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Lelo’s Coffee Co. is expected to soon offer espresso drinks in McKinney.
The wholesale coffee company owned by husband-and-wife Derek and Sandy Davis will expand its online business to include a brick-and-mortar presence on the north end of the Tupps Brewery property.
The specifics
The business will begin offering Spanish- and Italian-style espresso drinks from a walk-up ordering window inside a repurposed grain silo. The business will also roast coffee on-site, Derek Davis said.
A future expansion of the business will include converting an adjacent building into a cafe.
The shop’s menu will focus on highlighting coffee flavors and notes, which Derek Davis said can vary greatly depending on what part of the world the coffee comes from. His favorite coffee is from Ethiopia and has notes of berries and chocolate, while other coffees from South America may have notes of cacao and nuts, he said.
“Where we're going to set ourselves apart [is] focusing on what each individual coffee tastes like and how we can express that,” Derek Davis said.
Diving in deeper
The business is a part of the Tupps Brewery Build-Your-Own-Business program, which debuted six other small businesses on-site in early March.
“The BYOB program is a very good opportunity for us small businesses, because if we're attached to a larger business, and they always bring in foot traffic and things like that, more people will discover our businesses,” Derek Davis said.
The set up
The coffee company is named for Sandy Davis’ grandfather, Luis Ayala-Bousono, who loved coffee, according to the company's website.
“The younger kids couldn't pronounce 'abuelo' so we called him Lelo,” Derek Davis said.
When visiting Lelo in Florida, Derek visited a coffee shop that turned into a whiskey lounge after hours, he said, which inspired him to learn how to roast coffee. The company began in 2017 as a wholesale coffee roaster, and has worked with local restaurant groups including Frontburner Restaurants and 33 Restaurant Group.
“We are a specialty coffee company,” Derek Davis said. “It's all high [grade], organic, fair trade ... We really try to showcase that.”
Quote of note
“We're going to be focused on how the coffee tastes, and if we have good coffee, I think that'll bring more people,” Derek Davis said.
