Meet Garry Freeman of FIX Coffeebar in Montrose

Today we’d like to introduce you to Garry Freeman.

Garry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I come from an engineering background and like most “Brits” originally came to Houston to work in the Oil & Gas industry. At the time, my partner (now my wife) and I would travel the world and drink our coffee in exotic places (she was a flight attendant for Continental). I had also owned a home espresso machine some 15 years before. So there was already a love for the bean in our blood. Circumstances changed and I found myself out of work, so it was either get back on the wheel or do something for myself and so the idea of opening our own coffee shop grew. It’s easy to open a coffee shop, right? Wrong. It takes time, lots and lots of blood, sweat and many tears and shear bloody-mindedness.

However, here we are going into our fourth year, with a permanent staff of 5, all of who have been with us over a year, and some over two (in an industry that has a high churn rate). We won Best Coffee in Texas for our Nitro Coldbrew back in 2016, and have been able to support local artists by displaying their works in the shop, and by hosting bi-weekly poetry evening aptly named Poety FIX. In fact, everything we do is about being local. We use beans from the great local bean roasters we have here in Houston, both older established and newer ones, but always the quality ones. Our pastries, tacos, wraps and sandwiches all come from local Houston inner loop small companies. Even our milk is from local cows who the farmer individually names.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As we said, it easy to open a coffee shop, right? The hardest part was deciding when to stop killing ourselves by trying to do everything ourselves and working 100 hour weeks for several months, and actually biting the bullet and bringing on staff.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about FIX Coffeebar – what should we know?
We are a Specialty Coffee Shop. That means we only use quality beans as detailed by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). The SCA sets a very high standard from the farmer to the roaster, and we are the last link in the chain. We can either ruin all their hard work or prepare and deliver the coffee in such a way that highlights all the previous hard work that has taken to get that bean from farm to cup. Its all about quality and quality does not come cheap. Our proudest moments are always when people come into the shop and on leaving say that was one of the best cups of coffee they have ever had, or when we are out and about in Houston and someone mentions our shop and the great coffee we serve.

From day one we have always made our own syrups (yes, some people like to add things to our specialty coffees!). We have always tried to be different with these, and we believe we were the first in Houston to introduce the Honey Lavender Latte. It’s certainly our seasonal board that always draws people’s interest when they are first visiting the shop. An example would be our fall special the Smoked Rosemary Cortado. We use high-quality Texas honey from Texas bees as a base, then we add espresso and steamed milk topped with a little cinnamon, and here’s the twist, we set light to a sprig on rosemary and place it and the drink into a bell jar. The drink picks up the rosemary scent so that when you bring the drink to your lips the sweetness of the honey comes up from underneath the drink, while your nostrils are filled with the rosemary aroma.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My wife for putting up with my moods and uncertainties, and for giving up her job at Continental to help open FIX. In fact, she tilled both restrooms after I showed her how to. She still maintains to this day that grouting is in fact the devil.

Contact Info:

• Address: FIX Coffeebar
  415 Westheimer Road
  Houston
  Texas 77006
• Website: fixhtx.com
• Phone: 832 807 4562
• Email: fixcoffeebarhtx1@gmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIXCoffeebarHouston/

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