Union Coffee

What Union Coffee does

Union Coffee is a Dallas-based non-profit hybrid that operates a specialty coffee shop, event venue, and multi-style worship community under a single roof, founded in 2012 by the North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church as a laboratory church start. The retail anchor is a single brick-and-mortar location at 3705 Cedar Springs Road in Oak Lawn, serving specialty coffee roasted by Onyx Coffee Lab, complemented by a food truck, a ticketed room rental program (three conference rooms at $27-$55/hour), and a calendar of community events and worship gatherings including KUNEO, Studio, KA:LL (Sunday Spread), The Naked Stage storytelling, and Union Way spiritual formation.

The organization funds itself through a diversified non-profit revenue mix: retail coffee and food sales, room rentals, gift cards, online merchandise, donations processed via Kindful and Network for Good, and annual North Texas Giving Day campaigns that raised $97,393 from 176 donors in 2018 and aimed for $100K in 2019. A structural 10% allocation of coffee sales to rotating local non-profits and a standing $25,000+ annual commitment to Oak Lawn UMC's unsheltered-neighbor programs are embedded in the operating model.

Technology, marketing, and customer engagement rely entirely on third-party commercial SaaS rather than proprietary platforms: Square and Stripe for payments, Skedda for room reservations, Kindful and Network for Good for fundraising, and Squarespace for web presence. Customer acquisition is community-led and event-driven, targeting Dallas young professionals, progressive/LGBTQ+ Christians, and local non-profits through word-of-mouth, content marketing (blog, email, social), and earned media coverage. Katie Newsome has served as Executive Director and Lead Pastor since July 2021, succeeding founder Rev. Mike Baughman, with a Board of Directors providing governance.

Name

Union Coffee

Legal name

Union Coffee

Website

https://uniondallas.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Union Coffee is a Dallas non-profit coffee shop and progressive Christian worship community that serves young professionals, LGBTQ+ individuals, and local non-profits through specialty coffee, room rentals, community events, and a 10% giveback program founded in 2012.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Shop

NAICS

Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent Neighborhood Cafes (THAFADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave) (THAFADAA)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee shop
• Nonprofit organization
• Community gathering space
• Event space rental
• Worship community

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Coffee Sales: Retail coffee sales including espresso drinks, pour overs, drip coffee, and specialty beverages. The organization dedicates 10% of all coffee sales to support local non-profit causes.
2. Room Rentals: Conference room and event space rentals at $27/hour for standard rooms and $55/hour for the TMF Leadership Suite, accommodating meetings and events for the community.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Non-profit donations through North Texas Giving Day campaigns, individual donations, and grant support. Raised $97,393 from 176 donors in 2018 North Texas Giving Day alone.
4. Food Truck Operations: Mobile food truck serving coffee and food items at various locations around Dallas, extending brand presence beyond the physical storefront.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Union Coffee operates a non-profit specialty coffee shop at 3705 Cedar Springs Road in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas, serving coffee beverages and food items sourced from Onyx Coffee Lab. The organization also offers conference room and event space rentals, a mobile food truck, multiple inclusive worship communities (KUNEO, Studio, Sunday Spread/KA:LL), community programs like The Naked Stage storytelling and Union Way spiritual formation, and gift cards, all under a non-profit structure supported by the North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Product overview

Union Coffee is a non-profit coffee shop and church hybrid in Dallas, Texas, operated by the United Methodist Church since 2012. The organization functions as a unified offering combining specialty coffee service, community gathering spaces, and multiple worship communities. Core offerings include specialty coffee sourced from Onyx Coffee Lab, room reservations for meetings and events, and various worship services (KUNEO, KA:LL/Sunday Spread, Studio, The Naked Stage). The organization also operates a food truck, offers cause-based giving programs, and provides venue rental services. The portfolio includes both on-site amenities (conference rooms, event spaces) and community programs (worship services, storytelling, spiritual formation) that work together to fulfill Union's mission of cultivating community and supporting local causes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Specialty Coffee (Onyx Coffee Lab roasted) Specialty coffee beverages served at Union Coffee's Dallas shop, sourced and roasted by Onyx Coffee Lab featuring single origins, blends, and rare Gesha varieties with sustainable sourcing relationships paying 2-3 times fair trade value to coffee farmers.
• Conference Room and Event Space Rentals Rental of three conference room spaces at Union Coffee for community meetings, team events, and gatherings: Downstairs Conference Room and Upstairs Conference Room (each seats 6, $27/hour, with flatscreen/Apple TV) and TMF Leadership Suite (seats 25-30, $55/hour, with 2 flatscreens, Apple TV, whiteboard, and multi-level seating). Reservations managed through Skedda booking platform.
• Union Food and Coffee Truck Mobile food and coffee truck operated by Union Coffee to serve specialty coffee and breakfast items at various locations around Dallas, extending brand presence and community reach beyond the Cedar Springs Road physical storefront.
• KUNEO Worship Service Tuesday night experimental, communal, conversational worship community at Union Coffee designed to care for the spiritual well-being of the Oak Lawn neighborhood; welcoming and fresh in style.
• KA:LL (Sunday Spread) Worship Service Sunday worship gathering featuring brunch and community connection, meeting at 1:30 PM on Sundays (and 10:45 AM on first and second Sundays at Checkered Past Winery), positioned as brunch church for boundary pushers and change-makers.
• Studio Worship Service Sunday night worship community originally launched in 2012, focused on creative practices of worship and community engagement at Union Coffee.
• The Naked Stage Storytelling stage program at Union Coffee featuring personal stories from community members, performed on an outdoor stage as part of Union's arts and community programming.
• Union Way Five-month spiritual formation process that encourages participants to own their spirituality through spiritual disciplines and cohort participation at Union Coffee.
• Union Gift Cards Gift cards available for purchase at Union Coffee, sold through Square's gift card platform for gifting to community members and supporters.

