Tout Suite - Fannin, , INDIE
Tout Suite - Fannin, , INDIE
RESHOOT: Gray & Smith, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Louisiana & McGowen, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Louisiana & McGowen, Houston, Texas
This store used to have seat, and a vibrant contingent of customers who would hang out for hours, but it has been converted to Pickup.
Sneaks, , INDIE
Sneaks, , INDIE
Della Coffee, , INDIE
Della Coffee, , INDIE
RESHOOT: Montrose & Hawthorne, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Montrose & Hawthorne, Houston, Texas
This store used to have seating, but it is now Pickup only.
RESHOOT: River Oaks - NE Corner, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: River Oaks - NE Corner, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: River Oaks - NE Corner, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: River Oaks - NE Corner, Houston, Texas
This store is distinctive not only because it is right across the street from another Starbucks, the only such instance in Houston, but also because of the striking exterior design and, inside, non-standard design elements, such as the Navy-style chairs, and a fish tank embedded in the wall. And be sure to check out the wall next to the part for a photo of the dying frog adopted by the store.
RESHOOT: Washington & Schuler, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Washington & Schuler, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: I-10 & Kirkwood, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: I-10 & Kirkwood, Houston, Texas
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Simple Coffee, , INDIE
I found Simple Coffee, only a few months old, on Google Maps, and they sit inside yet another Houston food hall that I'd not discovered, Stetsi Food Hall and Beer Garden. Simple is just a kiosk, but they do have a couple of seats right in front, as well as general food hall seating and wifi. Now, regarding the coffee situation that I alluded to earlier, Simple serves the Handlebar Espresso blend (even for their drip) from a roaster named Clutch Town Coffee. HOWEVER, when I looked at the bag, their logo looked really familiar and so did the street address. Upon googling, I realised that the address is the same as that of Barbell Roastery, used by Day 6, and the FB page for Clutch Town appears to have been rebranded to Barbell a few years ago. But there is another twist, in that Simple was displaying a bag from Creature Coffee, an Austin roaster that they might be serving in the future. I think that the Creature bag is adorbs, and I hope that Simple does start serving Creature.
Day 6 Coffee Co., , INDIE
Day 6 Coffee Co., , INDIE
Day 6 was actually recommended by an acquaintance, and, as usual, I was surprised that I'd not heard of this beautiful cafe that has been around since 2020. Day 6 sits inside an older building in the Houston city centre, and their decor is ornate as befits the building and the brick walls. Additionally, Day 6 serves as a fairly expansive gallery with art peppering nearly every inch of wall, both in the main space and the hallway to the loos. Day 6 is modest in size, with couches, standard tables, counter tables, outlets, and wifi. Additionally, there is a small seating area in the back if you want some quiet. Pretty good hangout if you don't mind dealing with city centre parking. Coffeewise, I enjoyed a decent, if perhaps darker-than-preferred drip of an Ethiopian bean, but the coffee situation would become quite interesting two days later when I discovered Simple Coffee.
RESHOOT: JPMorgan Chase Tower, Houston, Texas
This replaces the kiosk that was right outside for about fifteen years before the relocation.
RESHOOT: Pennzoil Place (Downtown), Houston, Texas
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RESHOOT: Pennzoil Place (Downtown), Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Enterprise Plaza, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Enterprise Plaza, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 59 & Cummins, Houston, Texas
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RESHOOT: Hwy 59 & Cummins, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 59 & Cummins, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 59 & Cummins, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Buffalo Speedway & Westpark, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Buffalo Speedway & Westpark, Houston, Texas
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RESHOOT: Buffalo Speedway & Westpark, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: University and Amherst, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: University and Amherst, Houston, Texas
This is a relocation of the extremely old Rice Village store, and naturally it boasts a posh new design, befitting the upscale nature of this retail village, but also a custom hand-painted Siren mural.
RESHOOT: Cambridge Medical Plaza - Pick, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Cambridge Medical Plaza - Pick, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Cambridge Medical Plaza - Pick, Houston, Texas
This store used to have seating but was converted to Pickup.
RESHOOT: Fannin & Dryden, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Fannin & Dryden, Houston, Texas
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RESHOOT: Fannin & Dryden, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Fannin & Dryden, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Main & Buffalo Speedway, Houston, Texas
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RESHOOT: Main & Buffalo Speedway, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: 610 & Braeswood, Houston, Texas
Drive-thru/pick-up only.
RESHOOT: S. Rice & West Park Tollway, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: S. Rice & West Park Tollway, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: US 59 and Bellaire Blvd, Houston , Texas
Pickup store.
RESHOOT: Hillcroft & US 59, Houston, Texas
This store used to have seat, and a vibrant contingent of customers who would hang out for hours, but it has been converted to Pickup.
RESHOOT: San Felipe & Voss - SE Corner, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: San Felipe & Voss - SE Corner, Houston, Texas
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RESHOOT: Woodway & Augusta, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Woodway & Augusta, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Wirt Rd and Westview Dr, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Wirt Rd and Westview Dr, Houston, Texas
Drive-thru/walk-up only.
RESHOOT: I-10 & Wirt, Spring Valley, Texas
RESHOOT: I-10 & Wirt, Spring Valley, Texas
Actual visit 11-21-2007.
RESHOOT: I-10 & Brogden Rd, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: I-10 & Brogden Rd, Houston, Texas
Drive-thru/walk-up only.
RESHOOT: Pickup - City Centre, Houston, Texas
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RESHOOT: Pickup - City Centre, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Beltway 8 & Harwin, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Beltway 8 & Harwin, Houston, Texas
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RESHOOT: Beltway 8 & Harwin, Houston, Texas
RESHOOT: Sugar Land Town Center, Sugarland, Texas
Although somewhat attached to the hotel, this store is company-operated.
