The only thing better than coffee is coffee with breakfast tacos. That happens to be the very concept in play at Fox Loves Taco, the new Washington, D.C. coffee bar from the team behind Little Red Fox, a multi-roaster and sandwich joint.
The new Fox Loves Taco is in the former Filter Coffee space in the District’s Brookland neighborhood. The space’s interior is absolutely bursting with colorful design, and they’re backing that up with serious gear and a breakfast taco-forward worldview, which we feel sounds delicious. The spot opens in mid-September.
As told to Sprudge by Matt Carr.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
Little Red Fox is our first location. It’s a market and coffee shop. We’ve been open for three years. We’re now expanding with Fox Loves Taco, which will serve specialty coffee and breakfast tacos.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
It was previously occupied by Filter Coffee, a pioneer in the DC coffee scene. It’s also a shared space with The Bike Rack, a local independent DC bicycle shop. We are retaining the coffee setup (mostly) and are adding a kitchen to the space. In my opinion, just offering specialty coffee (and pastries) isn’t enough anymore with the market growing so fast and so competitive. You have to offer something else. Little Red Fox has prepared foods, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and a market (along with a specialty coffee setup). This new space will offer pastries and breakfast tacos served all day.
What’s your approach to coffee?
Coava out of Portland, Oregon is our main roaster, so we will only be using single origins for espresso and pour-over. We treat coffee like food and rotate it out seasonally. Also like foodservice, we try and make our coffee service as approachable, clear, and friendly as possible. But if a drink isn’t on the menu, we’re not going to make it for you. I won’t ask my staff to make a drink they’ve never practiced before.
Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?
Marco SP9 Twin for pour-overs. Because we will be doing so much foodservice, I don’t want my baristas tied up with a manual pour, so this is the best alternative we found. We’ll also be using a La Marzocco Strada EE, Mazzer Kony, Mahlkönig EK43, and Curtis Twin brewer.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
Projected opening is the second week of September.
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
Dan Gray and Joseph Margot are super-talented steel and wood workers and they will be designing and building all of our custom furniture and shelving. Our logo will be designed by the very talented crew at Polygraph Creative, a small DC graphic design shop.
Thank you!
Fox Loves Taco is located at 716 Monroe St NE in Washington, D.C. Check out their official website and find them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Photos courtesy of Farrah Skeiky.
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