Roaster and coffee culture champion Tenfold, whose Heights flagship has percolated to the head of Houston’s favorite cafes and creative communal spaces, is bringing its welcoming vibe and curated food and beverage offerings to Downtown’s backyard. Its second location, a European-inspired all-day café, debuted on Tuesday, November 19 at 1550 Lamar, just steps from Discovery Green.
Overlooking the landmark park, the airy, 1,320-square-foot space is the first of two street level tenants to be unveiled at Skanska’s recently completed Norton Rose Fulbright Tower . It will soon be complemented by an expansive patio with soft seating and sunset views.
With interiors conceived in collaboration with Houston-based firm Gin Design Group, the vibrant spot will serve as a community hub for caffeine lovers and park-goers alike, offering blends of coffee and tea service, chef-driven grab and go items from purveyors such as Heights eatery Jūn and chef Omar Pereney’s Love Croissants, plus coffee-centric educational experiences and unique programming that supports local talent.
New to Tenfold Downtown is a curated cocktail program created by Tenfold’s Beverage Manager, Andrea Fernandez, and Justin Ware of Johnny’s Gold Brick and Winnie’s. Inspired by the ambition to use alcohol as a new ingredient to extend the café’s menu but clearly distinguish itself from a traditional bar, the café will be offering creative sips ranging from a boozy chai and coffee-forward carajillo to a matcha highball and calimocho – a blend of cola and red wine. Guests can also anticipate tasty food additions like Mexican pastries from Casa Grace.
With a focus on responsibly sourced beans and innovative offerings, Tenfold was founded in 2020 by Houstonian Jacob Ibarra to provide an inviting backdrop that sparks curiosity and fosters a deeper understanding of coffee. Ibarra’s journey into the coffee world began during a gap year in Costa Rica, where he was immersed in a culture rich with coffee traditions. That experience propelled him to Seattle, where he honed his skills at Caffé Vita. Later, he became the inaugural Director of Coffee at Five Senses, a large specialty roaster in Australia.
Tenfold offers coffee sourced directly from farms that Ibarra has personally visited and from relationships which he has cultivated over many years, ensuring quality and responsible practices. While Ibarra has traveled extensively across the globe for coffee, he strategically focuses on only seven countries – so as to ensure greater positive impact in the supply chain. The coffee-growing countries which Tenfold focuses on are Mexico, El Salvador, Brazil, Colombia, Burundi, Tanzania and Ethiopia
Tenfold Downtown will also look to showcase its sister company, Tov Tea. Tov opened in early 2024 with the intent to marry two historic yet very different sides of the tea economy – matcha and chai. Tov is working directly with matcha farmers in Japan and crafting hand-blended, premium chai and artisanal loose-leaf teas that highlight sustainable farming and traditional tea-making artistry for hospitality businesses in Houston.
Ibarra said in a statement, “We’re thrilled to have found a home with a developer like Skanska that shares our passion for sustainability in a place that aligns perfectly with our desire to create a community hub. We’re excited to be in the heart of the city, not only serving Houstonians, but also visitors drawn to Discovery Green and to the George R. Brown Convention Center.”
Coincidentally, the George R. Brown will host the Specialty Coffee Association’s Specialty Coffee Expo, North America’s largest B2B Coffee Trade Show, in April 2025.
“With the addition of Tenfold Coffee on the ground floor of Skanska’s Norton Rose Fulbright Tower, we have a locally owned café that embraces Downtown’s beloved park, Discovery Green. We appreciate the development team of Skanska for enhancing the street-level experience in one of Houston’s most iconic areas, not just for their building’s tenants, but also for residents, visitors, and workers,” stated Kris Larson, President & CEO of Downtown Houston+.
While no stranger to working in hospitality, gin design group found the Tenfold project to be unique in nature. Although its team knew the final use of the space, a tenant had not yet been identified when the firm was retained by Skanska to design the project. The stars aligned when Tenfold became the tenant, as the final design fundamentally complemented Tenfold’s existing aesthetic.
“This project was about integrating the details in the design and not over-complicating it… creating a space that was both neutral enough to receive layers from the brand but also had integral character” said Gin Braverman, founder of gin design group.
Long and narrow, the storefront’s footprint prioritizes natural light and open spaces, creating a seamless connection between the indoors and out. It is a place that lends itself to a range of functions – from casual meetings and a lunch or a quick coffee break to a performance or after-hours group buyout. The aesthetic is natural and honest, modern, yet timeless, reinforced by earth-tone plaster walls and concrete floors featuring a terrazzo effect. The bar, which follows the curvature of the building, is the focal point of the cafe, offset with a backdrop of pearlescent Zellige tile and a striated plaster treatment. Interior touch points include custom furniture and woodwork designed by Morgan Campos of Campos and Co.
To serve its patrons, Tenfold has selected the Mod Bar – which is something of a deconstructed espresso machine designed to lessen the barrier between barista and customer by placing the majority of the machine under the counter. Also part of its equipment portfolio, Tenfold will incorporate the Swan, La Marzocco’s brand new espresso grinder. Tenfold will be the first coffee shop in Houston to showcase the Italian brand’s unique grinding technology.
Tenfold will initially be open to the public from 7 am to 2 pm before expanding to its regular daily hours of operation – 7 am until 7 pm.
