First Look: Peaberry Coffee Opens Second Location in Oak Cliff

Peaberry Coffee's owner Elijah Salazar is making progress toward fulfilling his vision of launching several coffee shops in the community of Oak Cliff where he grew up.

“I want to make the kind of future staples in Oak Cliff that are kind of derived from the current staples in Oak Cliff,” Salazar said.

Peaberry Coffee's second location at Elmwood opened on Aug. 8. In addition to freshly brewed coffee, the shop offers the branded Kiestwood Iced Coffee in a variety of flavors in cans. Salazar added a new twist to the Elmwood menu by introducing pour-over coffee, iced-brewed coffee and coffee flights.
Customers may either order online to-go or enjoy one of the many seasonal drinks at the community table or couch while surfing the web. Peaberry’s walls are adorned with murals painted by artists SM Sanz and Wheron, both contributing artists at Meow Wolf’s The Real Unreal art exhibition, where Peaberry’s Kiestwood Iced Coffee is also sold.

We had been eager to try the exclusive house-made Yama Cold Brew Coffee ($6), but unfortunately it sold out before noon. We settled for the pour-over since the barista said the same coffee beans are used for both drinks. Crafted at the perfect warm temperature, it was velvety smooth, revealing the rich citrus notes of the medium-bodied coffee.
We opted for both the oatmeal raisin cookie ($3) and the concha ($5) to pair with our hot cup of coffee. The sweet and tangy cookie had a crisp exterior and soft center studded with oats and fine almonds. On the downside, the concha fell short of our expectations of what a Mexican sweetbread should taste like. The bread was dry and lacked flavor. Even a dunk in our coffee couldn't save it from its lackluster taste.

As we nibbled and sipped, we noticed a steady stream of customers ordering breakfast burritos. There are five options, all at $4.25. Intrigued, we decided to try the ranchero potato burrito. The almost smashed potatoes were soaked in mild ranchero hot sauce and wrapped in a soft flour tortilla.
Salazar has collaborated with local businesses as part of his desire to serve his community. After finding a gap in the market, Salazar crafted a strong espresso concentrate specifically tailored for cocktails used at local bars in the area, including Atlas in Bishop Arts and Tequila Social in Uptown.

Now, Salazar is developing an exclusive Kiestwood Iced Coffee flavor that will soon be sold at Meow Wolf only.

“I feel like craft coffee for a long time was very pretentious, and I want it to be very accessible to anybody … where everybody can enjoy a craft cup of coffee,” Salazar said.

We look forward to starting our morning right getting caffeine high with Peaberry’s coffee flight and then getting a little tipsy that evening by mixing their espresso martini concentrate, sold to-go, with the alcohol bottle stored in our homes.

Peaberry Coffee at Elmwood, 2105 S. Edgefield Ave. Tuesday – Sunday, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.; closed Monday.