FWB Food and Wine: Craftwork Coffee Co. opens

Tavern

Craftwork Coffee Co.

4731 Camp Bowie Blvd.

www.craftworkcoffeeco.com

Pearl Snap Kolaches

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4006 White Settlement Road

www.pskolaches.com

Varsity Tavern

1005 Norwood St.

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www.facebook.com/varsitytavern

Deb Cantrell

So You’re a Chef Now What?

www.chefdeb.com

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Craftwork Coffee Co. opens

Just down the row from The Original Mexican Eats Cafe is a brand new coffee house, Craftwork Coffee Co., that adds a workspace rental to the format, creating an inviting and functional concept. Business partners Riley Kiltz and Collin Sansom have had this idea brewing for quite a while, to design a more communal and comfortable space for those who work remotely.

“Craftwork is about combining all of the best parts of all the workspace alternatives and removing the drawbacks,” Sansom said.

The coffee suppliers will come from an original list, with Dallas-based Tweed Coffee Roasters as the primary supplier, along with a rotating selection from Olympia Coffee Roasting Co. out of Washington state, Madcap Coffee from Michigan and Onyx Coffee Lab from Arkansas. Craftwork will also team up with Salsa Limon to provide breakfast tacos and with Stir Crazy Bakery to offer pastries and baked goods, but the focus will be on coffee.

“We wanted to target millennials by creating an accessible and mobile workspace,” Kiltz said.

There is no commitment phobia with month-to-month rental plans. Social members have access to the communal workspace and a conference room. Private spaces run $700 per month for a single to $900 for a double. The owners’ long-term vision is to open multiple locations around the Metroplex so those leasing the workspaces can enjoy the benefits of Craftwork when working remotely at different locations.

Pearl Snap Kolaches marks one year

Members of the Monticello crowd are already fans of Pearl Snap Kolaches (so-named for the iconic pearl snaps on Western-style shirts). The business was started three years ago by Wade Chappell and Greg Salsman with delivery service. Both knew next to nothing about baking kolaches at the time, but they were not satisfied with other local offerings and were determined to make a better product, so they rolled up their sleeves and started baking.

Pearl Snap has seasonal specialties such as pumpkin and pecan pie, which were featured in the fall, or fudge and apple berry, which are their current winter kolaches. They recently teamed up with Billy Woodrich of Billy’s Oak Acres BBQ to create a savory Texas spin on an old Czech favorite. And you may have tasted one of their fresh buns on the menu at Fixture Restaurant and Social Lounge. Expansion is underway to open up another 600-800 square feet of space at the now one-year old location at 4006 White Settlement Road.

“We are hoping to fill up that space with live music on Sundays in the very near future,” Chappell said.

Varsity Tavern opens

Varsity Tavern opened Dec. 28 on Norwood Street, across the street from Magnolia Motor Lounge in the West Seventh Street corridor. The multilevel restaurant and bar plans to follow up with two more locations later this year, one in Houston and another in Dallas. The collegiate-themed Varsity area is located on the ground level, with bleacher seating and huge flat screens for game-day viewing, while the Tavern area is an open-air patio located above with great views and stylish fire pits.

Chef Brian Fanzman created a Philly cheesesteak bar for the Varsity menu, where patrons can assemble their cheesesteak to their specifications. Or they can check out the concession stand to get the true stadium feel.

Chef Cantrell’s book debuts

Chef Deb Cantrell is an executive chef and senior certified personal chef. The United States Personal Chef Association named her Chef of the Year in June. She owns and operates SAVOR Culinary Services, which is a boutique catering and dietary consulting and coaching service with a focus on medically necessary and healthy diets.

Her recent book, So You’re a Chef Now What? Mastering Your Business, Your Money and Your Reputation, reached No. 1 on Amazon in a few hours, and more than 1,000 copies were downloaded on Kindle in just the first day. It is one of only a few books written on how to run a culinary business. Cantrell wanted to write this book so chefs could have a business blueprint that would help them grow their business, whether their focus is catering or as a personal chef.