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This Texas tale started out as a family affair: When Sean Henry started Houndstooth Coffee<\/a> in 2010, his brother, Paul Henry, came to work for him as a barista. Since their initial launch, the brothers have continued to gradually expand the company, which now runs six cafes: three in Dallas (where Sean is based) and three in Austin (where Paul is based), as well as the roastery <\/span>Tweed Coffee<\/span><\/a>. Their latest addition is a new cafe in East Austin that offers coffee during the day and extends into the late hours with beer, wine, and cocktails. <\/span><\/p>\n On the day we visit the new Austin location, Paul is wearing a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. I can see a bit of Texas tattooed on his arm. I ask him about it and it turns out it\u2019s actually the same logo that\u2019s on my espresso mug: the state of Texas on one side, the Houndstooth fedora logo on the other. He brings up his childhood\u2014he was raised in the suburbs of Dallas\u2014and I ask him how being Texan plays into his business. \u201cThere\u2019s a hospitality and swagger to Texas that\u2019s hard to find elsewhere,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s something magic about it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Henry brothers have worked to bring that magic to the new location, which is intended to be more of an all-day hangout than just a cafe for morning fuel. \u201cIt seems a lot of people don\u2019t hang out in the same place in the evenings that they do in the mornings,\u201d says Paul. To help facilitate that idea in the new Austin space, Houndstooth is drawing from its experience with its successful Dallas cocktail bar Jettison<\/a>. \u201cWe want to borrow a little bit of what happens up there and bring it down here,\u201d says Henry. Cocktails at the East Austin Houndstooth will include Jettison <\/span>favorites such as<\/span> the Red Headed Oaxacan, a smoky agave version of a Penicillin with reposado, mezcal, ginger honey, lemon, and a spray of Bowmore 12-year-old Scotch whisky, and the Earl\u2019d Fashion\u2019d, made with bonded bourbon, orange and Angostura bitters, and maple syrup smoked with Earl Grey tea.<\/span><\/p>\n But while there are alcoholic drinks on offer, the space feels more like a comfortable neighborhood hangout than a chic bar. Paul tells me the story of his grandfather, who was known for wearing a fedora (another nod that Houndstooth makes to family heritage).\u00a0One day his grandfather was eating at a restaurant in Lubbock, Texas, where he was a regular, and accidentally left his fedora behind. The next day when his grandfather returned, the hat was waiting for him.\u00a0Paul likens this to the feeling that they are trying to create in all the Houndstooth cafes, one that\u2019s focused on hospitality and community, ensuring that everyone feels welcome. \u201cI see you, I know you, you\u2019re safe here,\u201d says Paul.<\/p>\n Order the house blend at Houndstooth and you\u2019ll be served Timepiece, another family nod, this time to the Henrys\u2019s father, a watch collector. Besides passing along watches to his sons, their father has also passed along a business sense. \u201cFor years my dad would say, \u2018Do the right thing,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cAs long as you live within your means, you\u2019ll be fine.\u201d The company has never taken outside funding, and as Paul puts it, \u201cWe do things that make fiscal sense.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean that they\u2019re not willing to try new things. On the contrary, they are open to new ideas and challenges, but with a healthy dose of pragmatism. \u201cWe try and make our own mistakes but we try not to make the same mistake twice,\u201d says Paul. <\/span><\/p>\n Despite a lot of growth over the past few years, \u201cwe\u2019re still a personal company, a family company,\u201d says Paul. That means putting a big focus on investing in their staff. Most of the Houndstooth staff is full-time and they all have company health insurance. \u201cWhat I love is helping our staff become who they want to become,\u201d says Henry. That focus on people, be they staff or customers, is ultimately what weaves all of the elements of Houndstooth together. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf we can bring good people and good coffee together, we can create a pattern that will last a long time,\u201d says Paul.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"houndstooth](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/02\/Brones.Houndstooth-East-Austin-9_IMG_7262-1170x780.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nHoundstooth Coffee is located at\u00a0