This is a post by N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox:
The folks behind bikeCOFFEE, the popular mobile coffee vendor in Durham, opened their brick-and-mortar location in late January. Sort of.
"We're doing a beta rollout," says Leon Grodski de Barrera, who owns Cocoa Cinnamon with his wife, Areli Barrera de Grodski. "We're about halfway there." He's referring to the gradual phase-in of the coffeehouse menu over the course of the first few weeks.
They're already serving the ground-to-order coffees that are bikeCOFFEE's claim to fame, as well as espresso drinks, single origin loose leaf teas, sipping chocolates (which are to American hot chocolate as foie gras is to chopped liver) and a modest selection wines by the glass. Look for the offering to broaden over the coming weeks.
The furnishings are likewise a work in progress, but with comfortable seating, colorful tile floors by local artist Heather Gordon, and lots of natural lighting, Cocoa Cinnamon is already a warmly inviting space. Not to mention a welcome newcomer to the Durham Athletic Park area, where it joins Motorco, Fullsteam Brewery, Geer Street Garden and King's Sandwich Shop at what has become one of the area's premier dining and entertainment destinations.
Send restaurant news to Greg at ggcox@bellsouth.net. Be sure to tune in to Greg's radio show at 11 a.m. Saturdays on WPTF.
