The Leader • Saturday, May 16, 2020 • Page 1B
Timbergrove father-daughter team to open coffee shop By Zarah Parker zarah@theleadernews.com
Near the end of the summer, Heights-area residents will gain another coffee outpost that will also serve alcohol and food. The upcoming Roast N Brew House is the brainchild of Timbergrove Manor resident Vicki Giannakopoulos, who is opening the shop along with her father, Stravos. “My dad’s been opening businesses up since he got here (from Greece),” Giannakopoulos said. “We are going to open this up as my first venture.” Giannakopoulos said she fell in love with coffee while working at Starbucks in college and even roasted her own coffee and sold it at farmers markets for a short time. That’s why she calls Roast N Brew House her passion project. The father-daughter team works together as the former shows the latter the ropes of
opening her first business. For Giannakopoulos, the Heights was the perfect place to open up shop because of its attitude toward new, small businesses. “It has a vibe of excepting smaller business and they flourish there,” Giannakopoulos said. The shop at 931 W. 19th St. will offer different coffees on rotation, roasted by local and foreign roasters, along with beer and wine. Food options will include soups, salads and sandwiches made in-house and baked goods sourced from local artisans. Patrons will also be able to order a glass of beer or wine. Giannakopoulos said the shop may also serve traditional Greek pastries, and other pastries, made by nuns from the St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Monastery in Washington, Texas. Roast N Brew House isn’t much more than framing at the moment, but the shop is Photo from Facebook
See Roast N Brew P. 2B
Signs of progress at Roast N Brew House are visible along West 19th Street in the Heights. The brainchild of Timbergrove Manor resident Vicki Giannakopoulos and her father, the new coffee outpost is scheduled to open this August.
REVIEW:
SMOOSH makes classic treat seem new By Zarah Parker
having two different nuts only made me like the ice cream more. The sandwich comes in a little pouch on a paper boat with a spoon. I understood the boat and spoon once I tried biting into the sandwich. For me, it was pretty much impossible to eat it like I would an ice cream sandwich from the freezer section at the grocery store. The sugar cookies were soft and fresh and added to
zarah@theleadernews.com
As someone with a weakness for cookies and ice cream, there’s no better combination for me than ice cream sandwiched between two cookies. SMOOSH Cookies takes the concept of ice cream sandwiches and makes it customizable. You can choose between a variety of classic cookie flavors, brownies, churros, donuts or waffles to use to hold the ice cream. Then you choose a type of ice cream, such as classic flavors like vanilla and chocolate or more unique flavors like cappuccino fudge crunch and magical unicorn. Next, you can add a topping to the sandwich if you want. Toppings range from cereals and syrups to candies and nuts. After debating between the chocolate chip, peanut butter and sugar cookies, I decided on the latter to be the shell of my sandwich. I sampled the vanilla ice cream, which was creamy,
Photo by Zarah Parker This Turtle Sunday between two sugar cookies is just one of the delectable ice cream cookie options available at SMOOSH Cookies in the Heights.
the butter pecan, which has become one of my favorite flavors, and the cotton candy, which was a little too sweet for me to eat with cookies. I decided on the turtle sundae, a gluten-free, no sugar-added ice cream that was a mix of vanilla with chocolate sauce
and pecans. When I chose my topping, I didn’t even think about the pecans when I asked for peanuts to be added around the sandwich. However, it turned out to be the best choice as there weren’t very many pecans in the ice cream and
Dining in again: Residents share their experiences Zarah Parker Managing Editor
After weeks of not being able to eat inside restaurants, some residents were more than ready to slide into local dining rooms after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order began reopening the state the first weekend in May. “I cannot say enough how good it felt to just sit down inside and get iced tea and a meal served to me,” area resident Cindy Harper said. Harper, who patronized Barbecue Inn, 116 W. Crosstimbers Rd., said the restaurant was clean and abided by the rules set in place for Phase 1 of reopening. During this phase, restaurants are allowed to reopen their dining rooms at 25 percent occupancy while maintaining at least 6 feet of distance between tables, having hand sanitizing stations at the entry and having no tables with more than six people. Restaurants also have to use disposable menus and nonreusable condiments that are given to customers only by request. “It was odd to see tables and chairs pushed aside, no flowers or condiments on the tables, salt and pepper served in the small packets (and) just
the ice cream without becoming the main focus of the treat. It makes me think the other cookies would be just as good. The ice cream was rich and creamy and tasted good with the sugar cookies and the added nut topping. SMOOSH stands out from the numerous ice cream shops lining Heights-area streets because of its customizable ice cream sandwiches that are delicious to eat. In addition, the shop has
a cookie split, which is a banana split but with cookies, a sundae, milkshakes, cones, floats and even coffee. SMOOSH Cookies Address: 718 W. 18th St. Hours: 3-10 p.m. daily Pricing: $3.75-$7.65 Kid-friendly: Yes Alcohol: No Healthy Options: Yes Star of the Show: Turtle sundae in between two sugar cookies
Thank you, neighbors, we are ready to dine with you again. Our dining room and patio are open Lunch, Dinner, and Sunday Brunch.
Book Online rainbow-lodge.com 713 861 8666
Photo by Jessica Evans House of Fries, 5322 Antione Dr., has set up plastic dividers between tables in an attempt to keep patrons safe.
a few crackers in the basket instead of being full to the top,” Harper said. “All these things felt so abnormal to me, but I was so happy to sit down with a served meal and Barbecue Inn did not disappoint. I sat there and savored every bite of that fried shrimp platter and several glasses of fresh iced tea.” Andy Tomczeszyn has dined at Wakefield Crowbar,
954 Wakefield Dr., and Torchy’s Tacos, 350 W. 19th St., since Abbott’s executive order went into effect. “Overall, we felt safe at both restaurants. You could tell they were trying hard to stay compliant, but still serve food and make it enjoyable, especially at Crowbar,” Tomczeszyn said. But that didn’t stop the exSee Dining P. 2B
2011 Ella Blvd