Shotgun House Coffee Roasters

OUR ARTICLE

Two years before Eddie Laughlin and Jessica Callery opened their café they were roasting coffee beans on a tabletop roaster on the screened-in porch of their “shotgun-style” house in the Tobin Hill neighborhood. On weekends they would sell the coffee to passersby headed to local restaurants for brunch. After the success of their porch pop-ups, they decided to search for a storefront and open a full-fledged café. Shotgun House Coffee Roasters was born, and the west side of San Antonio now has one of the best third wave coffee shops in the city.

As you swing through the door into Shotgun House Coffee Roasters, you are deposited face-to-face with the shop’s heartbeat … their black and gold San Franciscan coffee roaster. This is where co-owner Eddie Laughlin creates the roasts that end up in every coffee drink they serve. Pull-up a chair during a roasting session and Eddie will be happy to explain the process. But be prepared to get a little toasty, the machine throws off some serious heat once it gets roaring.

they even make a custom blend of spices used in their chai tea and horchata. If you do order a chai or horchata, consider getting it “dirty” with a shot of the superb espresso.

Shotgun House has maintained the vintage vibe of the building, which once served as a uniform sewing factory, but they’ve put modern touches into the space to take the edge off the industrial setting. The exposed brick walls have been painted white to give the large room a bright, clean feel. To add warmth Texas cedar planks have been used throughout the shop to accent the walls and the coffee bar. Plants dot the shelves and are scattered in large pots around the room. Shotgun House has thoughtfully carved out spaces for the variety of guests that visit the shop. In the back, there is a reading nook stocked with books straight from the owner’s personal library. There is also a lounge space with comfortable couches, a low-slung coffee table, and a rustic area rug; a perfect spot for banter with the fellas. Across from the coffee bar, there is a large communal table that works great for group brainstorming sessions. And along one side of the room are smaller tables perfect for one-on-one meet-ups or for remote workers looking to settle in with their laptops for a day of hustle.

While the aesthetic alone is worth the trip, the coffee served up at Shotgun House is the main draw. Eddie is creating custom roasts from the San Franciscan, pulling out the unique characteristics and flavors of the beans he’s sourcing from around the world. In addition to the in-house roasting, they make their own syrups for flavored lattes and seasonal drinks. They even make a custom blend of spices used in their chai tea and horchata. If you do order a chai or horchata, consider getting it “dirty” with a shot of the superb espresso.

If hunger hits on your visit, they’ve got you covered with a variety of baked goods and donuts from local bakeries. And it is Texas, so they have tacos from one of the neighborhood taquerias on hand each day.

Shotgun House Coffee Roasters has delivered the third wave of coffee to the west side of San Antonio, and they’ve created a destination spot for any discerning coffee drinker in the Alamo City. Shotgun House provides a variety of drinks made from their own in-house roasts in a stylish space that invites you to stick around for a while.