Sean Henry “staying warm with the kiddos” during the ice storm. Taken from Instagram
We talked with Sean Henry, the founder and owner of Austin-based Houndstooth, who recently signed a lease for the space where The Pearl Cup currently operates on Henderson. Pearl Cup’s lease is up on Dec. 23, according to their Facebook page, and due to a spike in rent, they were unable to re-sign for the space.
Advocate: Do you have idea of what direction you plan take the Henderson location?
Sean Henry: We’re just excited to be there. We have a design meeting coming up when we’ll decide the architectural plans. It’ll have a modern feel. We have some fun stuff we’re going to do with the bar. We have some fun surprises in store for people – whether it be people who are new to coffee or coffee enthusiasts, or somewhere in between.
A: The current location has a certain feel to it, and from what I’ve seen about your Austin locations, it seems like you have a bit of a different style. Is there anything you’re planning to keep or change?
SH: The major difference is we’re go move the front door, and hopefully reorient the space so that it flows a little bit better. The bar will be in the same place.
A: Will you use the same bar or a different bar?
SH: I’m not even sure what they’re taking with them and what they’re leaving. Either way, it’s going to have a different façade if they leave it. Or we’ll build a new one, if they take it.
A: So am I right in assuming that you’ll update the space and give it more of that modern, minimalist feel?
SH: Uh, yeah, but it’s going to be designed well. I’ll have more specifics as we get closer. We’re going to hang onto specifics until we finish up with the contractor, but it’s all going to happen pretty quick.
A: Pearl Cup’s lease is up Dec. 23. Are y’all starting construction right after that?
SH: We’ll start construction as soon as we can. We take physical control of the space on January 6.
A: How long have ya’ll been interested in that space?
SH: For a while.
A: Did you know they were leaving?
SH: No, I didn’t. I called the guys about a different spot, and yeah, we just kind of met in the middle.
A: Which other locations have y’all considered? Obviously, there was the location at Skillman (read more), and I read something about you looking at Greenville as a possibility?
SH: Yeah, it’s all just a part of the process. You have to evaluate what becomes available. When my family moved to East Dallas, we knew we wanted to open up a location in East Dallas. Whenever we found out this was an opportunity, we got very excited.
A: What was it about this specific location? If you’ve looked so many other places, obviously you’ve been very strategic about where you want to be. Is there anything about being on Henderson, or maybe even being in that specific spot, that you like?
SH: I think the new landlords are doing really cool stuff with the street, and just the quality of stuff they’re bringing in, Houndstooth adds to that. In general I just think it’s a great platform to enter into the Dallas market.
A: Will y’all have a beer and wine selection as well?
SH: Yes, we will. We’re planning to make it as transitional as possible from the get-go – coffee to beer and wine service in the afternoon and evening. Of course, we’ll have coffee all the time. We want to be the kind of place people feel like they can come to any time of day to get quality beverages.
A: Everyone keeps describing Houndstooth as being a part of this “third wave coffee” movement. Explain, in your own words, what is third wave coffee, and how does Houndstooth fit into that?
SH: Yeah, so third wave coffee is a loose term for people paying attention to where the beans come from and the craft of being a barista, so it can cover a lot of things. We get lumped into that movement, but at the same time, we’re just trying to serve good coffee; it’s not necessarily tied to any specific style. We just really pay attention to where our beans come from and put a lot of time and effort into training our baristas.
A: How many locations do you have in Austin?
SH: We just have the two.
A: Are you planning on expanding in Dallas, also?
SH: Anything is possible, but we’re pretty focused on getting this store up and going. We don’t have a seven-store strategy like some people have, by any means. The goal is just to have good coffee here, and we’ll see where that goes.
A: Do you have any kind of rough timeline of when we can expect y’all to be open?
SH: Not at this point. I’d rather not say anything than say something and have people be waiting. We do plan to have some little pop up shops, so we’ll be releasing those throughout January or February. We have an espresso cart. We’ll brew coffee or espresso as a way to introduce people to who we are and what we do. Pretty low key.
A: How can people find out where those will be?
