast their own beans.

"We still seem socially distant after COVID, and we are trying to connect people again - and let coffee be that reason to connect," Nick says.