Full City Rooster Coffee Roasting Studio Preserves Culture, Connection in South Dallas

Ten years ago, the Cedars neighborhood was far from being known as the burgeoning district of South Dallas.  Development in this area has taken to a slow burn over the years, so in a lot of ways you could say the needle hasn't moved much.

But as the oldest residential neighborhood in the city, it's where the pulse of Dallas began. Stanley Marcus, of the Neiman Marcus, was born in this neighborhood, and for a time it was the premier area of Dallas. There were opulent Victorian homes (all but six were demolished to build the highway system) before many residents started moving northeast of downtown.

Fast forward to the early 2000s and the Cedars has become a haven for musicians and artists. In that time, businesses have settled into the neighborhood, adding even more color to the nearly dozen art studios and developing spaces that foster literary and artistic connections.

One of the most notable connections, which has had a lasting impact on the neighborhood since 2013, is Full City Rooster Coffee Roasting Studio. Owners Chris and Michael Wyatt transformed the framework of an old electric shop into what it is today.
"Full city" is a term used in the coffee-roasting world that refers to a medium-roasted bean, the specialty of the shop. For some roastmasters, this degree of roast highlights the best balance of body, aroma and sweetness in the coffee.

As for Rooster. Well, that was a typo.

Michael Wyatt noticed it after ordering t-shirts and business cards and decided to keep it.

All the beans here are roasted in small batches. Current offerings are from some of the most famous areas of the coffee belt such as Mexico, Guatemala and Panama. There are also unique offerings, such as beans sourced from Yemen.

The quality and roasts have been steadfast, but the space has had some major upheaval over the past few years. Full City Rooster started as an appointment-only roastery, then slowly expanded the cafe and hours of operation after demand had grown tenfold.

Now, the expanded studio has proper cafe seating, a back patio and a performance area that allows the Wyatts to continue their stewardship of culture and connection in South Dallas.
Every year the Wyatts partner with Cedars Open Studios, a nonprofit supporting the art and culture in the neighborhood. But you can find local paintings, photography and art publications like The Brooklyn Rail all over the coffee shop on the daily.

Veteran Dallas bartender Gabe Sanchez turns to Full City for advice on java-spiked cocktails. Sanchez told Wine Enthusiast that he has discovered a "penchant for clove and nutty layers in darker roasts and floral ones in softer iterations." Nena Postreria makes Rooster's cafe de olla with the shop's Guatemala blend. Rooster's beans are used all around Dallas and shipped as far as Australia.

After missing a cannoli pop-up, too many comedy nights and a meet-up with Dude, Sweet Chocolate, we have learned to have eyes like a hawk on Rooster's Facebook page, which is the best way to see what the cafe is up to next.
Written in chalk to the left of the service counter is a simple menu with six purist brews: espresso, latte, cappuccino, cortado, cold brew and pour-overs. There's an absence of syrups and specialty drinks, but that's a sign you're in good hands.

Each espresso pull has had over 25 years of Michael Wyatt's fine-tuning so that you won't miss the alterations when you taste your coffee. Even as a veteran roaster, he asks everyone in the shop how they enjoyed their coffee. Rounding off the menu are kava, teas and sipping chocolates (but try the coffee first).

When you pay, it's impossible not to look into a shadow box of Doughregarde's pastries. When we visited, there were blueberry scones, vegan chocolate chip cookies, a homemade toaster strudel and vegan blueberry muffins, but we've seen Afgan mung bean samosas, cardamon cookies and a pop-up from Nena Postreria a few months back.

Many businesses operate in communities, Full City Rooster has become a community in the Cedars, and we look forward to their precedent (and coffee) continuing its ripple across the neighborhood.

Full City Rooster Coffee Roasting Studio, 1810 S. Akard St. Daily, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.