Ascension, one of the city’s hottest coffee houses also serving great food and wine and located in the Dallas Design District, announced today that they are opening a second location in The Crescent, uptown.
“Ascension is a first-class operation that is both stylish and innovative. It’s truly in a category by itself and will be a tremendous asset to The Crescent,” said John Zogg, managing director for Crescent Real Estate Equities, LLC. “Ascension is known for their passion and authenticity, and you’ll see it everywhere from the coffee they import and roast themselves, to their creative menu and wine list, and even their cigar offerings.”
The Crescent location will be about 50 percent larger than the original restaurant. It will feature a large, tree-shaded patio area with doors that open to the outside. The expanded interior will offer a variety of flexible seating options including tables, bars, and various nooks and crannies for every kind of customer – from those looking for a caffeine fix while crunching a deadline, to friends sharing a glass of wine or Sunday brunch, to co-workers meeting for a business dinner.
Ascension founder Russell Hayward said The Crescent location will have a similar menu (including full-service breakfast/brunch, lunch and dinner), the same coffees and possibly a larger wine list along with expanded operating hours. However, without divulging too many details, he promises the new spot will have its own look that reflects the Uptown environment – and it won’t be a cookie-cutter replica of the Design District location.
In fact, in planning the new restaurant, he conducted extensive research traveling to many European cities before finding inspiration from an old friend, a well-known French artist who has sold his works on the streets of Paris for over 40 years. Despite the source of his inspiration, he says it definitely won’t be a Parisian café but will instead pay homage to the café society found throughout Europe.
Hayward also plans to debut a new bread called pane aria that he says “is so different it will change your perception of panini.” It took him seven months to track down a renowned Spanish baker with whom he collaborated to create the highly protected recipe. He even flew in the baker to teach his staff how to finesse the manufacturing of the bread.
Hayward also will continue his efforts with the nonprofit he established called Restore The Bean, which works to restore the livelihood and pride of coffee farming in under-developed coffee producing countries such as South Sudan.
“We’re incredibly excited to bring Ascension to The Crescent, which we believe is the pinnacle of Uptown,” said Hayward. “We can’t think of a better place to expand our brand. Ascension means to rise to a higher level, and we’re all about elevating the coffee experience from start to finish – from the farmers who grow our coffee to the people we serve.”
