Meet Brady And Whitney Johnson | Coffee Shop Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brady And Whitney Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brady and Whitney, as a parent, what have you done for you children that you feel has had the most significant impact?
Creating businesses is more than a personal decision, a marital decision, or a worldly decision — when we create businesses, we envision legacy. We create with the hopes that our children will someday have financial freedom, creative inspiration, endless community, and something meaningful to be involved with in whatever capacity they feel called to. But on the path to this long-term vision, we’ve seen blessings we didn’t anticipate. Our daughter, now three years old, doesn’t know life where mom and dad aren’t working alongside each other, building something that she calls “hers.” To her, “work” isn’t dad leaving at 7am and getting home at 7pm. To her, “work” is mom and dad running errands together, hopping on Zoom calls together, bringing her along to drop something off at the coffee shop, going with mom to visit dad at “her” coffee shop. Work isn’t some intangible thing that her parents go do. Work is a family endeavor that she is a part of. The impact of creating more family time and blurring the lines between work and family is an impact that we’ll always be proud of.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Brady has a degree in marketing and advertising, with a deep-seated passion for creating. He’s a born entrepreneur, known for “flipping” everything from mopeds to puppies in college to make some extra money. He was the first to enter any business pitch competition, and he created a fundraising company in college that became his first job as a married adult. After creating a few businesses as a young adult, Brady decided to jump into the real estate world for a season. He began as an agent, eventually landing with an incredible brokerage as the Chief Marketing Officer for five years. In the meantime, the call to create was always shouting in the background.
Whitney has her Masters in Education, serving as a teacher and instructional coach for almost ten years. She keeps her foot in the door of education in any way she can, while now staying home with our two children. With a passion for people and growth, Whitney has loved using her skills in a new capacity through our businesses.
Brady and Whitney decided to dive into the hospitality world through coffee by creating Assemble Coffee eight years after graduating and getting married. As we look forward to celebrating ten years of marriage this month, we will never take for granted the ability we have had over the past two years to change the way our days look by creating businesses. We’d both agree that it’s “easier” to go to work for someone else each day and do the tasks in the job description. But what’s more fulfilling is the chance to create our schedules around our family’s needs, involve our children in our work, and spend our time creating businesses that fuel our passions while serving our communities.
Assemble Coffee began as an events-based coffee trailer. This eventually led to the opportunity to create a coffee shop inside of a local hotel. From there, the coffee trailer relocated to Austin, TX as Best Friend Coffee, and now serves at a permanent location in a food truck park. Assemble Coffee now operates as an events-based coffee cart in DFW. Brady and Whitney are weeks away from opening their first brick-and-mortar, Landmark Coffee, on Grapevine Main Street. We’re so thankful for the journey thus far, and we’re hopeful that this is just the beginning for us in the hospitality world!
Above all, we create because we know the ultimate Creator, and we’re so honored to get to spend our days creating spaces that hold moments for each person that passes through.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Your day MUST start with a quality cup of coffee! If you’re near Grapevine, come visit us at Landmark Coffee on Main Street so we can serve you a mean cortado or a perfect iced vanilla latte.
Otherwise, visit some of our favorite coffee spots:
Dallas: Wayward and Native
Fort Worth: Cherry or Race Street

Our go-to lunch spot is Hudson House! Grab some oysters, a burger, and a martini — you’ll thank us later!

For dinner, it’s Town Hearth or Neighborhood Services! Or if you need to change up the genre, head to Anchor Sushi Bar or Sixty Vines!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our story to creating Assemble Concepts (Assemble Coffee, Best Friend Coffee, and Landmark Coffee) would look much different if not for the mentorship of Matt Fisher and his team at Voltage Coffee Project. Whitney reached out to Matt as we began to dip our toe into the idea of starting a coffee shop, around 2019. Matt and his team were quick to take us under their wing, train us on the craft of coffee, walk with us through countless spaces, talk us through systems and efficiencies, and ultimately serve as our guides. It wasn’t until 2023 that we purchased our first coffee trailer, over three years after our first conversation. Their loyalty in the waiting didn’t waver. As our brand has grown and changed, from a coffee catering company to a hotel amenity to a permanent coffee truck to a brick and mortar, Voltage has stuck with us through it all.

Voltage Coffee Project owns West Oak Coffee Bar in Denton, Trinity Street Coffee Bar in Decatur, and has walked in many other aspects of the hospitality space, along with roasting, wholesaling, and working closely with the farming side of the coffee industry. Behind it all is great people. We’re excited to continue learning alongside them for years to come!

Instagram: @assembleconcepts

Other: Instagram:
@bestfriend.coffee
@landmarkcoffeeco

Image Credits
Nicole Hendley Photography