Roasted's been following the progress of White Rock Coffee's new kiosk at the northeast corner of Abrams Road and Mockingbird Lane for a while now. After all, the beans have been out of the bag since the beginning of the year.
Though the new satellite location's grand opening festivities still won't be until mid-August, the mom-and-pop coffee shop celebrated the "soft opening" of its White Rock Coffee Express last Friday at noon.
And, the "double drive-through kiosk" has been "very busy" ever since, according to one employee we spoke with this morning. Already dubbed the "Mini-Me" White Rock by some regulars, the much smaller Express location has two drive-through windows with another walk-up window for pedestrians.
So, no café in which to sit and sip their award-winning coffee and no free Wi-Fi like the original Lake Highlands spot -- though we're told they should have some patio furniture outside within the next few days.
So far, folks don't seem to mind the less hang-out-friendly approach, thanks to the quick turnarounds they're receiving from the baristas frothing up drinks inside those dual drive-through windows. If only the opening of the Express kiosk was as speedy.
The Lake Highlands-based coffee house and roaster originally intended to open the Express location on Memorial Day -- in honor of the original location's fifth anniversary -- but, it seems, Nancy and Bob Baker, the mom and pop behind the coffee shop, ran into a few issues with construction. ("We're not contractors, we're coffee roasters," Nancy says this afternoon.) Then there were some issues with the city of Dallas and a power meter.
But, now that White Rock Coffee Express has opened its doorswindows, Nancy says, "We're kinda excited and a bit surprised at how busy we've been." Though she tempers her surprised remark by adding that over the last few months -- as they've been busily overhauling the old T-Mobile kiosk for their uses -- customers have shown a lot of interest.
"A lot of people have been driving by and asking when we'd be open," she says.
After all, that's why the Bakers picked the Abrams and Mockingbird locale. Many of the "mothership's" regular customers were already driving from the area, she said. "Not only does it have a great community like Lake Highlands, but it's a community that supports mom-and-pop places like us. And we wanted to be able to serve Hillside Village, and the Lakewood area great coffee, as well as those just driving through."
Ha. Driving through...
Anyway, she says they realize it's a serious departure from their first café-style spot, but that was the plan from the get-go.
"It's a completely different approach than the Lake Highlands location," Nancy says. "But there are times where you just need a great cup of coffee or an iced latte to go, when you don't have time to relax or have a conversation."
And, after that mission-statement level pitch, she offered up: "It's perfect for moms with children who don't want to try to get kids out of, and then, what's worse, back into the car just for a cup of coffee."
She emphasizes that the Express location will also be serving sandwiches and salads.
"We have all of our usual fresh baked pastries, cinnamon rolls, scones, loaf breads and pound cakes," Nancy says. "And of course, it's the same great coffee from the same great roasters...us."