Local Coffee Houses Compete

Coffee shop owner matthew jordan, who doesn’t capitalize his name, summed up a problem many local coffee houses in Lubbock have – attracting the student population away from Starbucks.

If students seek to support local businesses while still enjoying the coffee-house experience, Lubbock offers some options.

J&B Coffee Co.

Located at 2701 26th St. in the heart of Tech Terrace, J&B caters to students by offering study space with two large rooms of tables and an upstairs loft for group study sessions.

The place is normally packed with students, all sipping their coffees with their eyes glued to textbooks, making for a study-focused atmosphere that feels like a chic library, said J&B regular Kelsey Clark.

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J&B has an additional location at 66th and Indiana, where because of its distance from campus, the student crowd appeared less noticeable than at the location in Tech Terrace. This shop offers the same J&B specialty coffee while catering to customers who live or work a bit further away from the heart of Lubbock.

With a menu that includes tea and full meals as well as coffee, J&B is a popular place to get some work done while getting a daily fix of caffeine.

Yellow House Coffee

Yellow House Coffee caught the attention of many Tech students because it has live music most weekends, said Yellow House customer Jacqueline Klaus. The coffee house at 3017 34th St. didn’t have a band performing on Friday at 2 p.m., but one thing Klaus said it always has is a relaxed atmosphere in which not every customer is buried in work.

While Yellow House has only two small rooms and limited parking, it also provides rustic wooden tables, strung ceiling lights, and coffee served in mason jars.

During this reporter’s visit, the owner and founder of the store, Lance Neffendorf, took customers’ orders and made the drinks himself.

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Yellow House regular Ben Lagasse was confident in his statement that Yellow House is the best place to get coffee in Lubbock.  Lagasse said he used to nearly office out of J&B, but after his friend Lance Neffendorf got him hooked on a coffee called Oak Cliff, he has been a regular at Yellow House ever since it opened in 2013.

“Oak Cliff coffee is out of Dallas, and his brother started that roasting company,” Lagasse said. “I think it’s the best in Texas. They’ve won a ton of awards.”

Lagasse said Yellow House has quality coffee and service, as well as a stable following for such a young business.

“They make their own all-natural organic flavoring syrups and their own baked-goods that are all organic and all-natural,” Lagasse said, “so the quality of the product here is awesome.”

Yoga Bean

A few blocks west down 34th Street from Yellow House sits Yoga Bean, a coffee shop that doubles as a yoga studio and prides itself on its all-organic, environmentally friendly products. The shop is decorated with exotic seating, bohemian tapestries, and local artists’ work.

Yoga Bean owner and founder matthew jordan, along with explaining the power-to-choice ideology behind his decision to never capitalize his name, said Yoga Bean’s product is different than anyone else’s.

“All of our coffee is organic,” jordan said. “It’s also shade-grown coffee. Most coffee is produced as sun-grown coffee, which means that a large area of land had to be stripped and burned to grow the coffee.”

Jordan explained that a shade-grown coffee bean is not only a better product, but is also environmentally friendly in that it doesn’t involve the use of deforestation, pesticides, or herbicides.

“I call it conscious coffee,” jordan said.

Yoga Bean uses post-consumer recycled, compostable paper products, and even sells upcycled and recycled clothing, jordan said. He also works as a mental health professional, and jordan said he got the idea to open Yoga Bean from working with the many marginalized people who live in the mainstream-type environment in Lubbock.

yoga bean

“When we opened this place, the idea was that we would create a very attractive environment for all populations,” jordan said, “and create an atmosphere where everyone felt safe and welcome.”

After fixing up an old yoga studio he used to attend and opening shop in 2012, jordan said Yoga Bean is still trying to pull the student population.  He hopes to attract students by offering $5 yoga classes on Thursdays to anyone with a student ID.

“Basically,” jordan said, “the idea is creating community.”

Gatsby’s Coffeehouse

Located in Cactus Alley on Salem Avenue, Gatsby’s Coffeehouse has not only coffee, but a staff which is passionate about it. Opened by a Tech student, according to a newspaper article framed on its wall, Gatsby’s serves made-to-order foods, Italian sodas, and teas as well as coffee.

Although it appears small at first, Gatsby’s has two large upstairs rooms and an outdoor patio that provide space to study or relax, and includes a loft that serves beer and wine and hosts local musicians on weekend evenings, said baristas Keaton Crane and Amanda Jones. Crane matter-of-factly stated that Gatsby’s is the best coffee house in Lubbock, and said that the whole staff is truly passionate about coffee.

“Every barista on staff plans on making coffee their career,” Crane said. “No one is just doing this as a college job or something to get by. Everyone’s planning on making a lifetime career out of it, which is pretty cool.”

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Jones said what makes Gatsby’s special is the pride they take in their coffee.

“It’s locally grown, locally roasted,” Jones said. “Up in the bar we use local Texas wines, and everything is hand-crafted. I think that makes a huge difference.”

Along with its public board game collection, Jones said Gatsby’s hosts latte art throw downs, in which customers pay a cover fee to drink unlimited coffee and watch baristas make art out of lattes. They also host karaoke nights and socials where customers pay a cover to get appetizers, pastries, cappuccinos and martinis, Jones said.

The combination of its location in Cactus Alley, its large seating areas, its social events and activities, its beer and wine bar, and its coffee make Gatsby’s one of many locations for coffee-loving students to check out in Lubbock.

About Cara Vandergriff