Since the announcement a couple of years ago, the development surrounding the iconic Benedictine Monastery has been blossoming with residential spaces ever since. Now, a handful of businesses are starting to sprout up in the retail strip along Country Club Road.
The local coffee roaster, Yellow Brick Coffee, just announced its expansion of a flagship coffee shop at the newly renovated Benedictine Monastery at 800 N. Country Club Rd. Chances are you’ve driven by the beautiful building and soon the scent of roasted coffee beans will be lovingly luring you in. With construction already underway, they’re planning to open in the fall of 2022.
The new cafe will offer pastries made in-house, as well as breakfast and lunch options. To accompany the bites, they will be pouring hand-brewed and batch-brewed specialty coffee, espresso-based beverages, and nitro cold brew on tap.
Sibling owners Anna and David Perreira have been planning to open a centrally located coffee shop for several years now. So, expect a lot of the same of what’s at the original location like the counter staff that’s quick to engage in a conversation about brewing techniques, regional origins, and roasting styles.
“We intentionally grew the wholesale and e-commerce business waiting for a space that felt right,” said Anna. “Once the Benedictine renovation was presented to us, we knew this would be the right fit; we want to bring something new to the neighborhood.”
Aside from what’s familiar to many over at 3220 S. Dodge Blvd. #1, Yellow Brick Coffee’s Country Club location aims to provide customers with a new experience when visiting its flagship shop — starting with an even more intimate approach.
“We want to turn coffee service on its head… ever so gently,” said David. “Instead of the big bulky espresso machine between the barista and the customer, we will be featuring a cutting-edge machine, called Modbar, that is mostly hidden below the bar counter and will allow customers to watch their lattes and other drinks be made.”
Just like they’ve always had, Yellow Brick Coffee’s focus is to serve up quality coffee, hand-crafted roasts, and drinks while making sure everyone’s having a memorable experience.
“We want to show our customers what we are doing behind the espresso bar,” said David. “They’ll be able to see how we pull and weigh a shot, steam milk, pour latte art, etc. We will be able to interact with the barista at the same time, almost like a chef’s table, or a bartender mixing your drink right in front of you.”
Anna and David Perreiras began roasting out of their parent’s garage in 2012 and moved the company into the business complex on Dodge Boulevard in 2013. They’ll be keeping this location once the new shop opens and that’s where the production roastery and original coffee shop will stay intact.
General Manager, Adam Lane has helped Yellow Brick take this step and the crew sees him as no amateur when it comes to food and beverage service. Lane has quite the resume, too, and is a chef with experience cooking in Michelin-featured restaurants and managing a full-service cafe in Australia.
“We look forward to this opportunity to add a food element to our coffee program and plan to highlight local ingredients while working with several local food purveyors,” said Lane.
Oh, and it’s a mighty list of local collaborators including Houlden’s Rise Above, Barrio Bread, Pivot Produce, and Bubbe’s Fine Bagels.
The new Yellow Brick Coffee Flagship will be located at the Benedictine Monastery on 800 N. Country Club Rd. #3180. In the meantime, you can visit them at 3220 S. Dodge Blvd. #1. For more information, visit yellowbrickcoffee.com or follow them on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
Stay in the Tucson Foodie Loop
Weekly digest of new openings, events, and guides. No spam.
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
