New North Texas Coffee Shop Brings Serious Baked Goods, a Heartwarming Mission and Specialty Drinks

Dalworthington Gardens now has a new coffee and confection shop. Grounds & Gold Co. is in its soft opening (with its hours currently Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm). A grand opening is scheduled for the end of this month — and will bring extended hours.

Located at 4130 South Bowen Road, in Gardens Town Center, Grounds & Gold Co.  serves a full range of coffee drinks, as well as breakfast and lunch offerings. But it’s the case filled with owner Maurice Ahern’s scratch-made baked goods that might prove irresistible. Ahern’s Gold Ribbon Confections has been cooking up custom cakes and baked goods since 2017 after all.

Ahern describes Grounds & Gold as an upscale coffee shop and bakery with a focus on community. It was intentionally designed with meeting and event space to accommodate such gatherings.

Ahern partnered with family members, Jenifer and Jimmy Kinley, to create Grounds & Gold. Their motto is “baked and brewed with a heart of gold.” For Ahern, his son Micah is never far from his mind. Micah tragically passed after a six year battle with neuroblastoma, a very rare form of cancer that almost always effects young children. Micah’s memory was the spark that drove this grieving dad to found his bakery business in the first place.

For that reason, this new coffee shop comes with a mission. Grounds & Gold pledges a percentage of all its sales towards local and national charities that support the fight against childhood cancer.

You’ll notice a hand-painted mural on the wall behind the stage with Micah in the middle of a baseball diamond. The TCU baseball team brought Micah into the program and the mural  commemorates the four trips that TCU baseball took to the College World Series during his short lifetime. The Horned Frogs even wore a logo for Micah — the letter M inside a Superman shield — on their baseball caps and shirts.

The house drink is also called Micah Mocha. It blends the flavors of almond, coconut and chocolate for good reason.

“Michah’s favorite candy was an Almond Joy,” Ahern tells PaperCity Fort Worth. “So we tried to put those flavors in a coffee drink.”

Ahern is partnering with small batch coffee roaster Merit Coffee out of San Antonio for his specialty beans. Expect pour-overs and French press pots, along with specialty drinks made on Grounds & Gold’s two new Slayer espresso machines.

Gold Ribbon Confections will still service corporate clients, cater events and provide the bakery selections for Grounds & Gold from the on-site kitchen as well.

“It’s unique because there is an actual bakery inside the coffee shop,” Ahern says. “We even have a separate room, topped off with a chandelier, for wedding cake tastings.”

The coffee shop menu will change seasonally ― expect pumpkin spice to show up soon. But until then, the opening menu allows you to build your own biscuit or enjoy an avocado toast on freshly baked bread. There will be a selection of hearty sandwiches, salads and the house-specialty ― Italian Wedding Soup, filled with meatballs, pasta and wilted greens.

The Cafe Charcuterie Board features a delicious array of meats, cheeses, pickled veggies, seasonal fruits, local jams and G&G spreads, served with toast. The colorful nosh is large enough for two or three people to share over drinks and conversation. Gluten free scones, cinnamon rolls and vegan cupcakes are also available.

Micah Ahern was born on March 28, 2009 and passed on July 28, 2016 so Grounds & Gold Co. will host its grand opening on September 28 in his honor.