Current coffee craze keeps brewing - in Amarillo and beyond
Today, coffee is an integral part of American culture and daily life. Coffee shops have emerged throughout the states, and Amarillo is no different, housing at least 15 different coffee shop brands in the city and growing.
But the coffee today is not our father or grandfather’s coffee. Coffee shops today are more affluent and sophisticated, with Millennials, Gen Xers and older coffee afficionados meeting, studying and gathering for a cup of their favorite brewed specialty, espresso, breve or mocha, hot or iced. The coffee cult is educated, adventurous and curious.
Today, brewing coffee has become an art, and each coffee shop has their own loyal following and specialties. For our reader’s time and our space, we have detailed a few of the local longtime coffee vendors first, followed by some of the area's newcomers to the java scene.
The first of this two-part series highlights some of Amarillo and Canyon's coffee mainstays, with a few of the newer ventures featured in part two.
Roasters Coffee & Tea
The oldest of these in Amarillo (of this style) would be Roasters Coffee & Tea, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Roasters is known for being the first to roast its own coffee and now has a warehouse with two roasters. The first location started in a quaint shop in Wolflin Village (now a boutique) and quickly became a hit with up-and-comers with espresso specials, iced mochas and inviting décor.
The first owner, Steve Thatcher, had worked in a Starbucks in Oregon and brought back the concept of a coffee house to Amarillo and opened the first Roasters. At that time, most of the coffee was sold in-house and people sat down to enjoy their coffee with a newspaper or friend, but then it changed to takeout. Thatcher sold to Craig Gualtierre, who grew the coffee roasting success to more stores and employees from 12 to 80 currently. He recently sold to David Cooper, who worked with Gualtierre for 25 years. Roasters now has four locations in Amarillo, the main one being at 1818 S. Georgia. Gualtierre still keeps a hand in the business and owns the name, so he’s active in the business.
Cooper said that he constantly reminds his employees that they are in the “people business, not the coffee business”. He said that he always likes to keep a presence in the shop and wants to address concerns as soon as they happen. “Craig always did that. He would call anyone who had an issue, the moment he found out, to keep the flow of good communications running smooth." Roasters keeps customers coming back with the punch card that allows a free drink after a certain number cups have been purchased. The Georgia location has room for friends and small groups to sit and meet, work on their computers or just enjoy a great cup of coffee.
“We have a lot of regulars who have come to us for two-plus decades,” Cooper said. “We have a good drive-up service too, and that helped during Covid, but we like people to come in, slow down, have gatherings and enjoy a nice cup of coffee and get to know them.”
“We like to see people come in for gatherings when they come back to town," he added. "We’ll be open Thanksgiving, just for that reason. We don’t force our staff to work, it is purely volunteer, but we like to have a place for people to meet. We have bonuses for them, too.”
Cooper said they do an amazing job of sending coffee to customers in such faraway places as South Dakota, Florida, Massachusetts, Florida, Washington, Nevada and all over. A few years ago, Roasters moved over to an all-natural line, which is more costly but a better product. They try to bring on new drinks, some inspired by customers and some by their own staff.
The coffee group also partners with many nonprofits to be giving members of the local scene. They have worked with Toys for Tots, March of Dimes, 24 Hours in the Canyon, and the Buddy Walk. “We also get our team members involved in going out to shop for donations,” Cooper said.
Loyal customers such as Jim Rogers, LCSW, support the local coffee places first and foremost. Rogers sports a thermal mug that he can get refills in for a dollar, which draws him in. It is also close to his work in Wellington Square. They have a coffee of the day, lattes, mochas, Americans, Smoothies, Breves, hot and cold tea. A pup, accompanied by a human, can get a free pup cup at the drive up. Roasters' motto is “Life is the Purpose, Coffee is the fuel.”
Palace Coffee
Palace Coffee Company has proudly served the Canyon and Amarillo communities since 2011, according to their website. Palace was born because owners Patrick and Krystal Burns dreamed of creating a safe “third” place where anyone, regardless of their background or circumstance, would feel safe, valued and appreciated. According to their mission, “We aim to serve the best quality product for our guests to enjoy, by creating a genuine, positive, and inclusive guest experience for everyone remains our primary focus."
