A one-of-a-kind new coffee shop has debuted at a creative community center in south Fort Worth: Called Ivy Coffee Roasters, it just opened quietly at LaunchBox Collective, at 2726 Lipscomb St., where it’s serving espresso and coffee drinks as well as roasting coffee beans.
LaunchBox Collective is a former furniture store and industrial building transformed into a 12,000-square-foot center with event spaces, co-working, pop-up suites, and studios for podcasting, photo, and video. A coffee vendor seemed like a must — and especially one as distinctive and quirky as Ivy, a mobile coffee cart operating out of a cute, retro 1968 Shasta camper trailer.
That camper is now neatly nestled inside one of LaunchBox’s storefronts, along with plants, retro touches, and cozy corners, which make it feel welcoming and homey. (This Instagram video shows how it got nestled.)
The drink menu includes espresso, latte, cortado, and cold brew, plus flavored lattes such as white mocha and lavender vanilla, with prices from $3 to $6. They also sell coffee by the pound, to both retail customers as well as wholesale.
Ivy was originally founded by Collin Brister, who was inspired to launch a coffee roasting and catering operation after he got laid off from his job at coffee shop in 2020.
But he put the business on hold for a couple of years after experiencing mental health issues, including panic attacks that made it hard to leave the house. In 2024, he met his girlfriend and now business partner, whose name happened to be … Ivy.
“Some would say that is kismet!” Collin says. “She is a huge coffee lover, so we were the perfect match. She has been a huge supporter of the coffee shop dream and a big reason why I’m back out of the house again.”
Ivy Coffee Roasters trailer before it found its new home.Ivy
They bought the ’68 Shasta camper which had already been converted into a coffee trailer, and Ivy was reborn.
LaunchBox came about in a serendipitous way, he says.
“Good friends and former Ivy customers booked us for an event there,” he says. “I hadn’t heard of LaunchBox before but learned about their Monday morning coffee club and how they occasionally invite coffee and matcha carts.”
“It turned out to be the perfect space to expand our roasting and create a sense of neighborhood community,” he says. “Jenn and Dave Pfahlert, the owners of LaunchBox, have been incredibly helpful in getting the space cozy and allowing us to build the dream again.”
In December, Collin will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and he’s planning for grad school in mental health counseling.
“I hope to combine my passion for coffee with supporting others who struggle with mental health,” he says. “Down the line, I’d love to partner with organizations to offer free or reduced therapy, resources, or community support.”
Meanwhile, they’re doing coffee in a way that’s unlike anything else.
“Having a coffee trailer inside a retail space is a unique concept—something Fort Worth hasn’t really seen before,” he says. “Great coffee is everywhere, but it’s the relationships and community we build that keep people coming back.”