Owners Madison and Jackson Vacek opened Rose & Dagger Coffee Co. on Sept. 5. (Courtesy Rose & Dagger Coffee Co.)
After two years operating from a coffee truck, Rose & Dagger Coffee Co. in Georgetown has officially traded in its wheels for a brick-and-mortar location. Owners Madison and Jackson Vacek opened for business Sept. 5.
Situated in a yellow historic house, the shop offers handcrafted lattes, teas and refreshers. Guests can relax in The Grounds, a backyard space shaded by a massive pecan tree. The outdoor area also hosts three local food trucks: El Hombre Tacos, Churros ATX and Sanford Sourdough.
Owners Madison and Jackson Vacek opened Rose & Dagger Coffee Co. on Sept. 5.(Courtesy Rose & Dagger Coffee Co.)
A long time coming
Madison Vacek said that before becoming business partners and husband and wife, the pair worked together at a coffee shop as teenagers, where they fell in love. They dreamed of eventually starting a shop of their own.
In 2020, amid quarantine, the couple wondered what they would do if money were no object, Madison Vacek said. Their shared answer was immediate: open a coffee shop.
“We sat there in our apartment and came up with the whole menu and the whole concept of Rose & Dagger,” she said.
How it happened
Initially launching in September 2024, the coffee truck was stationed in the backyard of the yellow house. Jackson Vacek said that when the opportunity arose early in the summer to assume the lease, they eagerly took it.
“[It’s a] full circle moment for us,” he said. “Knowing we started in the backyard … to have the lease of the house, and our own coffee shop. It’s been amazing.”
Madison and Jackson Vacek started renovating the house, and it quickly became a bigger task than they anticipated. Rose & Dagger Coffee Co. is the first food-service business to take up residence there, meaning it needed a lot of work to fit the needs of a coffee shop.
They didn’t initially plan to start the business in a truck, Madison Vacek said, but it was what worked out for them at the time.
“It was a great stepping stone,” she said. “We had no idea what we were getting into with a brick-and-mortar.”
Owners Madison and Jackson Vacek opened Rose & Dagger Coffee Co. on Sept. 5.(Courtesy Rose & Dagger Coffee Co.)
The local impact
Community is a big part of their business, and in Georgetown, Jackson Vacek said, small businesses want to see each other succeed.
“If we would have opened it up in any other town, we wouldn't have been as successful as we are today,” Madison Vacek said.
In addition to owning and operating the coffee shop, Jackson Vacek is also a firefighter for the Georgetown Fire Department. The support from his team is like having “175 big brothers,” he said.
What’s next
“Our big next thing is not having a next thing for a while,” Jackson Vacek said.
