Coffee company has bigger plans for Las Vegas than just replacing a Summerlin Starbucks

The Starbucks on Village Center Circle in Summerlin, one of the first Starbucks in Las Vegas, closed in June after 25 years. Throngs of regulars mourned their grande lattes. Where would they satisfy their java jones now? And, for the rest of us, who knew coffee from a giant chain garnished with green canopies could mean so much to so many?

The Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported that Foxtail Coffee Co., founded in 2016 in Florida, is going into the former Starbucks space. All good. But as the RJ learned Tuesday during a discussion with Foxtail founder Alex Tchekmeian, replacing a Starbucks is only the beginning of what Foxtail has brewing for Vegas.

In fact, there are two Foxtail coffee shops in the works, and the Summerlin shop, although of great interest to locals, isn’t going to be the flagship. That’s going to be in southwest Vegas. Here’s what we know now about these high-profile additions to the city’s coffee culture.

■ Foxtail Coffee Co. currently has 56 locations across Florida and neighboring Georgia. Nevada will be the third state in which Foxtail operates. Expansion is also planned for Indiana, Texas and the Carolinas.

■ The company chose Vegas, in part, because Foxtail already has a relationship with the franchisee of the shops here. But Vegas will also serve as a test market of sorts, allowing Foxtail to identify and correct logistics and supply chain issues before potential expansion elsewhere in the West, Tchekmeian said.

■ Foxtail has experience opening in former Starbucks. “We’ve done quite a few Starbucks takeovers. They really want to be a drive-thru brand,” Tchekmeian said, noting the Summerlin space lacks a drive-thru. “We like to see what opportunities there are when they vacate. We want to be that neighborhood place where people meet, spend time, hang out. We want to provide that comfortable experience.”

■ Construction will begin soon on the Summerlin shop, Tchekmeian said, with a goal of opening by the end of 2023.

■ The southwest Vegas shop, including a drive-thru, is under construction at 9490 W. Russell Road, with a planned debut in September. Swine & Sons, a Michelin-recognized culinary partner of Foxtail back in Florida, will serve its Southern-inspired menu (Nashville hot chicken, smash burgers, barbecue and so on) in the southwest. The southwest kitchen will also supply the Summerlin store.

■ The Foxtail roastery in central Florida will be doing the roasting, with products then shipped to Vegas.

■ The look of the Vegas coffee shops will be substantially similar to other Foxtails, Tchekmeian said, offering a “modern industrial feel” mingling tile, wood, and custom tables fashioned in the company’s Florida millworks.

■ The Strip? “We’re focused on a neighborhood-driven atmosphere, but hopefully, that’s something we can consider one day,” Tchekmeian said.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram and @ItsJLW on Twitter.