Richard Garcia and Dominique Horton bonded over a love of coffee and the culture surrounding it. Seven years later, the Lawrenceville couple will start roasting and serving up their own cups of joe.
Garcia and Horton will open Reyna’s Espresso and Sweets on West Crogan Street in the heart of downtown Lawrenceville. The Gwinnett shop will start serving coffee, espresso-based drinks, smoothies, tea and desserts before the start of summer.
Each day, the couple plans to open the store early in the morning around 6-7 a.m. and keep it open after dark until 9-10 p.m. Customers will be able to enjoy coffee-based cocktails on a weather-proofed enclosed outdoor patio or in the open area beside the building, pending a liquor license from the city.
Garcia and Horton stumbled across the vacant building for their shop last year, deciding to take the first steps toward opening their business. Garcia previously opened a furniture installation company, and he said it was just a matter of time before he and his significant other started a business together.
“As far as downtown Lawrenceville, we really liked the vibe,” Horton said. “It came about pretty naturally when we were walking by one day and saw this small space. We figured we could make it into something, so it’s pretty awesome we can build something where we reside as well.”
Garcia named the shop after his mother, who passed away from cancer right before he and Horton started dating. “(My mother) is the main reason that has pushed me to do better,” he said. “That’s why I chose the name, because I think she was the one who really started it.”
The couple has spent the past year expanding their coffee knowledge. The shop will roast its own beans, which Garcia said will separate the shop from others in Lawrenceville. Customers sitting on the patio will be able to see the coffee roasting through a window.
“Consistency is really what we’re aiming for,” said Horton, who worked as a general manager at a restaurant for 10 years. “That’s one thing I feel like a lot of places lack, so we want to make it someplace that somebody can go and get the same coffee today that they did yesterday and will tomorrow.”
The shop will offer gourmet desserts prepared by locally owned D’s Delicious Desserts, which will set it apart from other places, Garcia said. Selections will include coffee tres leches cake, lemon cookies sweet potato whoopie pies and gluten-free/vegan options.
Large chain coffee shops offer quick service and a drive-thru, but nothing compares to a barista knowing their customers’ names and orders when they walk through the door, Horton said.
The future shop has received positive reception from the Lawrenceville community, with hundreds of likes on a Facebook post by the City of Lawrenceville. Residents seem excited to have a new place to experience in time for the summer, Horton said.
“I think that’s our responsibility — to make sure that we keep that coffee culture alive and bring the best we can to the table,” Garcia said.
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