RESHOOT: Sugar Land Town Center, Sugarland, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 6 & Dulles Austin Pkwy, Missouri City, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 6 & Dulles Austin Pkwy, Missouri City, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 6 & Dulles Austin Pkwy, Missouri City, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 6 & Dulles Austin Pkwy, Missouri City, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 6 and Oyster Creek Place, Missouri City , Texas
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RESHOOT: Hwy 6 and Oyster Creek Place, Missouri City , Texas
RESHOOT: Murphy Rd & Hwy 6, MIssouri City, Texas
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RESHOOT: Murphy Rd & Hwy 6, MIssouri City, Texas
RESHOOT: Murphy Rd & Hwy 6, MIssouri City, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 90 & Promenade, Stafford, Stafford, Texas
RESHOOT: Hwy 90 & Promenade, Stafford, Stafford, Texas
RESHOOT: W Airport & Kirkwood, Meadows Place, Texas
Waygood Coffee - Upper Kirby, , INDIE
Waygood Coffee - Upper Kirby, , INDIE
Waygood Coffee is another newer entry to the Houston coffee market, beginning with a Pearland location about a year ago and now expanding to this cafe on Upper Kirby. I really dig their colourful exterior, and the inside is spacious with a healthy helping of plants, many of which are for sale. With a parking lot, wifi, and outlets, Waygood is a great hangout. In terms of coffee, they serve Greenway, one of my favourite Houston roasters, BUT they only use the Mid-Century blend, too dark for my tastes.
Bitty & Beaus - Rice Village, , INDIE
Bitty & Beaus - Rice Village, , INDIE
The name Bitty & Beau's seemed familiar, but not from Houston. I had to look up my records to realise that I had stumbled across the original in Wilmington, NC, and they are a purpose-driven cafe focused on providing jobs to deωelopmentally and intellectually disabled indiωiduals. The coffee itself, a blend, is not really for me, but I applaud their mission.
Luce Avenue Coffee Roasters - Bunker Hill, , INDIE
Luce Avenue Coffee Roasters is NOT one of my Houston faves. They tend to roast medium-to-dark, not light like I prefer, but I still hang out at their Richmond location often because it is right across the street from my go-to Regal Cinemas. By coincidence I happened to find myself near a newer location, off I-10 and Bunker Hill, and that led me to discover that Luce has grown from three to SEVEN area locations, and quickly. The reason is that they have begun franchising, and they now have a deal with H-E-B. Sadly, franchising can lead to a drop in quality, and the House Blend drip coffee I had from this location, inside H-E-B, was the worst of all my Luce experiences. And there is no seating, so this is not even a good hangout.
Katy Fort Bend and Franz, Katy , Texas
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Katy Fort Bend and Franz, Katy , Texas
The Morii Cafe, , INDIE
The Morii Coffee is interesting because, prior to my global tour, it was Blkdog Coffee, but now has new ownership. This changeover is quite unusual, in my experience, because besides the name, everything else seems unchanged. Same layout, decor, coffee roaster (La Colombe), and menu. In fact, the wifi network and password are the same! Sadly, they also kept the same beignet recipe, which is to say, inauthentic.
Pavon, , INDIE
Pavon, , INDIE
Another newer Houston cafe, in the Harlow District, is Pavón, a sizable and wibrant space. Pavón is unusual for being the single darkest coffeehouse that I recall seeing in Houston, and a barista explained that the owners prefer it this way. My Samsung lightens the photos--if you actually walked in, the space would be quite dark, and I imagine that the only time that changes is in the morning, if the sun is shining brightly from the east. As for coffee, Pavón serves Tenfold, which would be fantastic except that they only offer a single blend, My Shout, and I was not a fan.
Qamaria, , INDIE
Qamaria, , INDIE
For a year or two I've been noticing Qamaria, a Yemeni coffeehouse on Westheimer near Kirkwood, and an recent article about Yemeni coffee shops reminded me to wisit. The coffee is prepared in a method I've never seen before, first heating the water in this kettle, then pouring the grounds sans filter and stirring. The result is a coffee with a lot of grit, more than in a French press, and thus my frequent stirring proved counterproductive--I should have allowed the grounds to settle. Lovely space, quite large--bright, clean, open lobby with modest of decor highlighted by a stunning mural.
Elements Coffee, , INDIE
Elements Coffee, , INDIE
Even though I'm not exploring much indie coffee since I have soooo much leftover Starbucks at home, I needed to kill time between my beignet exploration, so I found a brand new five-month-old coffeehouse in EADO called Elements. This place only serves a single coffee, a medium roasted Caturra from Antioquia, Colombia, and that would typically be a downer, but the V60 brewed cup (no batch brew) was decent, and as a hangout this place is great. I guess the rent in this former warehouse/factory (I'm guessing) must be cheap, because this is one of the largest coffeehouse spaces I've seen in Houston, with plenty of seating. In fact, they also have room for live music, and I happened to arrive during an open mic night with a pretty cool duo playing.
Preston & Lorimar Dr, Plano, Texas
RESHOOT: FM 518 & FM 288, Pearland, Texas
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RESHOOT: FM 518 & FM 288, Pearland, Texas
Hwy 6 and Oyster Creek Place, Missouri City , Texas
Hwy 6 and Oyster Creek Place, Missouri City , Texas
I-10 and Studemont St, Houston , Texas
I-10 and Studemont St, Houston , Texas
