Wednesday, September 25, 2024
AZLE — No matter your preference, there’s a brew for everyone in Azle. Last week the city saw the opening of two new coffee shops. Texas Drip opened during Sting Fling in the suite formerly occupied by Crave at 404 Main Place. The highly anticipated Dutch Bros Coffee opened at 164 Industrial Ave. at the former site of a once-beloved Dairy Queen. Despite having different menus, both businesses profess a love for giving back to the communities that support them. Both interviewees also coincidently came to the Azle area from Arizona.
Texas Drip:
Texas Drip owners Shawn and Kelly Jo Dagley aim to provide a “small-town feel with big-city taste,” using locally sourced ingredients and a unique Columbian-Peruvian coffee blend roasted in San Antonio. Shawn Dagley is a retired Army and Navy deep-sea diver; his wife is a Veteran’s Affairs nurse in Fort Worth. Their son, Gage Dagley, 14, is a quarterback at Azle High School.
“We feel welcome, we feel like we're home,” Shawn Dagley said. “We have friends that, you know they're going to probably be lifelong friends now, just because that's the kind of people that are in Azle. I haven't met anybody that I haven't liked.”
The pair has a passion for health and fitness and formerly owned a cross-fit gym in Arizona. The Dagleys have been in Azle almost three years and last year started selling coffee out of a mobile trailer they brought to events. It’s a family affair, with the three plus Shawn Dagley’s mother all working at the café. He is hoping to hire more employees soon. Gage Dagley also designed the shop’s original logo.
Shawn Dagley said he hopes to emphasize quality, customer service and community involvement offering discounts to health professionals, emergency responders and other uniformed personnel. Dagley said he keeps a fresh pot of free black coffee ready for police and firefighters that enter the café. The spot features coffee, tea, shakes, specialty drinks and food items with an expanded breakfast menu starting this week. With locally grown ingredients and beef sourced from nearby CO Cattle Company, the owners aspire to become the premier café in Azle, known for its welcoming atmosphere and fresh, preservative-free food.
“We were coming up with things to call it and we're like, ‘well, we can get Texas beans, you know, we can get them sourced here,’” Dagley said. “I said we should probably call it Texas Drip Coffee, you know, just something that puts us out there saying that we are Texas loved coffee. There’s a new term for drip, meaning you’ve got swagger or style and I'm like, that kind of works. The end goal is we're going to call this place TD Café.”
The family is still experimenting with operating hours, but for the time being, Texas Drip is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Shawn Dagley hopes he can help share his success by buying more mobile trailers and giving them to other veterans to start their own businesses. Dagley said while people come for the coffee, he hopes they stay for the food. He also hopes to serve barbecue about twice per month.
In describing what might encapsulate Texas Drip, the owner said he hoped it could be an anchor for community members, not unlike the Central Perk Café from one of the most famous sitcoms out of the ‘90s.
“The best thing I could hope for this place would be ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S.’ They go there because it feels good. It feels like home and you're able to see people, you know. It's good stuff, good product, good atmosphere. So that's what we're kind of looking for.”
Dutch Bros:
Unlike a traditional sit-down café, Dutch Bros Coffee shops are drive-thru and walk-up only. With menu items like “Double Torture,” “Laser Cat,” and “Galaxy Fish,” Dutch Bros has undeniably found success in unconventionality. Many Azleites are excited to no longer have to drive to neighboring cities to get their fix from the store’s resident “broistas.” About 2,000 customers had ordered at the new location by Friday evening, Sept. 20. The business offers coffees, energy drinks, sodas, shakes and other beverages in a dizzying array of options and near unlimited possible opportunities for customization.
The new Azle location had a soft opening for friends and family Monday, Sept. 16 and a grand opening Wednesday, Sept. 18, with a $3 medium special. Dutch Bros had a Give Back Day Friday, Sept. 20, donating $1 from every drink to Cook Children’s Hospital. The shop has seen a constant line of customers and has a mix of high school students, college students and parents among its 30 employees. Those who visited in its first week received collectable magnets and stickers.
Local operator Brie Valliere has been with the company for 10 years and oversees four locations: Lake Worth, Hudson Oaks, White Settlement and now Azle. She emphasized the company's commitment to community engagement, including three annual give-back events. During these events held in February, May and September, Dutch Bros locations raise funds for or benefit community food banks, organizations combating Lou Gehrig's Disease and a third entity of the local operator’s choice. Along with these events, Valliere said the Oregon-based chain hopes to spread “Dutch Love” and culture as the company moves east.
“Coffee is just our product, but our main goal is to spread that love, and so I think that's what sets us apart,” Valliere said. “Our motto is that we're a fun, loving company that makes a massive difference one cup at a time. So, I feel like that’s what we want to bring, be able to bring that positivity here. That's my goal is to be able just to make a massive difference in more of our community.”
The regional operator’s favorite drink at the establishment is a mocha decaf fireball shot cut with protein milk. While she does not know exactly why corporate decided to set up shop in Azle, she suspects its distance from other Dutch Bros and its location on the freeway made it an ideal candidate.
“It’s something new to Azle and they have a big variety and it’s not Starbucks,” Misty White, assistant principal at Azle Junior High, said while waiting on her “Golden Eagle” blend. “They have stuff for kids too, which is really good. So, I love it. We have one in Hudson Oaks, and having to drive that far to get one, I mean, it’s nice to have it here and it’s good coffee, good milkshakes, good teas.”
