The SoCo cafescape just took a turn for the better with the opening of Dominican Joe on 515 S. Congress Ave. It's located in the corner of a small retail center next to Wells Fargo bank and Freebirds on either side. 
Before talking about the cafe itself, I think it's worth noting the cafe's founders and vision. As someone who once considered starting a cafe in Austin, I am fascinated with the motivation and passion that cafe entrepreneurs exhibit.
Mehul Patel and Sharla Megilligan started talking about partnering on a coffee shop venture around 2005. At that time, Sharla was working on an organization called Makarios that she founded in 2004. Makarios (Greek for "blessed") is a faith-based organization that focuses on educational development in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Mehul hails from Internet gaming fame as the founder and business operator of Swirve.com. So here are two people with quite different backgrounds. What brought them together to found Dominican Joe?
They both want to change the world
And apparently, that's exactly what Dominican Joe is trying do, one cup of coffee at a time. Mehul and Sharla aim to accomplish this by purchasing it's coffee from Makarios. By skipping the large corporate middle-man, Makarios works directly with farmers in the DR and pays them higher wages and supports their communities in an effort to develop self-sustaining skills for the future. So it's a win win. Makarios wins because it can then be more effective in it's efforts the more coffee that Dominican Joe sells. Very noble and constructive business model I think.
So-- what about the coffee shop? There were plenty of parking spots available in the retail plaza so that was a plus. I was highly impressed by the very warm and cozy decor of the large high-ceilinged space the second I walked through the door. One pet peeve I have with some coffee houses in Austin is that they either don't have enough seating or not enough variation of seating. Dominican Joe delivers both in spades. There is an ample supply of small tables (perfect for intimate chats) and large tables (good for group collaboration). The espresso colored tables and chairs were very high quality "West-Elm like" and like I said- there were plenty of them on the "stage" and then in the back area. 
Right in front of the bar there was a nice curved bench seating area that is very cozy and perfect for people watching.
For those less interested in sitting at a table, there was a nice couch and chairs setting as well as another chair setting next to the back entrance.
Lastly, there is bamboo-lined lush outside seating area out the back entrance that offers plenty of privacy from the busy Riverside traffic.
Lighting and atmosphere was a definite plus of the space. A nice combination of natural light provided by large bay windows at both entrances and large glass block windows in the back, worked very well with the nicely appointed halogen lighting at the bar and around the space. 
Floors were a warm rust colored stained concrete and ceilings featured exposed wooden beams and electrical conduit and plumbing. Internet access was free and fast.
Background music was at a good sound level (not intrusive to talking or thinking) and fit the space well. There was some nice artwork on some walls and other walls had giant happy images of children from the DR. 
The space is just chocked full of character and warmth. Kudos to the founders for nailing the atmosphere.
So on to the java... A good friend of mine Alex, judges a coffee shops merits on it's ability to make a mean mocha. So I have now adopted this as my drink of choice when judging a barista's skills. I ordered my favorite Soy "ying yang" mocha. This includes a mixture of dark and white chocolate. It was served to me in a very nice brown mug for $3.30. It was delicious- top notch actually. Not too sweet, no coffee or foam dripping over the side, and perfect temperature. Even included a little latte art. Along with Progress Coffee, it's the best I have had in Austin and close to what I found in Seattle a few weeks ago. Bravo!! There is also a large supply of other high quality drinks on the menu. They just started to serve sandwiches/ snacks as well. They looked pretty good but I was not hungry enough to try them. Next time.
Being located in Austin and especially SoCo, live music has to somehow have a role in any successful coffee house right? Dominican Joe's agrees with that premise and hosts bands and other events fairly regularly.
Bottom line is that Dominican Joe's delivers on so many levels. It's a haven for the coffee nut, the student, the remote worker and the social butterfly. I can't see anyone feeling alienated here. And that's not easy to do.
I give Dominican Joe's a lofty 4 cups out of 5 rating and it will be in my regular weekly rotation and my fave in SoCo. Great job guys and best of luck in the future.
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