A converted goat trailer. Not a food truck. Not a custom build. An actual trailer that once held goats.
We gutted it, outfitted it with a commercial espresso machine, cold brew kegs, and a service window, and started showing up at events, markets, and parking lots around DFW. That was the test - could we serve specialty coffee from a trailer and have people come back? Could we build something worth returning to before we had a permanent address? The answer was yes. But the trailer also taught us what a shop needed to be.
What the Trailer Taught Us
Working from a trailer strips away everything non-essential. No interior design to lean on. No playlist. No seating to make someone stay. All you have is the drink and the interaction.
If the coffee is not good, there is no atmosphere to compensate.
We learned that the product has to lead. Everything else (the space, the design, the goods) comes after. The shop on Custer Road was built on that.
Finding Custer Road
We looked at a lot of spaces. Some too polished - ready-made for someone else's concept. Some too raw - build-out cost would eat the budget before we opened. 920 Custer Road was an empty shell that needed work, in a neighborhood that needed a coffee shop.
Richardson does not shout. It sits just north of Dallas, and most people drive through without a second thought. But the people who live here - families, UTD students and faculty, small business owners - they stay. They want places built for regulars, not tourists. That is the shop we wanted to build.
The Build
We did most of it ourselves. Raw concrete floors. Exposed beams. Conduit in the ceiling left visible because hiding it would have been dishonest. West Texas in feel - desert tones, natural materials, wide open space compressed into four walls.
The deer mount was here when we signed the lease. It stayed.
Weather slowed us down. The electrician slowed us down more. But the den gets built on its own timeline. We did not rush it because rushing means compromising, and we had already decided what we would not compromise on.
What We Refused to Cut
Locally roasted specialty-grade coffee. Not negotiable. We chose Eiland and Liaise because they are within miles of the shop and they care about the same things we do.
Handmade goods from local makers. Every mug, bag, print, and card in the shop is made by a person we know. Nothing mass-produced. Nothing without a story behind it.
Pastries from people who bake. Not a distribution truck. La Casita Bakeshop and Starship Bagel. Both local. Both fresh daily.
The trailer still roams. The shop is open. 920 Custer Road, Richardson. Tuesday through Saturday, seven to three. Sunday, eight to two. Come in.
