The more-than-a-century-old Joe Daiches Jewelers building in downtown Fort Worth will soon be the home of a new coffee shop.
Vaquero Coffee Co. is expected to open at 109 Houston St. in November, according to managing partner Jonathan Heath. According to its website, Vaquero Coffee Co. will offer products with a “South American influence.”
“Coffee has become a part of the fabric of society for the working man and intellectual elites alike — we want to bridge that gap in price and quality for both parties,” Heath wrote in an email to Fort Worth Magazine. “While Starbucks is really good at being Starbucks, we think the people deserve a little bit better quality experience for their money and hope to become an acceptable alternative to [Starbucks’] unequivocal global brand; and it all starts here in Fort Worth.”
Vaquero Coffee Co. will occupy 900 square feet in the building — a combination of two 450-square-foot spaces that once served as a convenience store and tarot card/palm reading business.
While the exterior of the building will not undergo major changes, most of the renovations will take place in the interior. Original elements of the building's interior — such as its fundamental structure, 1-inch porcelain hexagonal flooring, tobacco-colored border tile, interior brick, and tin ceiling — will remain in place.
“Obviously, we plan to highlight what made that historic building so beautiful in the first place,” Heath wrote.
The building was constructed in 1910, early tenants being Gamble Meat Market and Goodkin's Hotel. The Joe Daiches Jewelry Company eventually took over the building in 1929 and stayed there until 2010, when it moved to Alta Mere Drive. It is now located at 3464 Blue Bonnet Circle.
The original version of this article has been updated.
