MERIT COFFEE Celebrates 15 Years
of Brewing Community and Excellence
By Bruce X. Forey | Photography by David Teran
A popular part of the 78209 community celebrates an impressive milestone this October. Merit Coffee marks 15 years of sourcing, roasting, and brewing satisfying varieties of coffee. Beyond the coffee, Merit’s long-running success comes from its Alamo Heights café on Broadway, which attracts ‘09ers and beyond to enjoy a coffee drink and hang out.
“Our Alamo Heights Café perfectly represents how we’ve become ingrained in that community, in that neighborhood,” said Lydia Cassells, marketing manager at Merit Coffee. “Whether you stay for five minutes or five hours, you’ll see people from all walks of life.”
Many longtime customers remember when Merit Coffee launched as Local Coffee in 2009. In 2018, the company was interested in expanding into Austin. However, they encountered two problems: they weren’t truly local to Austin and wanted to respect the cafes that were. They also encountered that searching “Local Coffee” online generated generic results.
“Because ‘Local Coffee’ was considered too generic of a term to trademark, we pivoted to the name Merit Coffee, which we had already trademarked and owned the rights to,” Lydia explained.
The inspiration for the Merit Coffee name ties back to the company’s roots. Their original roastery, located next to train tracks in San Antonio’s South Town, sparked the idea of incorporating the area into a new name. Through research, the team discovered railroad conductors were awarded lanterns for “meritorious achievement.”
“When we started as a business, our tagline was ‘pursuing perfection,’” Lydia shared. “We know we can never fully achieve perfection, but that’s what we continually strive for. Over time, the lantern shifted from a symbol of achievement to a representation of our mission.”
Lydia added, “For us, Merit now means pursuing excellence in roasting and brewing our coffee while making a difference in someone’s day and being a light in our communities.”
This sense of community connection begins with Merit’s cafés; each layout uniquely reflects the neighborhood it serves.
“We make sure to consider the neighborhood when opening a new location,” Lydia said. “We innovate, but we also blend into the existing community to create an atmosphere that our customers can call their own.”
A key part of Merit’s identity is that none of its locations offer drive-through service.
“We believe in creating community spaces that encourage people to connect and share life face-to-face,” Lydia said.
Although the inviting café atmosphere is a cornerstone of Merit’s business, everything begins with the coffee.
“Sourcing, roasting, and brewing are three areas we take extremely seriously,” Lydia explained.
The company has long-standing partnerships with growers in Central and South America, as well as Africa, who produce top-quality beans. These beans arrive in San Antonio, where Merit roasts them at their 9,600-square-foot facility on Loop 410. Because Merit roasts to flavor, not color, they are able to craft not only delicious single-origin offerings but also innovative signature coffee drinks released four times a year.
Today, Merit has 13 locations: five in San Antonio, three in Austin, and five in Dallas. The company has also reached a deal to carry its packaged coffee in H-E-B stores, with shoppers also finding Merit Coffee at Central Market, Whole Foods, and Sprouts Farmers Market.
To celebrate its 15-year milestone, Merit will host happy hours and pop-up events at all 13 cafés, featuring special giveaways and limited-edition merchandise. The highlight of the celebration is the complete remodel of the Sonterra location, the company’s first store.
“Sonterra will transform into a big, fresh, brand-new café,” Lydia said. “We’re excited to celebrate 15 years of Merit Coffee with our customers because we wouldn’t be here without them.”
