About us
Who in the heck are these crazy people?
The story...
The story starts with community. J and I first met in the heart of Bryan (College Station, TX) while volunteering at a community center filled with inner-city kids, desperate needs, and hopeful hearts. Together we formed our common ground on those streets, experiencing the humble beauty of being made different in our feeble attempts to make a difference in that place.
J came from a background of coffee. It is in his New Orleans DNA and also a big part of his family culture. He started out as a barista at Starbucks in High School and was eager to find a similar job in college. He found a great opportunity working for the owner of Coffee Station (now "Mug Walls"). Coffee Station was a true coffee "house"... a 2 story industrial style building with cozy nooks for studying and large open areas for hanging out. I just so happened to hang out there... uh, a lot... The owner was crazy happy all the time, the coffee helped me cram for tests, and I honestly just couldn't get enough of the homey feel of the place. It had the "all are welcome here" kind of a vibe even though everyone was well aware of everyone else's strangeness.
Luckily, J convinced the owner to hire me... and that's when things really started to "brew" (lol, j/k). I remember attempting to study upstairs in the shop after my shift one day, when J handed me a pair of huge headphones (back when big headphones were not so cool) and a CD player. He told me he wanted me to hear a song. I pushed play & this happened: Duncan Sheik, "For you" filled my head with sappy words and a romantic melody. Guaranteed to be one of the most ridiculous love songs ever written. I wasn't sure whether to punch the dude or kiss him... Fortunately, I did neither.
Somehow, we survived the awkwardness & our relationship grew along with our deep love for coffee & people.
Fast forward a couple years... J and I married right out of college and then moved to Dallas to start our "real world" jobs. We had dreamed of owning our own coffee shop ever since we began dating, but responsibility led us to the corporate world. J spent the following years in project management & estimating, & I started at SWA Headquarters and then eventually found my passion in teaching.
A few years ago, J began getting a strong itch to use all of the experience and knowledge gained from his dad to open his own business. We desperately wanted a coffeehouse in our community, but starting one from scratch after we had been out of the industry for a few years seemed crazy. J began his business journey with research and learning best practices to equip him when the right opportunity arose.
Then... In came Roots Coffeehouse. J and I heard about Roots from a friend that lives in the area, and we were immediately intrigued. Everything about this coffeehouse felt right from the first time we walked through the doors to each great sip of coffee and conversation that followed. The cozy environment and coffee quality was superb, but the biggest "wow" factor for us was the people... specifically the owners, Matt & Janice Townsend. Matt and Janice are just as genuine, engaging, quality-focused, and community-centered as their coffeehouse. Teaming up with them to open a Roots franchise store felt more than natural, and was an absolute dream come true. Every principle and passion that we had envisioned in a coffeehouse for our community was "rooted" in Roots.
And here we are now getting ready to open Roots Coffeehouse Highland Village. The process in bringing Roots to Highland Village was nothing short of a true community effort. J and I are extremely thankful for the team of people, family, and friends who have poured themselves into this project and our lives. We could not be more pumped about bringing quality, organic, fairtrade coffee and global-focused coffee practices to our local community. Our hope of sharing great coffee has become reality, and with that, we intend to immerse our service and efforts in supporting the people and needs of our community.
Cheers,
The McWhorters
J came from a background of coffee. It is in his New Orleans DNA and also a big part of his family culture. He started out as a barista at Starbucks in High School and was eager to find a similar job in college. He found a great opportunity working for the owner of Coffee Station (now "Mug Walls"). Coffee Station was a true coffee "house"... a 2 story industrial style building with cozy nooks for studying and large open areas for hanging out. I just so happened to hang out there... uh, a lot... The owner was crazy happy all the time, the coffee helped me cram for tests, and I honestly just couldn't get enough of the homey feel of the place. It had the "all are welcome here" kind of a vibe even though everyone was well aware of everyone else's strangeness.
Luckily, J convinced the owner to hire me... and that's when things really started to "brew" (lol, j/k). I remember attempting to study upstairs in the shop after my shift one day, when J handed me a pair of huge headphones (back when big headphones were not so cool) and a CD player. He told me he wanted me to hear a song. I pushed play & this happened: Duncan Sheik, "For you" filled my head with sappy words and a romantic melody. Guaranteed to be one of the most ridiculous love songs ever written. I wasn't sure whether to punch the dude or kiss him... Fortunately, I did neither.
Somehow, we survived the awkwardness & our relationship grew along with our deep love for coffee & people.
Fast forward a couple years... J and I married right out of college and then moved to Dallas to start our "real world" jobs. We had dreamed of owning our own coffee shop ever since we began dating, but responsibility led us to the corporate world. J spent the following years in project management & estimating, & I started at SWA Headquarters and then eventually found my passion in teaching.
A few years ago, J began getting a strong itch to use all of the experience and knowledge gained from his dad to open his own business. We desperately wanted a coffeehouse in our community, but starting one from scratch after we had been out of the industry for a few years seemed crazy. J began his business journey with research and learning best practices to equip him when the right opportunity arose.
Then... In came Roots Coffeehouse. J and I heard about Roots from a friend that lives in the area, and we were immediately intrigued. Everything about this coffeehouse felt right from the first time we walked through the doors to each great sip of coffee and conversation that followed. The cozy environment and coffee quality was superb, but the biggest "wow" factor for us was the people... specifically the owners, Matt & Janice Townsend. Matt and Janice are just as genuine, engaging, quality-focused, and community-centered as their coffeehouse. Teaming up with them to open a Roots franchise store felt more than natural, and was an absolute dream come true. Every principle and passion that we had envisioned in a coffeehouse for our community was "rooted" in Roots.
And here we are now getting ready to open Roots Coffeehouse Highland Village. The process in bringing Roots to Highland Village was nothing short of a true community effort. J and I are extremely thankful for the team of people, family, and friends who have poured themselves into this project and our lives. We could not be more pumped about bringing quality, organic, fairtrade coffee and global-focused coffee practices to our local community. Our hope of sharing great coffee has become reality, and with that, we intend to immerse our service and efforts in supporting the people and needs of our community.
Cheers,
The McWhorters
Roots Coffeehouse Highland Village
Email: J@RootsCoffeehouse.com
Website: www.RootsCoffeehouse.com
Location: 2570 FM 407, Highland Village, TX 75077
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RootsCoffeehouseHV
Twitter: @RootsCoffeeHV