dream a little dream
Pint-sized coffee shop percolates in buzzy Garden Oaks destination
A coffee shop that’s uniquely well-suited to its location has debuted in Garden Oaks. Little Dreamer Coffee’s kiosk at the Stomping Grounds has quickly become a destination at the emerging shopping center.
Located at the south end of the property’s greenspace, the 126-square-foot converted shipping container offers the same mix of beverages that one would expect at a larger coffee shop, including brewed coffees, espresso beverages, bottled coffee drinks, teas, and more.
Little Dreamer owner Matt Toomey sees the small footprint as an ideal working environment for a barista. Ideally, he says a coffee professional should always be within two steps of all the equipment they need to make a drink.
“Given the resources and the opportunity, I’ve always wanted to do a shipping container. I had the idea for a long time,” he tells CultureMap. “For a barista, everything is right there. You’ve got to hone in your workspace efficiency.”
Toomey, who helped found popular Heights cafe Boomtown Coffee before moving on to Little Dreamer, credits Stomping Ground’s owner Revive Development for helping him bring the concept to fruition.
“For us, we’re a very small business. We don’t have a lot of capital to do big projects,” Toomey says. “I couldn't have done it without Revive. It’s a good, healthy relationship between a landlord and a tenant.”
Having coffee available has helped power pop-ups at the property, including two breakfast events by chef Jane Wild. Little Dreamer will also be included in November 13’s night market thrown by ice cream purveyor Underground Creamery and artisan tortilleria Tatemó.
So far, things are going well. Already open daily from 7 am until noon, Little Dreamer just added an afternoon session of 2-5 pm Monday - Friday. Evening hours could extend further once some of the properties restaurants — including Luloo’s Pantry, a sandwich shop and Bodega from the owners of Blood Bros BBQ., and a permanent home for casual steakhouse Cherry Block Craft Butcher & King — begin to open.
“The neighborhood has been extremely supportive,” Toomey says. “The word is still getting out. I met 10 new people today.”
"We’ve been big fans of Matt Toomey and Little Dreamer for a long time, and it was the perfect community fit for our coffee program at the Stomping Grounds," Revive director of leasing and marketing Monica Danna adds. "In many ways, Little Dreamer will serve as the nucleus to the project. Sitting in the center of the 8,000-square-foot green space, they bring an energy to the project that has been already enthusiastically welcomed by the neighborhood."
