A short three years ago Mylo Coffee Co. became a part of the scene at the newly formed Hillcrest Farmer’s Market. At the time not many were familiar with the name, the pastries, or the coffee.
But Little Rock would have its fill. Soon market goers would be familiar with a family operation stationed in a booth outside Pulaski Heights Baptist Church. Every Saturday – and Sundays at The Bernice Garden Farmer’s Market – fans would line up for pastries and to learn the secret of pour over coffee.
Fast forward to now, and Mylo Coffee Co. has a permanent storefront in Hillcrest, not too far from its market roots, and only less than a year old. Recently, the coffee and pastry shop created a buzz in Little Rock’s food world by announcing plans to open a downtown location in the Sterling Building at Center and Capitol with an expected opening date set for later this summer.
The good news doesn’t stop there – downtowners and Little Rockians at large can also rejoice for the launching of a new coffee cart this weekend at the Hillcrest Farmers Market, weather permitting.
Modeled after the nostalgic teardrop trailers, Mylo will be keeping with its market roots by offering a unique mobile food provider to coffee and pasty lovers alike. The cart’s schedule is simple enough – on weekdays downtowners can expect it to appear before the Sterling building from 8 a.m. to noon or later, and on the weekends the cart will run the market scene, at both Hillcrest and Bernice.
The idea for a coffee cart predated that for a downtown location, although the two complement each other well. Owner Stephanos Mylonas said, “We really enjoyed being at market, but it just became clear that we had to come up with a different way of doing it so that we could be more efficient .”
Cue the energy spilling into downtown and Stephanos knew Mylo should be involved, saying, “We wanted to be a part of that movement.”
Currently the cart is prepped to serve a selection of pastries, espresso drinks, hot chocolate, teas – the loose leaf options available in-house will be pre-bagged for convenience, pourover, French press, and even Loblolly sodas. Market goers will be glad to see bread in the stalls once again.
As always, Mylo Coffee Co. comes on the scene with a bang. Stephanos said, “We wanted to break the mold and bring espresso, pour-over and potentially French press to the market in a way that hasn’t really been done before.”
Keeping it in the family, Stephanos turned to brother Markos Mylonas for help with the engineering of a mobile option for Mylo that could do just that. Through trial and error and with a little help from the Internet, Markos built the final product in three months.
“It is very much one of a kind,” Markos said. Working to ensure that the cart was light, able to function without generators, and fully equipped for coffee drinks ranging from espresso to pour-over, was quite a challenge. Mylo’s cart is not self-sufficient, rather it is a mobile addition to the Hillcrest hub. Markos said, “The cart can only function as an extension of the shop, you can’t use it on its own, everything needs to be serviced at Mylo’s home.”
As the Mylo team focuses on opening the new location, downtowners can get to know their new eatery on the block by checking out the cart. Farmer’s market fans will also be delighted to welcome back a familiar face. The cart is available for private events, and as for its plans after the opening of the downtown location, stay posted. Stephanos said, “The cart may go anywhere … out West is definitely a possibility, to UAMS – there are a lot of places.”
Stay posted with Mylo Coffee Co. on Facebook to be on the cutting edge of the cart’s location and hours this weekend. You’ll be glad you did.
