First look at Pettaway Coffee

Nov 09, 2023

Pettaway Coffee opened Saturday in the revitalized Pettaway Square small business district at 408 E. 21st St. The new coffee shop is next door to Josiah Moody's microbrewery, Moody Brews, which is still in development, and Paper Hearts Bookstore, which opened in January. Smashed N’ Stacked food truck is typically stationed directly adjacent to the shop.

Brian Chilson

The coffee shop has a nice vibe. There's a comfortable lounge area with several plants and a photo wall mural of a forest on the shop's west end. Garage door windows overlooking the square's courtyard on the east side of the shop provide a good amount of natural light for customers sitting at tables or at the small L-shaped bar. Owner and Pettaway Square developer Michael Orndorff said the shop can comfortably seat 40. It's about 800 square feet, not including the bathroom, utility closet or the staircase near the shop's back exit, which leads to an upstairs studio used for yoga, meditation and tai chi classes, Orndorff said.

Brian Chilson

The menu features traditional coffee drinks plus specialties like coffee soda, a nonalcoholic espresso old fashioned, and an entire section of nonalcoholic cocktails.

Orndorff is partnering with Aaron Long, who runs the shop and has a strong coffee background. He previously owned the coffee shop Revival in the Regions Center. It was one of at least three downtown coffee shops that closed during the pandemic.

The coffee soda on the menu was something Long featured at Revival. It's cold brew-based and batched in kegs with a secret syrup concoction and added carbonation. Long said it's a 72-hour process. It was my first coffee soda, and I would definitely order it again. It's very refreshing, with little notes of citrus heightened by the aroma of the orange twist garnish. Long said he might work with Moody Brews to see about canning the beverage in the future.

The espresso old fashioned tastes like an iced coffee served around a campfire. Long achieves this flavor by smoking oak wood and letting the smoke fill the glass before adding nonalcoholic bitters, espresso, ice and an orange twist. It provided a nice morning jolt, and I could still detect the campfire smell until around noon.

Long is sourcing beans locally from Fidel & Co and from Three Ships Coffee Roasters from his hometown of Virginia Beach. There are also bags from Sey Coffee out of Brooklyn, New York.

In the later afternoon hours, Long said, the goal is for the shop to transform into a coffee shop/ mocktail bar. Although there are a couple beers with alcohol from Lost Forty and wine options available, Orndorff has aspirations to give Pettaway and Little Rock residents more nonalcohol-friendly options after participating in dry January and seeing the need for it.

"Between the lack of options in Arkansas and recognizing it was an effective tool for people taking the night off or quitting altogether like it is for me, that's what got me into it. I think it's an untapped market for sure by Arkansas standards," Orndorff said.

Several N/A beers and wines are available in addition to the six mocktails on the menu. We tried the Siesta and before Long told me about the cocktail I assumed it was inspired by a tequila-based cocktail because it reminded me of a Paloma. It's made up of tequila and aperitif alternatives, with fresh grapefruit, lime and simple syrup. Even though it had no alcohol component, I still felt very mischievous drinking it on a workday at 10 a.m. It was great.

The menu also features a spiritless old fashioned, whiskey sour, margarita, gin fizz and rum and coffee. The menu says the mocktails were created with inspiration from local mocktail advocate Mocktail Mo. All of the syrups are made in house with natural and organic ingredients.

Long said he wants the shop's identity to be neighborhood-focused, and hopes to eventually add a micro grocery stand. Cinnamon rolls and a few pastries made by Brown Sugar's Original Recipes are also available. Long said he hopes to carry items from The Bagel Shop once its new brick and mortar location opens in SoMa later this summer.

Pettaway Coffee's hours are 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Wed.-Thu., 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sun.

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