After months of anticipation from Mount Vernon residents,
Dooby’s Coffee opened Saturday in the building that once housed popular coffee shop Donna's.
Owner Phil Han says the coffee house features his four favorite things. If “we can excel in coffee, in-house pastries, sandwiches, and craft beers, then we’re perfectly happy."
The cafe serves 12 draft beers and assortment of wines. Dooby's is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Reviewers on Yelp praise the cafe's avocado toast and butter-brown chocolate chip cookies.
A pop-up version of the coffeehouse
had been operating over the last few months in the Hatch, Han's incubator that is located around the corner from Dooby's. Home accessories retailer
zestt is moving into the pop-up space. Founded by Jessica Diehl and Benita Goldblattt, zestt sells contemporary textiles, art and accessories.
Extensive renovation at 800 North Charles St. took place following a five-alarm fire in 2010. The fire forced local favorite restaurants
Indigma,
Donna’s and
My Thai to close. Indigma has since opened across the street at 801 N. Charles St. and My Thai opened next to Heavy Seas Alehouse in the Tack Factory in Little Italy.
Donna's is not reopening in the building. It has locations in the Village of Cross Keys and Charles Village. Its Columbia location closed in May.
The 2,500-square-foot location will have seating for 75 inside and an additional 22 seats outside once it gets its permit for outdoor seating. It will feature clean lines and natural colors.
Han says it took more than a year to settle on the perfect name for the coffeehouse. “Dooby” is Han’s childhood nickname and comes from a Korean word.
Han says many Korean-Americans like himself are in the food service business, but he says a Korean-American owned coffeehouse was an unfilled niche. So, as a gift to the Korean-American community, he decided to jump in.
He first searched for a space in Howard County, home to many Korean-owned businesses. When he couldn’t find what he was looking for, he turned to the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood.
“It was like a no-brainer spot for me. This is such an awesome place, with colleges, young professionals. The amount of art and creativity that surrounds us is just amazing.”
Han says he believes the neighborhood is looking forward to having a new coffee house in the now-renovated block. Many area residents have taken pictures and asked him when he is opening.
Source: Phil Han, owner, Dooby’s Coffee
Writer: Amy Landsman
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