Stephen Montoya
A brand-new coffee/eatery concept built inside of an old multi-bay car wash is prepping for its grand opening on Monday, July 15. Townes Quality Grinds, located at 4100 Bryant Irvin Road right across the street from the Fort Worth Country Day school, is the brainchild of owners Drew Boatman, Chas Taipale, and Shanna Shanks. This coffee concept is a first for this trio, who have mainly been in the bar space. Boatman owns Bodega, Dirty Laundry, and the Rusty Nickel Icehouse. He also recently purchased the beloved Star Café in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The space where Townes Quality Grinds now resides sat dormant for a while until the group came up with an out-of-the-box idea to retrofit the structure into a restaurant and offee shop. Now, after a year of red tape and retrofitting, this new space, which features a full kitchen, is on the cusp of serving the morning rush that will most likely coincide with the school across the way.
“We all have extensive experience in bars, and we are lucky enough to have a great landlord here who said, ‘Hey, I own this property, and I think a coffee shop would be really good there,’” Shanks says. “So, we got to drive by the space, look at it, and I mean, it was a no brainer.”
Besides offering a quick drive-thru experience, Townes also has a quaint interior that boasts a modern chic vibe.
“We are still in the process of making the inside a little cozier. But yeah, I mean you can come in and sit down. There's this dance studio right next to us. So, we have lots of moms and dads who drop the kids off at dance class and then they can come over here, sit down, get some work done, and just have some social time over a cup of coffee and maybe a bite to eat while they wait for the kids,” she says.
Stephen Montoya
Another aspect to this business Shanks says was in the plans from the start was to make everything on the menu Fort Worth-centric. Townes itself is named after Shanks and Taipales son, which is also a nod to Cowtown singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. And then there are menu items like a lavender and white chocolate coffee named Queen of the Prairie, which Shanks says is one of our city’s nicknames. Then there’s the Panther, which is made with double chocolate mocha, chocolate chip cookie dough syrup, a dark chocolate drizzle, and then chocolate milk with a double shot of espresso for good measure.
That’ll get you going for sure.
Keeping the Fort Worth-centric vibe going, Townes is using 817 Coffee Roasters as the base for all of these drinks. They also have a line of cold drinks that include several smoothies as well as iced coffees.
Want something to eat to help soak up your caffeinated commute? Townes also offers a series of breakfast biscuits that include classics like sausage, bacon, and a North Texas staple —brisket — all served with eggs and cheese. For lunch, the menu consists of such offerings like grilled and fried chicken sandwiches, a quiche of the day, as well as a Caesar wrap to name a few.
Beginning next week, Townes will be open for business from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“This is such a great area, especially right across from Country Day,” Shanks says. “There was no way this didn't make sense.”
