Meet Christina James | Owner/Operator of Pull Through Coffee Bar and Artist/Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christina James and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My goal was to fuse my two passions, coffee and cycling, into something that I could make a living through

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I own and operate a cycling-centric third wave coffee bar and walk-up window inside bike shop, Dallas Bike Works, on the northwest side of White Rock Lake. While we focus on eccentric handcrafted espresso/matcha/lemonade beverages and locally sourced pastries, we also use our business as a platform to give back to our cycling/running/White Rock Lake community.
When I say we are community focused, I mean it. For example, there was no known Dallas Bike Swap, so we made a bi-annual Bike Swap event at our shop available to everyone! There was also no known regular women’s cycling ride or a “hub” the women in cycling could call their own within this male-dominated sport, so we began a Monthly Women’s Shop Ride where we lead a ride around White Rock Lake and chat over coffee afterwards, encouraging women to meet others, converse, collaborate, and support eachother. We are also a known “meet up spot” for the running groups around town, and we adopted a spot off the lake we care for and plan Monthly Lake Cleanups w/ our team and customers as well.
Along with a high focus on community, our drink menu is designed with a more health conscious and creative twist. Instead of focusing on flavors and ingredients that are purely sugar based, we try to bring more attention to flavors that not only taste great but also have more benefit on the body than not. for example, instead of putting an emphasis on the popular syrups like white mocha or caramel, we show the healthier, but endless possibilities you could do with ingredients like turmeric, cayenne, juniper, and protein. Our Protein Latte menu is a great example of this; all low in calories with 30 grams of protein, so a perfect post-workout option that’s delicious and satiating without being a stomach bomb. Our goal is to offer a unique, tasty menu full of items that can help you make better choices than not so great ones.
This shop was once a dream I thought would never be a reality, but when I joined the Dallas Bike Works cycling team back in 2020, I saw an opportunity of a micro-sized coffee shop I’d own inside the bike shop and pay rent for, discussed it with Boyd, he entertained my ideas, and it snowballed from there. Coming up with the vision wasn’t difficult. I have an annoyingly overactive brain that doesn’t quit. What WAS hard was jumping through the hoops of getting licenses and dealing with the city in order to be compliant-ready. Seeing as though the inside space is less than 400 square feet with a small outdoor covered patio, I thought passing code and obtaining licenses would be a breeze and we’d be open within 6 months. I was so wrong. The actual build-out only took a couple months, but navigating through the chaos that is the Dallas Consumer Health Division on my own without professional guidance or a contractor took a bit over 2 years. If I could go back, I’d hire a professional to do all this for me, but that costs money and I don’t come from money. I was a high school runaway and had no family support. I was working two, sometimes three jobs, at the time to make this dream happen. I found an investor to cover the bare minimum buildout and equipment costs, but extra help was hard to fit into that budget, so the rest came out of the barista/bike shop/odd job money I was making during the time. Was it easy? No. During that time, I was working more than I am now as a business owner, spending my off time creating the shop’s concept, working on the build out, and calling/emailing/going to the city office literally every day for licenses needed to open up shop, all while fighting massive imposter syndrome and doubts from a few near me due to the unexpected delayed time frame it took to open. But I learned so much about my own abilities, grit, resourcefulness, and resilience through all of that. It truly was an act of playing the long game and believing in myself, almost to a delusional point at times it felt like. I also learned that you don’t need all the answers to start something big. We live in a time where you can truly learn ANYTHING from the internet, and if you can’t figure it out through that, reaching out and simply asking for help from the community/friends goes a long way. If you have an idea that people find value in, people will want to help you bring it to life.
I want people to know that yes, I built this business as a means to make a living where I call the shots on my own life as well as a creative outlet I never thought I’d needed in my life, but it’s also a thank you to the communities near me who I care for and who have helped me in my own growth throughout my time in Dallas.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
VISIT WHITE ROCK LAKE. It’s Dallas’ little nature get away in the city. There’s a vibration there that you can’t quite find in the rest of the Dallas that I’ve come to value. You can also come visit my shop located right off the trails on the west side!
Favorite coffee shop would be Cultivar Coffee Bar/Roastery in East Dallas. The vibe is solid and the coffee is amazing! I love them so much I chose them as our vendor for the coffee we offer inside my shop!
Another East Dallas gem and a place to grab some delicious food would be Kalachanji’s. It’s the longest standing vegetarian hot spot serving up Ayurvedic cruisine inside the Radha Kalachanji Temple. The set up is tranquil and eccentric with a courtyard in the middle of the temple that the restaurant is located at. I’ve lived in Dallas for almost 10 years and I still haven’t found a restaurant that matches their delicious menu or amazing vibe. They also offer donation only yoga classes inside the temple as well.
If you’re looking for a creative space with nice cocktails, Wild Detectives in Oak Cliff is where it’s at! It’s owned by two guys who converted a house into a bookshop/coffee shop/bar/venue. They have an ecclectic and hard to find books along with tons of events such as Cumbia Nights, poetry readings, book signings, and backyard concerts. Another bookshop favorite is Poet’s Books in Oak Cliff with a new location in Deep Ellum!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give thanks to Boyd and Whitney of Dallas Bike Works who gave me this opportunity and are the foundation of my business, along with the Dallas cycling and running community, and the White Rock Lake community who have supported me since day one.

Website: https://pullthroughcoffeebar.com

Instagram: instagram.com/pullthroughcoffeebar and instagram.com/stina_sauce

Linkedin: linkedin.com/Christina(Christina Amorette)James and linkedin.com/PullThroughCoffeeLLC

Facebook: https://facebook.com/pullthroughcoffeebar

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pull-through-coffee-bar-dallas?osq=pull+through+coffee+bar

Image Credits
Haley Hill
David Loi
Elias Valverde