Ascension Coffee
Ascension Coffee
Ascension Coffee offers several varying menu items, such as the Hippie Bowl and Bhakti Chai Latte pictured above.
The long-awaited Ascension Coffee opening in WestBend rolls into town on Jan. 2, and Fort Worth will soon get a taste of what it’s been missing.
The first Fort Worth location will be at 1751 River Run #151, a space that has never been previously occupied. “We always look for unique locations, with a view or an experience to share,” says Russell Hayward, owner. It will be located next-door to Bartaco, facing the Trinity River, and will provide another quick stop right off the Trinity Trail system.
“As soon as I saw the river, and that it was a part of an existing community, I thought, ‘This is so Ascension,’” Hayward says.
Russell Hayward, who grew up in Sydney, Australia wanted to bring a slower paced, lower tech iteration to the local coffee house experience. He wanted to restore the conversation and art to coffee culture.
With five locations in Dallas, including the Roastery, as well as one in Coppell and another in Frisco, Ascension Coffee has been on the move since Hayward first opened his coffee concept in December 2012. There are also three smaller-footprint cafes called Ascension Annex in Dallas, Plano, and Addison.
WestBend will be the tenth store. Hayward explains that Australians are typically anti-chain folks, so he shuns the idea of being a chain. “That’s why we call our stores a ‘collective’ ― each has its own personality and is designed to fit into its community.”
The personality of the WestBend Ascension borrows from the trail. It will have a trailside service window, so cyclists can park their bike and grab a to-go coffee without coming inside. And, along with a central light feature, they have taken bike rims and installed LED lighting on them to craft unique, personalized fixtures.
Hayward says each Ascension location has at least two sides of glass, affording plenty of natural light and views. The patio will seat around 50, and the inside will accommodate 72 people.
They source, blend, and roast their own coffee, but Ascension is more than just another coffee shop ― they also have a full, farm-to-table menu. That means Ascension serves from sun-up to sun-down.
For “brekky,” you can dive into a gluten-free/dairy-free Chia Seed Pudding with coconut, fresh bananas, berries, and a paleo nut mix, or fuel up with the Smoked Salmon Hash ― a blend of house smoked salmon, poached eggs, chorizo, potato and peppers topped with Hollandaise.
At lunchtime, several sandwiches shine like the Wagyu Pastrami, which is a classic cold Reuben with sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, and Jersey butter.
The menu is currently being updated, and Hayward expects evening service to thrive at WestBend, so it will open with a new dinner menu as well. “Bowls have become a core of our new, health-focused menu,” he says. Variations will include an Ahi Tuna Power Bowl, the Hippie Bowl, as well as Korea- and Latin-inspired bowls.
The WestBend location will also be the first to have a full bar set up, Hayward says. Four draft beers, specialty cocktails, and two nitro coffees will be on tap.
