Coffee News
Ruthie's Cafe in South Dallas opens new coffee bar and gathering spot
Quartet of drinks from Ruthie's Cafe
A new coffee bar has debuted in South Dallas, at Ruthie's Cafe, the restaurant located at 1632 Martin Luther King Blvd. #100. The restaurant added the coffee bar with a menu of coffee and espresso drinks in response to customer demand, says Kaileigh Johnson, Executive Director of The Good Foundation of Texas, the cafe's parent company.
Ruthie's Cafe is the brick & mortar sibling to Ruthie’s Fueled by Good grilled cheese food trucks which opened in February 2025. The social impact restaurant has become a go-to morning meetup spot with easy parking and a location less than 10 minutes from downtown.
"This idea came straight from the community," Johnson says. "We are a nonprofit social enterprise in partnership with St. Philips School and Community Center. The staff of St. Philips along with parents and local residents told us they wanted a welcoming space to gather, enjoy a hot meal, and sip on a great cup of coffee — and we listened!"
Prior to opening their brick-and-mortar café, Ruthie's only coffee activity was to occasionally serve drip coffee from their food truck during private events.
"We had never offered specialty coffee drinks—this is a brand-new addition we're thrilled about," Johnson says.
Significantly, they're using a high-end La Marzocco espresso machine and have partnered with Tre Stelle, a Black-owned coffee roaster run by Jonathan Ghebreamlak, who roasts all of his own beans, and who trained the entire team led by Ruthie’s director of operations Taylor Williams.
"We have several baristas, but one of our amazing young team members, Belen, has discovered a true passion for coffee and is constantly creating fun, new drink recipes for customers to try," Johnson says.
Creativity is highly encouraged by Ruthie’s founder Ashlee Kleinert. That’s how drinks like the Nutella latte, Horchata, and Matcha latte came to life.
The menu includes espresso, drip coffee, Americano, cappuccino, and latte, plus specialty lattes including Nutella latte, matcha latte, and chai tea latte with choice of skim milk, whole milk, almond milk, or oat milk.
There are also teas: Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Darjeeling, mint, chamomile, citrus green tea, and orange-flavored jasmine green tea. Hours are Monday-Friday 8 am-6 pm, Saturday until 2 pm, and closed on Sunday.
While there are a few cafés with coffee in the downtown and surrounding area, she says there’s nothing quite like this on their specific block — enhancing Ruthie’s Café's appeal as a gathering spot for the neighborhood as well as parents and staff affiliated with St. Philips’ School and Community Center; 100 percent of the cafe's net profits benefit the school and nonprofit, and Ruthie’s also partners with Unlocking Doors to provide second-chance employment to individuals impacted by the justice system.
