Inclusion Coffee Now Open in Downtown Arlington
By Office of Communication
Posted on April 28, 2020, April 28, 2020

staff picture

UT Arlington graduate Joshua Moore, the owner of the Inclusion Coffee in Downtown Arlington, wasn’t sure what to expect when he opened his doors to the public for the first time Friday morning. While restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic meant a different opening than he’d once envisioned, the results still have him hopeful for the future.

“It’s been pretty encouraging, a lot better than I expected. Friday and Saturday and Sunday were really busy,” he said. “Even with people just getting to come in for a few minutes, it’s been great to meet them and get to talk to them, even from six feet away.”

The new business at 101 Center is, by design, a place to build community. It would normally be filled with comfortable couches and nooks to nestle into for hours at a time. For now, though, chairs are stacked up and couches are put away. Sales are all to-go, but that hasn’t stopped local coffee-lovers from giving the new business rave reviews on social media sites and making multiple visits in just a few days. Inclusion Coffee has a menu to please coffee connoisseurs, with espressos, lattes, pour-overs and more, made to order. 

“You can pretty much order anything you’re used to having anywhere else here, it’s just our take on it,” said Moore, who added that he is working with a couple of different area coffee roasters to exceed customers’ expectations. Moore is a former roaster at Fort Worth’s popular Buon Giorno Coffee.

The shop’s hand pies, savory and sweet varieties of handheld pastries, also were a big hit of the first few days, selling as quickly as they came out of ovens. Inclusion Coffee also features gluten-free pastries made by a local specialty bakery. Moore will add more food items, including breakfast tacos, as business increases. He is also challenging the experienced coffee baristas on his staff to experiment and come up with their own creative signature drinks.

Moore is looking at the current Stay Home, Work Safe restrictions optimistically and using the slower pace it might bring to get everything just right. Inclusion Coffee is currently open at 101 East Abram Street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., but hours will be extended as restrictions on businesses change. He can already paint a picture of what the future will be like, once the chairs come down from the tabletops and the couches reappear.

At coffee shops “if they want you to give you their money and leave, then they’ll have uncomfortable seating and no place to charge your stuff,” Moore said. “Here, it’s a very, very homey comfortable place. Every single seat we have here has cushions, so you can sit in it as long as you like.”

For more about Inclusion Coffee, visit them on Facebook, Instagram or at their website www.InclusionCoffee.com.

Downtown Arlington, Coronavirus
News, Business