Plum Coffee has been a part of the community for 10 years. When the original owners talked about closing the shop down three years ago, Elizabeth and Jerry stepped in to keep the business alive.
“Plum was one of the few self-standing coffee shops that didn’t belong to a franchise or wasn’t corporately owned, and they were getting ready to close, and we didn’t want them to close down, so we ... took over,” Elizabeth said.
After taking ownership of the business, the Hales filled the shop with locally sourced goods from the beans used to make the coffee to the tables painted by a former Cy-Fair teacher.
Despite these hyperlocal touches, Elizabeth said the main challenge she has faced is building awareness in the community she serves.
“You know, just letting Cypress know that we are here,” she said. “That’s the biggest struggle out here because we’re on coffee shop row, if you will. There’s PJ’s [Coffee], Starbucks and Land of a Thousand Hills [Coffee] all on Barker Cypress [Road].”
However, Elizabeth said she has found Plum Coffee’s customer service and diversity make an impact on her visitors.
“Really what sets us apart is our strive for being local [and our] diversity,” she said. “We’re super diverse. We want to bring in a lot of different cultures and different types of people and make sure that all the cultures and different types of people are welcome at our shop.”
The environment is not the only thing that encourages engagement. Plum Coffee’s drinks, pastries and other menu items make the business stand out among the rest, Elizabeth said. The pastries come from the Hales’ other Cy-Fair business, Cake Fine Pastry; the coffee beans are sourced from Geva Coffee in Houston; and the bread for the panini comes from Slow Dough Bread Co. in Houston. Elizabeth said her goal is to cater the shop to the community’s needs.
“This isn’t our coffee shop; this is Cypress’ coffee shop; we just spearheaded it,” Elizabeth said. “This shop belongs to Cypress; Cypress tells us what to do with it.”
11688 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress. 281-256-9400. www.plumcoffeeshop.com
Hours: Mon-Fri. 6 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
