Tamm Avenue Grill owners Rusty Eubank, Rick Destefane and Ben Strake have turned the empty former coffee shop in the corner of their building into The Corner Cup. Located at 1221 Tamm Ave., in Dogtown, The Corner Cup serves drip and espresso coffees and specialty breakfast items.
“People kept coming down the street going, ‘Do you guys do coffee? Do you guys do coffee?’ because this used to be a coffee shop years ago,” Strake said. “So it just became self-evident that there was a need for it in the neighborhood.”
The renovation of the 16-seat coffee shop features many refurbished and recycled materials, such as tabletops made from 100-year-old wood and a back wall paneled with a former chicken coop roof. Even the pastry case was made from a cabinet Strake said they found while cleaning out the garage behind the building.
The Corner Cup is open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and serves food until 2 p.m. The breakfast menu features several paleo options like the portabella Benedict – two mushroom caps stuffed with sauteed spinach and topped with poached eggs – or the caveman omelet, which is a carnivorous dish stuffed with ham, bacon, hamburger and turkey sausage.
Vegetarian items are also available (The herbivore omelet features a mélange of mushrooms, onion, broccoli and green and red bell peppers.), as well as a rotating selection of grab-and-go baked goods like house-made muffins, croissants and vegan granola bars. Strake hopes to add pour-over coffees, smoothies and more vegan and gluten-free food options as the coffee shop grows.
“We want to cater to people who really care about what they’re putting in their body,” Strake said. “We want people who follow these different types of eating habits to have choices here. “
On the other side of the building, Tamm Avenue Grill will see some big changes, too, beginning March 18. The game room, which current seats 20 to 30, is sectioned off from the rest of the bar and grill. Strake plans to knock down walls to open up the space, add communal tables and new ceilings, and make space for live music performances and karaoke. Outside, the parking pad and garage behind the building will be transformed into a full bar and patio with 40 seats.
Once the weather warms, Strake will break out an electric car that will deliver Tamm Avenue Grill and The Corner Cup food to Dogtown residents. Strake even hopes to find a way to configure a mobile drip station to the vehicle to deliver fresh coffee right to customers’ doors. Strake expects construction to Tamm Avenue Grill to be complete by April 1. Grand opening celebrations for The Corner Cup and the newly renovated Tamm Avenue Grill will take place in early April.
This article appears in Guide to Beer 2014.