Local guys take the sit-and-stay-awhile coffee shop to another level.
It's all in the name at the new Craftwork Coffee Co. on Camp Bowie Blvd.
Owners Riley Kiltz and Collin Sansom merged their combined prowess for coffee and business into a 3,300-square-foot space next door to The Original. Opening Jan. 2, one-half of the modern-meets-industrial shop serves coffee while the other serves as a collaborative workspace.
On the coffee side of the shop, baristas brew roasts from around the country (including Dallas" Tweed Coffee Roasters) from behind a sleek marble countertop. Customers can also order from a pour-over coffee bar at the counter. The method creates richer coffee by pouring hot water directly over and through the grounds to extract more flavor. A pastry case is stocked with creations from local Stir Crazy Baked Goods.
"We wanted to bring different perspectives on coffee to the people in Fort Worth," said Sansom.
Sansom makes up the retail-minded half of the 20-something duo. The Texas State alum graduated with an accounting degree but decided it was time for new ventures after he found himself running a coffee shop out of his cubicle during an internship. So, he was the natural choice for a partner when Riley Kiltz was looking. Kiltz, a TCU grad with a background in private equity, was working from home and executive spaces when he had the idea for a spot that would combine work with community.
The aesthetics of the space is a collaboration of local talent. Studio 97W (the same team behind Magnolia's Melt Ice Creams) designed virtually every corner with a soothing palette of navies, whites and greys on a polished concrete floor. They tapped Fort Worth upcycle experts Pallet Smart to build the desks that occupy each of the private offices on the "work" side and many of the accents on the coffee side.
An angled, open wood-slat wall merges the spaces so the sound and ambiance can flow throughout. The collaborative workspace side of the business includes 10 single and four double suites for lease. Leases and memberships, ranging from $150 to $900 a month, grant members perks including café discounts and a kitchenette stocked with wine and local beer.
Sansom and Kiltz see Craftwork as a business model that can be replicated in other areas of Fort Worth, North Texas and the country – a concept that would allow members access to work spaces wherever their business or travels might take them.
For now, they will concentrate on Fort Worth and Camp Bowie Blvd.
