It's official. The Roastery, a new coffee shop backed by four high-profile New York chefs, will make its debut at Bellaire's new, two-story H-E-B on Wednesday, October 17.
As CultureMap first reported last month, The Roastery unites Jonathan Waxman, Jimmy Bradley, Joey Campanaro, and Jason Giagrande (collectively, “The Four J’s”) in a new concept that expands the chefs' relationship with H-E-B. Currently, they sell coffee, food products, and specialty teas there under the Four J brand.
“Over the last 7 years we have shared innovations and food trends as well as our own personal styles," Giagrande said in a statement. "Following our participation in a series of menu development initiatives with H-E-B, we began selling our line of Four J products in the Cooking Connection and this was the perfect opportunity for us to begin working together side by side.”
While Bellaire will be the first location of The Roastery, many more will follow. An outpost at the San Felipe store in Briargrove will serve as a flagship, occupying the former Table 57 space and featuring both an expanded menu and an in-house coffee roasting operation. All Roastery locations will have interior design elements and separate entrances to set themselves apart from their companion H-E-Bs.
The Roastery will take its coffee seriously. Beans are sourced from places like Indonesia, Colombia, Honduras, Kenya, and Brazil; they are then roasted locally by "master roaster" Jennifer Stone. Finally, veteran baristas will use "a custom copper Mavam espresso machine" to pull perfect shots.
In addition to coffee and tea, The Roastery will offer sandwiches, salads, and other food items. For example, the cafe will roast its own turkey and roast beef for sandwiches made with locally-baked bread from Slow Dough. Made-to-order doughnuts, salads with seasonal ingredients, and soft serve gelato are all planned, too.
Matt Johnson, a native Houstonian who has worked in the Pacific Northwest, comes to the cafe after a stint at Phoenicia Specialty Foods. In his role as culinary director, he worked with his celebrity bosses to develop The Roastery's menu.
Look for The Roastery next to the entrance to Bellaire's new H-E-B.
