Any new opening from Onyx Espresso Lab is a serious occasion. At this time on the Construct-Outs of Espresso function sequence, we’re having a look at Onyx at The Protect, maybe the model’s most formidable new espresso bar thus far.

The 2026 Construct-outs of Espresso is offered by DONA, Pacific Barista Collection, and La Marzocco.

As informed to Sprudge by Niki Weegens.

For many who aren’t acquainted, will you inform us about your organization?

Onyx Espresso Lab is an Arkansas-based espresso firm based in 2012 with the objective of each serving and difficult the specialty espresso business. From the start, our mantra has been “By no means Accept Good Sufficient,” a phrase that has formed the best way we strategy sourcing, roasting, hospitality, design, schooling, transparency, and the best way we take care of each visitors and staff. Espresso stays the muse of who we’re, however our work has at all times been about greater than the cup. Our work is about constructing a extra considerate, equitable, and wonderful espresso expertise from origin to finish shopper.

Through the years, Onyx has grown into an internationally acknowledged roastery and hospitality firm. In 2026, Onyx was named as a James Beard Award finalist for Excellent Bar, a milestone that introduced specialty espresso additional into the nationwide hospitality dialog. We’re additionally a Licensed B Company, with commitments that replicate our perception that excellence has to incorporate how we supply, how we function, and the way we assist the individuals who make this work doable.

Onyx at The Protect is the most recent expression of that work, and our most formidable idea thus far. It expands the Onyx expertise right into a full-day gathering place the place world-class espresso, vibrant meals, beverage, structure, panorama, and neighborhood all meet in a single area. Whereas the providing has grown, the guts of the challenge stays the identical: distinctive espresso, significant hospitality, and a want to create areas the place folks really feel welcomed, seen, and invited to remain awhile.

Are you able to inform us a bit concerning the new area?

Onyx at The Protect is our most formidable idea thus far, positioned in Bud’s Protect Park in Bentonville, Arkansas. The constructing sits straight on the Greenway and is woven into the encircling path system, making it accessible by bike, by foot, and by automotive from throughout Northwest Arkansas. From the start, the objective was to not create a constructing that merely sat on the land, however one which felt as if it had emerged from it.

The area was designed by Jon Allen, co-owner of Onyx Espresso Lab, in partnership with architect Marlon Blackwell. Concepting started in 2020 with a guiding query: how will we create one thing minimal and restrained that also feels heat, tactile, and deeply human? That intention formed each materials and element. A completely customized stainless-steel bar anchors the room with precision and readability, whereas white oak, earthy plaster, and limestone-rich surfaces convey heat, texture, and a way of calm. Oblique lighting washes the partitions and ceiling somewhat than calling consideration to itself, permitting the area to shift all through the day.

At its coronary heart, The Protect is a gathering place. Espresso stays the muse of the expertise, however this location expands that rhythm into breakfast, daytime eating, dinner, cocktails, wine, occasions, and full-service hospitality. Our hope is that The Protect feels formidable however deeply inviting—a spot for morning espresso, noon connection, night meals, quiet pauses, path stops, and shared moments across the desk.

What’s your strategy to espresso?

Espresso is the place Onyx started, and it stays on the heart of The Protect. Our strategy begins lengthy earlier than a drink reaches the bar: clear sourcing, shut producer relationships, cautious roasting, rigorous high quality management, and deep coaching for the folks making ready and serving the espresso.

At The Protect, espresso turns into the primary welcome into a bigger hospitality expertise. Visitors can get pleasure from espresso drinks, pour overs, and acquainted Onyx choices in an area designed for each motion and pause. Whether or not somebody is stopping in from the path, settling into the cafe, or starting a full meal, the objective is similar as at all times: espresso ready with precision and care, served in a manner that makes folks really feel welcomed, seen, and invited in.

Any machines, coffees, particular gear lined up?

Like each Onyx cafe, The Protect proudly makes use of Modbar espresso machines, permitting the bar to stay open, intentional, and deeply related to the visitor expertise. The clear, under-counter system helps the architectural imaginative and prescient of the area whereas giving our baristas the precision and consistency wanted to serve espresso on the stage we count on from each Onyx location.

We’re additionally utilizing customized Onyx Version Ceado Rev Zero grinders for espresso, chosen for his or her skill to drag photographs with unimaginable taste readability, consistency, and expression. Collectively, the Modbar system and Ceado grinders permit us to focus on the coffees we love with precision whereas maintaining the bar expertise heat, participating, and genuinely approachable.

The centerpiece of the room is a totally customized stainless-steel bar designed to assist each espresso service and the broader meals and beverage expertise at The Protect. The espresso program options Onyx-roasted coffees throughout espresso and pour over menus, with choices chosen to focus on readability, sweetness, texture, and the distinctive character of every espresso.

How is your challenge contemplating sustainability?

For this challenge, sustainability begins with restraint, longevity, and a deep relationship to position. The design was guided by the query of find out how to do extra with much less materials, creating an area that feels heat and immersive with out counting on extra. Sturdy supplies like stainless-steel, white oak, plaster, and limestone-rich surfaces had been chosen for a way they age, how they really feel, and the way they belong inside the surrounding panorama.

The constructing’s placement additionally encourages alternative routes of arriving. As a result of The Protect sits straight on the Greenway and inside Bud’s Protect Park, visitors can entry the area by bike or on foot by the encircling path system. That connection to the panorama is central to the idea: the grounds will not be simply surroundings, however a part of the visitor expertise.

The challenge additionally extends Onyx Espresso Lab’s broader commitments to accountable enterprise practices, together with clear espresso sourcing, photo voltaic power funding, B Corp Certification, and Residing Wage Certification. Sustainability right here will not be a single function; it’s an ongoing accountability that touches sourcing, labor, supplies, power, and the best way the area serves its neighborhood over time.

What’s your hopeful goal opening date/month?

Onyx at The Protect started its comfortable opening in June 2026, with expanded service rolling out all through summer season 2026.

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you simply’d like to say?

Onyx at The Protect was designed by Jon Allen, proprietor of Onyx Espresso Lab, in partnership with architect Marlon Blackwell and the crew at Marlon Blackwell Architects.

The challenge can also be the results of deep collaboration between Onyx and an unimaginable group of builders, craftspeople, designers, cooks, baristas, beverage professionals, and hospitality leaders. Each a part of the area was thought of by the lens of hospitality: how visitors arrive, how mild strikes, how supplies really feel, how the bar capabilities, how folks collect, and the way the constructing turns into a part of the park somewhat than separate from it.

Thanks!

Thanks for contemplating Onyx at The Protect for Construct-Outs of Espresso. This challenge represents a significant new chapter for Onyx Espresso Lab, and we’re grateful for the chance to share the intention, collaboration, and care behind the area.

The 2026 Construct-outs of Espresso is offered by DONA, Pacific Barista Collection, and La Marzocco.