Jupiter House Coffee opens new location in Denton

by Jeph Burton of North Texas Daily , Chris Speight of North Texas Daily

The stars are aligned for Jupiter House’s second home at 503 W. University Drive.

Those familiar with the parent location on the Denton Square will note an evolved sense of maturity at the new location. Boldly placed across the street from a Starbucks, the second Jupiter House seems aware that the new spot demands a change of attitude, and it certainly delivers.

The motif of Jupiter II feels like a trendy new age, cultured-coffee-hipster spot.

The tables offer a visually and intellectually stimulating graphic of an old-school map of the world, a neat comparison to many of its coffee shop counterparts that offer plain and boring tables.

These go nicely with the rest of the avant-garde, abstract-styled, Jackson Pollock-inspired artworks that aren’t contained simply to canvases.

No, at Jupiter II, you’ll get visual treats in practically every nook and cranny.

This spot on University glows with sophisticated edginess that would be appealing to any demographic. It’s cool enough to call a hangout (and still provides free WiFi), but streamlined enough for the grab-and-go caffeine addict.

Jupiter House has your munchies covered, too, serving up freshly baked, enticing muffins you’ll have trouble keeping your hands off of, bagels and homemade chocolate candies.

The coconut cluster is definitely for those of you who have a serious sweet tooth. Offered in dark and white chocolate, biting into one of these creations is the same thing as chugging a bottle of Hersey’s syrup: good, but reserve it for sugar fanatics.

Jupiter House does not make its own bagels (as opposed to the muffins), but what is good about the bagels is the cream cheese that comes with them, which is prepared in-house. Choose from flavors like honey walnut, strawberry, blueberry or even garlic.

Jupiter House’s Nutter Butter offers customers a familiar candy dipped in dark chocolate on one side and white on the other. It tastes exactly how you’d expect a Nutter Butter dipped in chocolate would — good, reminiscent of a Reese’s crisp, in fact.

The menu remains largely the same at the new location, with classic space-themed drinks (like the crazy cosmonaut) translating well into the new atmosphere.

Milkshakes, smoothies and non-coffee beverages made the cut as well, but the pricing may be a bit off-putting. While you can get a shot of espresso for a buck, smoothies and frappes will run you around $5 — a pretty high benchmark for a beverage.

The only thing besides several high-priced drinks to really critique here is that Jupiter House, the original one, used to be open 24/7. This is no longer the case and was one of the coolest aspects to Jupiter House.

Now, both locations are open from 6 a.m. to midnight.

The saving grace to the several high-priced drinks are $1 espresso shots — definitely noteworthy.

If you’re in need of a quiet spot to study or write a paper, you may want to give this venue a shot.

RATINGS

Cleanliness – 5/5

Service – 5/5

Affordability – 3/5

Atmosphere – 5/5

Food Quality – 3/5