Docent Coffee Owners Nolan Hall and Jeff Richards are teaming up with Kevin Gillespie to bring a new “fast crafted” grab-n-go concept to the Beltline at the Chef’s Cold Beer restaurant starting Saturday, October 16, according to an announcement this week.
Named DOCENT x CB, the concept aims to combine “the convenience, speed, and relative affordability of fast-food (and coffee) with the unique, creative, and quality-driven nature of the craft food and beverage space.”
“Docent’s approach to coffee is almost the same as mine with food,” Gillespie, who tapped Docent back in 2019 to provide coffee for his restaurants (and develop his own signature blend) after being impressed with the quality of the coffee and the founders’ approach, said in the announcement. “So it just made sense to work with each other to bring something different to the Beltline. We both feel that great coffee and great food shouldn’t be relegated to just snobby slow-serve establishments.”
Occupying Cold Beer’s existing walk-up bar area, located under its covered/heated patio area overlooking the eastside Beltline trail, the new concept will serve Docent’s full coffee and tea program as well as a curated menu of grab n’ go breakfast and lunch fare crafted by Gillespie and his team.
“We want to prove to people that delicious well-crafted coffee and food can be had in the same amount of time you sit in a drive-thru for something that’s far less appealing and that you don’t have to sacrifice quality for convenience,” Richards said.
On the coffee front, Docent will have a full-scale program offering all of the traditional specialty coffee classics (drip, espresso, americanos, cortados, cappuccinos, lattes, etc.), as well as a couple of “non-traditional” drinks such as their frozen iced coffee and boozy Irish coffee slushie.
With regards to the food, Gillespie will offer breakfast items such as the bacon waffle wrap with salted pecans and apple butter, homemade cinnamon rolls, or the chicken chorizo breakfast burrito. Additionally, lunch items like homemade paninis and his signature C.O.S. (Closed On Sunday) Chicken Sandwich (his take on a Chik-Fil-A sandwich) will also be offered.
And if coffee isn’t your thing, DOCENT x CB will also be offering Cold Beer’s beer menu during operating hours.
“While Cold Beer’s patio and adjacent beer garden seating will be available to patrons during the hours of operation, the concept is geared more towards those looking to quickly grab a coffee or a bite to eat on the way into work, and/or as they continue their journey down the Beltline toward their final destination,” according to the announcement. “How quickly? Richards anticipates that no order will take greater than a few minutes to complete (barring an unexpected/unusual rush of customers).”
DOCENT x CB’s initial hours are Wednesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
