It’s funny to think back on things that we started at EVOKE but never could finish. Here is one of those things… Something that I don’t think ever caught the light of day so you get to see it here…. first! When we opened EVOKE in 2012, we invested heavily in custom NotNeutral ceramics for the bar. That was our focus and we knew we needed to be sure they not only were perfect for coffee but also felt right to drink from and represented our brand well on the tables. When it came to take away service, however, we…
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It was the first thing I’d do.
Published January 31, 2023
Back in 2002 or 2003, I had this routine that would instinctively play out as soon as I hit the hotel in a new city or town I was in. No matter why I was there, I had to jump in the yellow pages on the side table at the Hotel or in the info provided to see what coffee was close and which places I needed to visit. (Yes, it was the Yellow Pages. Do you even remember those??) I would make a list of places that I need to go have a sip at and see in person…
1 CommentWait! I have never talked to you about 1708?
Published January 16, 2023
On Sundays (ok, really it isn’t EVERY Sunday but we do try to make it a weekly thing), a group of us and our families meet at Arcadia Lake in Edmond for coffee and trail time. The organizer of this whole deal is my good friend Josh McCullock. Yesterday, as we were slow rolling at the vans getting ready to go ride a lady was talking to Josh and mentioned his office in The Plaza District. All of that to say…. I woke up last night with this strange thought that I have never told you about 1708 – our…
Leave a CommentEVOKE: In OUR Words
Published January 13, 2023
It is funny how much more you remember when you begin to flip through the look book of time. That little spark that gets your heart and soul moving to a rhythm that you thought you had forgotten or that you didn’t even remember you ever had. I can see it in my own kids – my oldest and his memories of “the shop” and growing up full blown a coffee shop kid.. My middle with so many little memories of his older friends and drinking hot chocolate and collecting bottle caps.. My youngest who never really even knew life…
Leave a CommentBut it wasn’t JUST iced tea.
Published January 8, 2023
“I won’t forget it when the gal came in just pissed about the tea and told me to my face across our little pastry case that “everyone hates you” and that we would fail. She was sure of it and she knew why it was going to happen: the iced tea and it’s lack of free refills all day.” We were a coffee company. We loved coffee and all the nuances and stories that made each cup special. Admittedly, we didn’t know as much about tea, it’s processes or what made each tea distinctly special. BUT – we had an…
Leave a CommentThis is where YOU come in.
Published January 6, 2023
This year, I am allowing myself to be nostalgic which, if you know me at all, is something I’m pretty uncomfortable with. Call it living in the moment. Being unattached. I’m not sure. I have really been pushing myself to remember. To remember all the things we got to do at EVOKE – the euphoric highs and the really tough lows. The relationships that we made. The coffees we drank. The excitement that got me up at 5a nearly every day for so many years. To remember the people that made EVOKE what is it both behind the bar and…
1 CommentKeeping it Local in Oklahoma.
Published January 4, 2023
I think it was 2008.. maybe 2009? It was a time in Oklahoma City that mimicked spring. You could feel that something was ahead.. that good things were coming.. growth was inevitable.. We were operating EVOKE in the Plaza District – in a studio we shared with great friends Lindsey Gibson and Josh McCullock we called 1708. It was early and the survival tactic at the time for small businesses like ours was to collaborate and work together to help spread the word on what was good and what was coming. Keep it Local OK Cafe Evoke Feature My good…
2 CommentsOur Mona Lisa. The Crown Jewel. The Coffee Super Charger. EP Build #24.
Published October 4, 2022
Back in 2011, we began talking to our now great friends at Espresso Parts about a custom espresso machine and grinder kit for the new EVOKE in Downtown Edmond. The design of our shop was going to be pretty minimal and we wanted a statement “art” piece to really stand out. We knew they would deliver something incredible. (from a 2015 post over at EspressoParts.com) “This custom project takes us back to 2012 and this stunning build for our good friends at Cafe Evoke, Oklahoma City, OK. Trailblazers in the specialty coffee scene of Oklahoma City, Cafe Evoke put “The Big…
Leave a CommentIt was a time to celebrate so many things.
Published September 30, 2022
For some reason, I woke up to my wandering mind taking me back to May 31st, 2012. It was one month after opening EVOKE in Downtown Edmond and was the day of our official “Grand Opening”. We had planned for weeks and came up with a day full of all the good things we had been working towards for nearly 1o years actually happening. It was day one but also day 1,000. It was for us. The community. The crew that helped us open. It was for me as I sit here now. This party was going to be special…
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