“I tasted my first real latte, [and] you could just taste the difference,” Martin said. “We started dreaming about ... ‘What if we had our own coffee shop?’”
The couple opened XO Coffee Company in downtown Plano in 2017. They said the shop’s name is symbolic of the relationship they formed while sipping coffee together.
“When we were dating, [and] texting each other back and forth ... our thing was XO,” Martin said. “When people come to a coffee shop, they want to come in for love and connection. We thought XO symbolized that and had that personal meaning between us.”
Martin said they didn’t specifically target Plano for their shop, but when they stumbled across the open space off 15th Street, they jumped at the opportunity.
“We are really glad we ended up here,” Martin said. “It was the perfect place to be.”
McCall said her background in interior design helped her envision the shop’s trendy, European-style interior.
The couple said they noticed some coffee shops were lacking quality food and wanted to make sure that wasn’t the case at XO Coffee Company.
“We thought, what if we did a coffee spot but kind of like 50-50 with the food,” Martin said. “Let’s marry that really good breakfast, lunch and brunch with really good coffee.”
The menu features a variety of omelettes, sandwiches and tacos alongside an assortment of other traditional breakfast and lunch options. The couple said the Nutella Stuffed French Toast is the most popular item.
In May, the shop started serving a late-night wine, beer and tapas menu inspired by the Spanish cafes McCall frequented while attending college in Barcelona. The tapas, or Spanish small plates, are paired with a house-mixed sangria on Friday and Saturday nights.
The couple said they hope to keep providing caffeine and comfort food to Plano residents and visitors.
“We both had children already when we met, so we didn’t want more kids,” Martin said. “So this is kind of like our kid. It’s something we could build together.”
XO Coffee Company
1023 E. 15th St., Plano
972-212-4318
www.xocoffeeco.com
Hours: Tue.-Sun. 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5-9 p.m., closed Mon.
