Hydrant Café opens new location in Denton

by Bryan Shettig of North Texas Daily

Sitting on the corner of Oak and Cedar streets, The Hydrant Café is easily overlooked.

Its plain, gray exterior belies its somewhat colorful and comfortable interior.

The Hydrant's building has been a Bermuda Triangle of retail, changing from business to business. The last destination in its space was Atticus, a bar known for its dance floor that didn't fit the narrow profile of the businesses' first floor.

Now, the same space is a café with booths and a firefighter theme.

Employee Amanda Fontes said the theme is a personal favorite of owner Glen Haas, an NT alumnus and former music education major.

This is the second incarnation of the café as well - he and his wife, Melissa Haas, opened the first franchise in Corinth four years ago.

The Denton location opened on Aug. 8.

"I wanted to take a lot of the elements you see in coffee shops - steel, chrome and concrete - and combine it with a fire station, where you see the same motif," Glen Haas said.

The Hydrant sells sandwiches and coffee, but breakfast and lunch take a backseat to the drinks. There are no alcoholic beverages, only an assortment of coffees, teas and Italian cream sodas.

"The Caramel Dream is one of the most popular drinks," Fontes said.

The drink, which has whipped cream, coffee and caramel syrup is liquid dessert and goes down easy in both the hot and iced versions.

Glen Haas said in addition to the coffee, he sells a lot of lemonade, such as the Strawberry Lemon Breeze. In addition, he said the café's espresso uses beans that stay within one to two weeks of the roasting date.

"That's something that cannot be said for Starbucks," he said.

The café has board and card games on Wednesdays, music on Thursdays, jazz on Friday nights and an eclectic mix of jazz, pop and folk on Saturday nights.

Much like Andy's Bar and Grill on the Square, this venue has a more casual room upstairs. The second floor has couches and armchairs, an exposed original brick wall with paintings and various retro lamps and living room furnishings.

If the first floor is a jazz interpretation of a fire station, the second floor is that fireman's den.

The second floor has been rented out to poker nights, a book unveiling, bridal showers and a wedding proposal.

"People see the first floor and say, 'Oh, this is a cute café,' and then they see the second floor and say 'Oh my God, why didn't you tell me about this place?'" Haas said. "I've seen how musicians struggle to find a cool place to play at in town, and I think the Hydrant is one of those places."

The Hydrant Café is a decent alternative to those who are tired of Starbucks and want to relax near the Denton Square or take in some live music on the weekends.