The corner of West Alabama and McDuffie St. in Montrose is home to two of our all-time favorite H-town establishments: West Alabama Icehouse and Tacos Tierra Caliente among our top patios and food trucks, respectively. Now, another new hot spot is in the mix. Welcome to the neighborhood, Coffee and Hot Tease β the city’s first pin-up coffee truck.
Flash back to the past with a pit stop at Houston’s new coffee hot spot. Find the throwback, half-aquamarine coffee truck parked adjacent to West Alabama Ice House. Here, you’ll find its proprietors, owners Shannon Nealon and Emily Baker, donning polka dotted bikinis, striped skirts, or other period clothing you might see on a tattoo of a Navy sailor circa 1955.
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This reference is not without intention. Nealon and Baker are both ex-military, Nealon having served in the Marine Corps everywhere from Italy to Syria and Kuwait, while Baker served stateside as an Army medic working with Afghan refugees, as reported by Chron.
At Coffee and Hot Tease, Nealon and Baker use beans Dillanos Coffee Roasters in Washington, to make staple coffee-based beverages and blends. Additionally, the trucks serves a variety of teas as well as pastries from Blacksmith.
In regards to the pin-up concept, the food truck was inspired by the “bikini baristas” β a trend of cafes operated by scantily clad baristas beginning in Washington β Nealon’s stomping grounds. While there’s at least one such place in Houston, Nealon’s Coffee and Hot Tease is set apart with their retro look and feel.
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“As a woman, it’s good to embrace our sexuality,” Nealon told Chron. “We like to enjoy being ourselves and having a good time and feeling sexy while we’re doing it.”
Coffee and Hot Tease is now open outside West Alabama Ice House on 1919 W Alabama St.