At Sneaks Espresso + Lounge in Midtown Houston. All photographs courtesy of Sneaks.

Treading boldly in with a mixture of specialty espresso, cocktails and sneakerhead tradition is a brand new cafe/bar idea in Houston known as Sneaks Espresso + Lounge.

The ingenious cafe and nightclub that opened final month in Midtown is the co-creation of hospitality veteran Eddie Massa, Native Espresso proprietor Pouya Alavi, and lawyer and sneaker aficionado Ash Tadghighi.

Roughly 1,500 sq. toes throughout the 5,000-square-foot area are dedicated to the espresso store, which options black ceilings, white partitions and colourful sneaker-themed and hip hop murals and artwork items. Seating contains a mixture of fashionable lounge seating and vintage-style items, the latter chosen to replicate the sneaker and hip-hop tradition of the Nineteen Nineties.

“We leaned right into a daring but refined palette — deep blacks, heat cognac tones, and wealthy blues — to stability the rawness of avenue tradition with a refined edge,”
Sneaks Managing Associate Sonia Kheshtkar informed Each day Espresso Information. “Leather-based, suede, and velvet textures add depth, whereas metallic accents in gold and brass carry a luxe distinction. The combo of plush seating and industrial components retains issues each snug and edgy.”

Customized-blended coffees provided by Houston-based District Roasters — which can be the provider to Pouya’s Native Espresso — make their method to a Compak E8 espresso grinder paired with a Slayer Steam espresso machine, or to a Bunn G2 grinder for drip espresso and chilly brew. 

Pouya is main the espresso program, in addition to the operations on the speakeasy lounge, which is accessible by way of a door disguised as cafe shelving. Espresso additionally sneaks over to the bar for choices resembling espresso martini known as the Black Cat Tini, and a coffee-based tequila shot known as Mr. Bean.

Tadghighi, who co-manages the cocktail bar with Pouya, supplied sneakers from his private assortment for a museum-like show with LED-lit cabinets towards white-painted brick partitions. A dozen classic Air Jordans are organized in a circle to type the numbers of a clock on one cafe wall. 

“Sneakers are the guts of Sneaks, so we designed customized show options that showcase iconic pairs like artworks,” Kheshtkar informed DCN. “The centerpiece is our sneaker wall, that includes a number of the most iconic designs in sneaker historical past, alongside a hanging sneaker mural that makes for the right backdrop.”

For sneakerheads, Sneaks joins Portland, Oregon-based Deadstock Espresso as one in all only a few institutions in the US to merge sneaker tradition and specialty espresso.

For co-founder Massa, the enterprise provides to a packed roster of earlier openings, together with the launch of the now defunct membership Clé, and the opening of the Chapman & Kirby gastropub and the MAD tapas and cocktail bar. As a staff, Massa, Pouya and Tadghighi additionally run further Midtown Houston properties that embody the nightclub PDA and sports activities bar 40 All.

“Every of our institutions has its personal id, however all of them share a concentrate on creating immersive, high-quality experiences,” Kheshtkar informed DCN. “PDA is intimate and indulgent, 40 All is high-energy and social, and Sneaks brings a contemporary, street-culture-inspired take to the combo.”

Sneaks Espresso + Lounge is situated at 3030 Travis St. in Houston. Feedback? Questions? Information to share? Contact DCN’s editors right here. For all the most recent espresso business information, subscribe to the DCN e-newsletter.