The first Palace Coffee location opened on July 1, 2011, on the historic square in Canyon. The red brick building that houses the original Palace boasts a rich history. In fact, from 1912 to 1960, that building was home to The Palace Hotel, which is how the Burns came up with the name for their new coffee venture. The couple are Amarillo natives who graduated from Randall High School and wanted to tip their hats to the history of the building by repurposing the Palace namesake. The original plan was for Palace Coffee to be a quaint mom and pop shop in Canyon, where the Burns could live out their entrepreneur dreams and make a good living. As it turns out, the community had bigger plans for them.
As the Burns began to delve more into the coffee industry, they quickly realized that an entire world of opportunities lay before them. The Palace team began competing in coffee competitions and finding success. Palace began making a name for itself, not only within their little community in Canyon, but in the coffee industry as a whole. Because the Palace name was gaining momentum, the timing was perfect for expansion and a new location was opened in the heart of downtown Amarillo on historic Polk Street. This second location opened its doors on June 12, 2014 in the Paramount building - another building with a rich history. From 1932 to 1975, the Paramount building housed the finest theatre in Amarillo.
Bringing honor to the community’s history while bringing members of that community together swiftly became a theme deeply enmeshed within the Palace culture. With both locations thriving, Palace’s expansion continued. Work began on a third location in Southwest Amarillo at Coulter and 34th, at Summit Shopping Center while simultaneously, plans for a roastery began to take shape so that Palace could begin producing their own product by roasting in-house coffee beans. Palace expanded their wholesale customer base and added their coffee to the shelves of six local grocery store locations and nine grocery stores in the DFW area. In July 2021, Palace moved its roasting operations into a facility in Wolflin Square. This impressive, 800-square-foot project consists of a 2,500-square-foot roastery, a beautiful cafe space with expansive indoor and outdoor seating, and a new business venture, The Royal Bar - a craft cocktail lounge.
They are known for their “Be Kind” motto and for serving “flights” of coffee, which gives the individual a taste of different coffees to be enjoyed in a larger setting with friends.
Cliffside Coffee
Cliffside Coffee has two locations and features specialties in a drive-up format. Every month, a special sticker is available to the collectors until they run out. Like others, they also carry an assortment of pastries, sandwiches and salads.
“We focus on drive-through, just to get customers in, out in a hurry. We know people are on their way to school, on the way to work and busy, so we try to focus on that,” said Cliffside Coffee owner, J. Paul Dodson.
Cliffside Coffee has more than 30 flavors of drinks, from specialty coffees to smoothies to energy drinks.
“We have all sorts of drinks. We carry over 30 flavors; we don’t charge anything extra for them - whipped cream is free. The price you see on our menu, tax is included, so we offer a lot and we don’t nickel and dime people,” said Dodson. Current crazes are Red Bull Infusions, Maple Latte, the Works, whipped cream, a dash of cinnamon and a sprinkle of nutmeg on top. They also offer free “pup cups” to dogs with their humans.
The first Cliffside Coffee drive up appeared at 45th and Teckla. After a few years, they relocated to the Western Street location in the Shops at Fleetwood Center, 4167 SW 34th, and another one is located at 2540 Ross.
Benjamin Donuts
You most likely won’t find a Millennial or Gen X in one of the two Benjamin Donuts in their bright yellow buildings, but you will find some military veterans and others driving up or coming in for a warm kolache or colorful doughnut handed out with a smile from Stephanie Moon, who has been serving customers for at least three years. Open from 5 a.m. to 11:30, the shop is not trendy or high tech, but they do have some special pastries such as Korean Bulgogis and kolaches and other originals. Coffee is just a regular brew, but it’s a mainstay for dedicated customers.
Read about more Amarillo coffee locations, including Starbucks, the Grandaddy of Coffee Shops, in part two.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Current coffee craze keeps brewing - in Amarillo and beyond
