Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters opens new location in Ferndale
A metro Detroit coffee roasting company and bakery rooted in specialty cakes, pastries and bean-to-brew coffee beverages has opened a new location.
Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters (DOCR) opened Monday in Ferndale at 927 Hilton St., near Marshall Street. Other locations are in Detroit, Rochester and Royal Oak. It’s the company’s fourth location.
The coffee shop and cafe location is the coffee roasters' new “flagship” location. All under one roof, the building houses the cafe, the company’s bakery and expanding coffee roasting operations. And now, its headquarters, owner Nat Hamood said.
“We needed this for a long time,” Hamood said. “This is the headquarters and the center point to facilitate operations for all stores.”
The approximately 1,700 square foot cafe is smaller than other DOCR locations, which average 2,000-2,400 square feet, but the overall facility is nearly 9,000 square feet and also houses a training lab, Hamood said. The new space frees up space at other locations as well as Hamood's parent's garage, which he also used to store items.
Inside the space, there is seating for 50 to 60 amid counter stools and chairs and a cluster of couches.
“There’s plenty of open space to hang out,” Hamood said. "We want it to be that neighborhood spot. “
Hamood owns the building, a former warehouse. Construction on the building included uncovering the windows, some were glass blocks, to let in as much natural light.
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This location, Hamood, 27, said, has been about a year in the making, but “years of dreaming.”
The business began as a family business in 2009, according to its website, with a focus on bringing people together with desserts and live music.
The first location was in Rochester and had since moved. It’s now on South Main Street in the center of downtown. Hamood gradually expanded the business over the years, with a focus on growing the coffee side. Over the years, Hamood opened locations in Detroit and Royal Oak with a focus on craft coffee and desserts.
The cafe’s bakery highlight is the nearly 40 varieties, on a rotating basis, of baked in-house daily cheesecakes. Among the options are classic to a tiramisu, Bailey’s Irish Cream, caramel latte and Cap'n Crunch Berry varieties. There are also cookies, croissants and muffins.
At DOCR the coffee offerings, Hamood said, use beans sourced from quality-driven farms around the world.
“You can trace the coffee back to the farm,” he said. “It’s a lot like wine. The more specific the lot is, the more nuances.”
While DOCR offers coffee already made for those on the go, they specialize in bean-to-brew, with most all coffees made by the cup.
Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters' website lists coffee offerings from Columbia, Guatemala, Kenya, Mexico and Rwanda. In Ferndale, DOCR is open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. daily. For information go to docr.coffee.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters opens new location in Ferndale
