Kick-ass ($3.75), white hot chocolate with a hint of cayenne pepper, is a popular drink item.[/caption]Fourteen Eighteen Coffeehouse opened in 2013 and attracts a variety of customers daily. What most customers do not know is that ownership of Fourteen Eighteen Coffeehouse recently changed.
The coffee shop was purchased on Sept. 18 by Reaching International, a nonprofit organization that recently moved its headquarters to Plano. Now, all proceeds fund the nonprofit’s national and international programs, which include church construction, the creation of fresh water wells and food distribution.
Located in the Downtown Plano Arts District, the coffee shop attracts area couples, business professionals, students and families—all of whom enjoy finding the perfect seat on couches, bar stools or chairs that provide a cozy living room environment.
“It’s just so nonstereotypical in the sense that we don’t have a demographic,” said Tyler McGee, operator and interim manager for Fourteen Eighteen Coffeehouse. “[The space is] definitely multicultural and laid-back, so we get everybody. I love that about this place.”
Fourteen Eighteen Coffeehouse’s music selection is just as diverse as its customers. From folk to alternative rock, indie and occasionally electronic swing, the music tends to match the weather outside, McGee said.
The coffeehouse sells a variety of coffees, teas, fruit smoothies, sandwiches, pastries and desserts, including Emporium Pies ($6 per slice).
Fourteen Eighteen serves a variety of Emporium Pies, including apple and Ebony and Ivory.[/caption]In addition to hot or cold coffees and teas, McGee said the coffeehouse offers two signature drinks as well: Purple Haze and Kick-ass. Purple Haze is a vanilla lavender latte ($4.75 for a 10-ounce mug) and Kick-ass is a white hot chocolate with a hint of cayenne pepper ($3.75 for a 10-ounce. mug).
The two signature drink recipes came from a previous barista but are still crowd favorites. When Fourteen Eighteen first served lavender, it was not a popular coffee flavor, but it pairs well with vanilla, McGee said. Customers enjoy different flavor profiles of the two drinks, he added.
“We have incredible coffee,” McGee said. “All of our coffee [is] from a local provider, Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters… We are really proud to offer Emporium Pies, [too], because they’re locally sourced. It’s just [about] supporting other small businesses here in the area, which is really important.”
When it comes to food, the shop’s pies and the triple berry tart ($4.50) are the most popular items among customers, McGee said. The tart is baked fresh with pie crust, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. The coffee shop also bakes bagels and scones every morning and makes sandwiches fresh daily.
“We really have kind of three emphases with Fourteen Eighteen which is coffee, community [and] compassion,” McGee said. “So we want to intertwine those as much as we can.”
Looking ahead, McGee said he hopes to bring live music and open mic nights to the coffeehouse, allowing customers to engage in community, culture and art.
“This place is really here for our community,” he said. “We’re here to engage our community and engage them in compassion outside and inside our community as well … [I want] this place to be a place where life happens, and people have an avenue to do what they feel like they’re called to do.”
