Inversion Coffee House

Defunct coffeehouse in Houston, Texas, U.S.
29°45′05″N 95°23′30″W / 29.7513°N 95.3917°W / 29.7513; -95.3917

Inversion Coffee House (also known as Inversion Coffee and Art and Inversion Coffee and Gelato,[1][2] or simply Inversion) was a coffeehouse in Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas.

Description

Interior view showing artwork on display, 2014

Inversion was a coffeehouse on Montrose Boulevard in Houston's Montrose neighborhood, operating in a building owned by Art League Houston. Brittanie Shey of Eater Houston said the cafe was known for its "artsy vibe, creative coffees, and sense of community". Inversion displayed local artwork.[3] Thrillist describes Inversion as an "eclectic Montrose favorite" with free Wi-Fi, La Mexicana breakfast tacos, and a food truck parked outside. The drink menu included salted caramel lattes and frozen chai creams.[4]

History

Inspired by and named after Dan Havel and Dean Ruck's artwork of the same name, Inversion was opened in 2005.[3] The business was popular early on; in 2007, the Houston Press said Inversion was "attracting as much attention as its namesake" and had "just as many Houstonians stopping by for its art as for its killer cup of joe."[5]

The cafe closed on March 26, 2021, ahead of a May 1 lease expiration.[3]

Reception

In 2007, Inversion won in the Best New Coffee House category in the Houston Press' annual "Best of Houston" list. The newspaper said:

Inversion has all the pleasantries of Starbucks (i.e., quality coffee served by a staff that doesn't think they're above taking your order) as well as its own flair... The coffee shop has been around for less than a year, but it's hard to find a time the tables aren't filled with students, business types, artsy types and pretty much all types. But no worries — the staff is on the ball and, regardless of the number of customers, you'll hardly ever wait longer than a couple of minutes for a latte.[5]

Lonely Planet calls Inversion "a great indie coffeehouse" and says, "Even if you're not in Montrose, the casual local vibe, decent baked goods and a rotation of food trucks outside make it worth a detour."[6] Thrillist says, "The recent interior refresh breathes new, airy life into the space, but you'll still find the rockstar beverage lineup that lured you in the first place."[4]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Drew. "A guide to local favorites in Montrose". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  2. ^ IZQUIERDO, GABRIELA (November 25, 2020). "Houston's 16 Best Coffee Shops — Where to Find Your Perfect Cup". Paper City. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Shey, Brittanie (April 2, 2021). "Longtime Montrose Coffee Shop Inversion Permanently Closes Its Doors". Eater Houston. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Inversion Coffee House". Thrillist. Group Nine Media. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Best Of :: Arts & Entertainment". Houston Press. Voice Media Group. 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Inversion Coffee House". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2021.

External links

  • iconCoffee portal
  • flagTexas portal
  • Inversion Coffee House at Zomato
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This list is incomplete.
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) was in the Neartown area from 1982 to 2019.
Neartown is within the Houston Community College (HCC) service area, though no campuses are operated there.
Within a section of the Neartown Association boundaries previously shown on its website are: the Houston Contemporary Arts Museum, the Administration/Glassel School buildings of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH), First Presbyterian Church, and Presbyterian School. The current (as of 2019) map does not indicate any territory south of I-69/US-59 as being in Neartown.
Gulf Coast Archive and Museum was previously in Neartown.