Quantifiable outcome

• $97,393 raised from 176 donors in 2018 North Texas Giving Day (top 2% of all non-profits)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and TransformationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Participated in their 2022 cohort program, which provided extensive education, coaching, and practical implementation for racial equity work. Led to development of Union's Racial Equity Policy and Theory of Change.
• Onyx Coffee LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary coffee roaster and bean provider for Union Coffee. Onyx sources and roasts exceptional specialty coffee, featuring single origins and rare Gesha varieties. They develop relationships with coffee farmers and pay 2-3 times fair trade value. Onyx also sells coffee blossom honey and chocolate directly from coffee farms, creating sustainable systems for all parties.
• North Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding organization that launched Union Coffee as a laboratory and new church start in 2012. The conference continues to provide support and resources through district superintendents and conference leadership.
• Readers 2 LeadersminorOthersLiteracy program serving West Dallas children ages 3-12. Union donated 10% of coffee sales to support their after-school programs and tutoring services (May-August 2017).
• Junior PlayersminorOthersOldest non-profit children's theater organization in Dallas (founded 1955). Union supported as a cause from June-September 2016, helping fund free arts enrichment programs serving over 7,000 youth annually.
• Wesley Rankin CenterminorOthersCommunity center in West Dallas transforming lives through education and caring relationships. Union donated 10% of coffee sales to support their work (through March 1, 2017).
• Capes 4 KidsminorOthersOrganization hosting monthly cape-making factories at Union for terminally ill children. Union provides physical space and promotional support for their programming.
• North Texas Food BankminorOthersRegional food bank supported through Union's 10% donation program and fundraising efforts.
• Project TransformationminorOthersYouth development organization supported through Union's charitable giving program.
• Cafe MomentumminorOthersRestaurant providing transitional employment and life skills training for youth involved in the justice system. Supported through Union's cause donations.
• Reconciling Ministries NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization working toward full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in The United Methodist Church. Union is a member and commits to dismantling institutionalized homophobia in the church.
• Oak Lawn United Methodist ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost church organization for Union Coffee. Union dedicates at least $25,000 annually to support Oak Lawn UMC's efforts to care for unsheltered neighbors in Dallas.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cafe Momentum: Dallas-based non-profit restaurant providing transitional employment for justice-involved youth — directly comparable as a Dallas food-service non-profit using hospitality to fund social impact, and listed among Union's cause partners.
• Parliament Coffee: Dallas specialty coffee shop serving single-origin pour-overs and espresso in a community-oriented setting — overlaps with Union on craft coffee quality, neighborhood-cafe positioning, and Dallas customer base.
• Sojourn Community Church: Louisville-based progressive church plant network that operates neighborhood gathering spaces with social-justice programming — a model peer for Union's hybrid church / community-hub approach.
• Ecclesia Houston: Houston-based progressive church that operates a coffee shop (Ecclesia Coffee Bar) on its ground floor, offering an almost identical coffee-shop-meets-worship-community hybrid model to Union Coffee in the same Texas market.
• Merit Coffee Co. Texas-based specialty coffee roaster and multi-unit cafe operator with locations across Dallas and Austin — a direct specialty-coffee competitor with broader scale and roasting capabilities Union lacks.
• Cultivar Coffee: Independent specialty coffee shop and roaster based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, directly competing with Union for the same Oak Lawn / Dallas specialty coffee customer with comparable quality positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Houndstooth Coffee: Austin-born specialty coffee roaster and multi-location cafe operator with established Texas reputation — a larger, established incumbent competing for the same craft-coffee consumer pool Union serves.

Others

• Onyx Coffee Lab: Award-winning specialty coffee roaster and strategic supplier to Union — comparable on coffee quality and product category, but operates as Union's upstream partner rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/uniondallas
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/union-coffee

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Union Coffee