District House Coffee Emphasizes Community – and Quality
I like coffee – a lot. I like free stuff a lot, though admittedly not as much as I like good coffee. (Hence my choice of a $4 pour-over instead of the free diesel at my office.) So when I hear that there’s a new coffee shop in the Plaza that’s serving up free morning brew on the regular, my interest is sufficiently piqued.
Enter District House Coffee.
From the beginning, District House has hosted weekly #freecoffeemonday from around 7 – 10:30 am. Have your brew and drink it too!…even if you’re not a particularly early bird.
I’m no early bird myself, so I walk into the Plaza’s District House Coffee around 4 on a sleepy Tuesday afternoon. While the neighboring bars and restaurants begin to welcome in happy hour die-hards and hangry diners, District House is a haven for folks looking to enjoy good coffee and equally good conversation.
But as I decide on a cookie to go with my cold brew, I find myself telling manager Jason Weigand that I want “the most popular one.” And then I tell him that I’m stopping in for my first time to review his business for a certain conference. Subtlety is not, as you might guess, always my strong point.
Jason hands me an innocent-looking chocolate chip cookie. “I know,” he says when I made a “seriously?” face. “But they’re really good. I have to order 4 dozen at a time to keep these things in stock.” He knows what he’s talking about: the cookie is soft and sweet, and it effectively mellows out the potent cold brew.
He spots my laptop and points me to the shop’s back room, where there are plenty of outlets and tables that lend themselves to camp-outs. Then he gives me a tour.
Local art, clean lines, room to think
District House begins with a wide-open room. Three or four mid-century sofas line the walls and carve out distinct spaces, and a sleek bar where patrons can sip (slurp) espresso and nibble (destroy) sandwiches guides you into the back room.
The decor is clean and modern without being sterile; the staff is very friendly and accommodating; the food and drinks are simple but solid.
District House shares space with the Plaza’s Parish church – a minimalist space that hosts everything from live music to open mics to film showings. On the walls of both venues, you’ll find work by local artists – this month, Steven Judd is one of them.
I ask who’s been filling up the space recently – freelancers, students, business professionals?
“Defintely lots of freelancers, even people having small business meetings,” Jason explains. “And I think when school starts, the OCU students will be here a lot. But you know who was here in numbers when we opened?” (District House opened its doors in Aprils, just before schools let out.) “The OU Health Science students. There’d be a student from OUHSC in almost every corner with his laptop set up, and a huge anatomy book spread out on the table. They come a long way!”
District House is like the Plaza’s Paramount – with local coffee and a younger clientele. The emphasis is on community involvement and unique events – like the above mentioned open mic night and movie showings.
Students, freelancers, and coders form a cohesive community
As I’m typing away at this piece, I’m also eavesdropping on the two groups of people with whom I’m sharing the room. (Again, subtlety is not always my strong suit.)
One pair, sitting in the corner, appears to be relatively new friends – grad-school age, I’d think. They’re talking about their internships, mission trips, and schoolwork.
Another, slightly older pair sits at the bar and speaks at length about the work they do.
Around 6 pm, things begin to get more lively. A couple guys in jeans and T-shirts haul their laptops and notebooks onto a large table against the far wall. Every few minutes, a few more guys join them. Their drinks of choice: beer and black coffee. Jason comes over and tells me that I’m seeing a group of coders assembling. They were here a few weeks ago and have made the space their meeting spot for regular coding parties. Last week, the OKC Nerdy Girls came in.
“There’s a conference room in the back that people can rent,” Jason says, “but mostly people are just using the main room as a sort of meeting place.”
It’s definitely what the owners are going for.
“I want this to be a place for the community to gather – a sort of town hall.”
And I think District House is going to be just that: a comfortable, all-ages gathering place in a rapidly growing neighborhood.
If you love coffee shops and working on laptops, you’ll want to check out the other reviews in our “I’m Working Here” series:
