An industrial-themed coffee shop stands on Louisiana Street in downtown McKinney, serving regulars and visitors alike for almost a decade. The variety of seating and participation in local events such as the seasonal coffee crawl have made this place a McKinney favorite. However, there is a change.
A Fresh Start For Filtered
As of October, the shop is under the new leadership of Jacob Honescko.
Honescko’s older brother Joey owns the bookstore a couple of doors down, making Louisiana Street a Honescko family affair. Originally from California, Jacob has lived in McKinney for years and was a Filtered regular. A rumor reached him that the previous owner Desiree Rene-Hlavenka wanted to sell, so backed by some investors, Honescko reached out and put in an offer.
Filtered couldn’t have been left in more capable, albeit young, hands. At only twenty-four years old, Honescko is now the face of Filtered Coffee, the oldest coffee shop on the square. Two months into this adventure, Jacob seems confident and not at all frazzled.
“I know what it takes from when the coffee is green to when it gets to the customer,” Honescko tells Local Profile. “That sort of education helps me explain to customers that it’s not just a cup of coffee: there’s a farmer, a roaster, an importer. There’s a million steps before we hand the cup to the customer.”
Despite his age, Honescko is a coffee vet, with previous barista and management experience at 1418 Coffee in downtown Plano and roaster experience with Buzz and Bustle, a North Dallas shop in The Village. Both share traits with Filtered that lend to Honescko’s experience, such as baked goods, high traffic and in Honescko’s words, “a higher expectation of quality”.
Big Ideas For A Small Shop
Honescko tells Local Profile that the changes he’s already implemented have had a positive reception from regulars and new customers alike. The first change he made was introducing two new roasters. Filtered’s new espresso and house drip is provided by Valor Coffee, a bright and sunny roastery out of the Atlanta, Georgia area. Their specialty feature is Harp & Bowl, a Dallas roastery run by Joseph Arze and Andy Norton, who were previously featured on Local Profile.
“Coffee can taste chocolatey and rich, or it can be fruity, floral or punchy,” says Honescko. “We wanted to expand the view of what coffee can taste like for customers.”
But he’s not stopping there. Besides revamping Filtered’s interior and swapping out pre-made bottled syrups for house-made ones, Honescko dreams of starting an in-house roastery for Filtered. Out of all the changes and plans he has, Honescko seems the most excited about this one. Honescko plans to maintain his collaboration with Habitat Plants + Coffee to host the coffee crawl, as well as hosting more coffee community events such as latte art throwdowns and education classes. Perhaps readers can think of these not as changes but as improvements upon a long-standing establishment on the square.
Readers can visit Filtered on Louisiana Street in Downtown McKinney and follow them on Instagram @filteredcoffee.
We thank Filtered for treating us to a cup of coffee. It was delicious.
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