Dallas’ Pearl Cup to Close its Original Cafe, Houndstooth Moving In

The Henderson Ave. Pearl Cup location. 2010 photo by Pearl Cup Coffee.

Yesterday was the last day of operation for the original Henderson Avenue location of Dallas’ Pearl Cup Coffee, which helped introduced the city to high-end specialty coffee retail since opening in 2007.

Pearl Cup’s two other locations will remain open, but owners Carlene Saelg and Rita Davis say they couldn’t work out a deal on a new lease for the space on Henderson, which has been revitalized as a popular drinking and dining corridor in recent years. Saelg and Davis, who say they are actively looking for a new retail space, recently made the following announcement:

It’s a sad day when you have to announce the closing of your first coffee shop location. We opened Pearl Cup Coffee when Henderson Avenue didn’t have much to offer other than a handful of bars. We had a hand in building the Dallas coffee culture to what it is today, and we are quite proud of that feat, but the incredibly high rents are simply not sustainable for a true coffee shop. Opening on Henderson Avenue was a strategic move that we hoped would allow us to grow as the street gained in popularity.

Throughout it all we haven’t been interested in being something that we aren’t. Our vision was not a restaurant with coffee, or a bar with coffee. Simply wanting to serve great coffee in a welcoming environment has always been our top priority. We are very disappointed that we were unsuccessful at negotiating an affordable rent structure and that we will no longer be a part of this neighborhood. The Henderson location’s last day will be Dec 23rd.

While they will no longer be able to get the infamous “Pearl Lattes,” coffee drinkers in the neighborhood can at least take solace in the fact that the space is going to be taken over by another high-end coffee purveyor, Austin’s Houndstooth Coffee, which plans to open this Spring, according to a recent report from Culture Map Dallas.