In 2017, Nancy and Robert Baker pose in front of their first coffee shop, which opened in Lake Highlands in 2005. Photo by Danny Fulgencio for the Advocate.
In Dallas, White Rock Coffee is starting to rival Starbucks in its ubiquitousness. Maybe there is not one at every corner, but there’s one in every neighborhood.
Dallas’ java-roasting empire started in 2005 with the mothership at Northwest Highway and Ferndale. Owners, Lake Highlands residents Nancy and Robert Baker, are about to open a sixth Dallas store at The Rosewood Courts in Uptown.
The Bakers also own a commercial bakery, a commercial roaster, a warehouse, and a barista training center in Lake Highlands, we reported a few years ago.
The Rosewood Court grand opening is Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 2101 Cedar Springs. The team will be serving up free samples, will hold giveaways and offer special deals.
A few years ago, WRC loyalists expressed concern when Starbucks, whose coffee shop locations number in the 25,000 range worldwide, opened at the corner of Northwest Highway and Ferndale, encroaching on WRC territory, but the whole fiasco resulted in a blossoming appreciation for our independent coffee house and intensification of the WRC cult.
The last couple of WRC openings have been in close proximity to Starbucks stores. There’s a Starbucks in Crescent Court .3 miles from the new WRC. The area is saturated with expensive hotel rooms, therefore there are plenty of coffee drinkers and pastry consumers to go around.
As Rosewood Property owner Rick Perdue pointed out in a press release last summer, the Rosewood Court location will expose the local favorite to a new type of customer among a larger audience of international and business travelers.
As of summer 2022, 99% of Rosewood Court’s office suits had been leased. Other restaurants in the center include Flower Child, Ocean Prime and Tipsy Alchemist.
The Uptown WRC store will be open 6 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and closed Sundays.
