Even in a jittery economy, coffee shop owners have found stability in Denton.

Two independent coffee houses — Big Mike’s Coffee Shop and Jupiter House’s second location — are sprouting up this month.

DRC/David Minton

Mike Sutton opened Big Mike’s Coffee Shop at 1306 W. Hickory St. earlier this month. The coffee house, open 24 hours daily, is across the street from the University of North Texas. Sutton previously operated Voyager’s Dream, a retail shop, in the same space.

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The two shops join a handful of other independent Denton coffee shops including Jupiter House’s original location on the Square, Hydrant Cafe, Art Six Coffee House and Uncommon Ground.

There’s a market for coffee in Denton, especially in a two-university town, said Linda Ratliff, the city’s economic development director.

“You can’t have too many coffee shops. They are near universities and they still seem to have good business,” she said.

Wi-Fi access is another perk, Ratliff added, making such shops “a good place for students and a great gathering place.”

“We could definitely handle a few more coffee shops in Denton,” she said.

The coffee shops around the Square all seem to do well, without impeding on each other’s business, because they’ve each found a niche, Ratliff said.

Denton’s two new coffee houses will be looking for niches of their own.

Satellite location

Jupiter House’s second location, at the southwest corner of University Drive and Carroll Boulevard, is being called Europa after one of Jupiter’s 49 named moons. The shop is expected to open this month.

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Co-owner Joey Hawkins lays tile in Jupiter House’s expansion location, Europa, which is slated to open later this month on Carroll Boulevard at University Drive. Hawkins says he expects to compete with Starbucks for customers in north Denton.

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The 1,905-square-foot store will have an “Alice in Wonderland in Cuba feel,” with handmade chocolate candies and Jupiter House coffee, said Joey Hawkins, who co-owns the shop with his wife, Amy.

The new location will face stiff corporate competition for customers who may not frequent the Square, he said.

“The north side of Denton needs a Jupiter House and we are trying to go toe-to-toe with Starbucks,” Hawkins said. “It’s an uphill battle. … We know that.”

The owners added a dozen employees for the new shop — all of whom are trained in latte art, the skill of creating a design in steamed milk.

Along with the same Cuvee coffee found at Jupiter House, Europa will serve specialty goodies including chocolate-covered strawberries, caramel apples and chocolate-covered espresso beans, he said.

Aside from the coffee, Europa will have a completely different feel from the original Jupiter House, the couple said.

The shop will have kiwi green and turquoise walls, a high-definition projection screen, a patio shared with neighbor Pizza Inn, and two “tricked-out” espresso ma­chines, Hawkins said.

A look at the past

As Mike Sutton sits beneath a waterfall cascading down a canopy of green, he looks at the aqua sky that gleams on the wall and sips his coffee, black.

DRC/David Minton

Big Mike’s Coffee Shop at 1306 W. Hickory St., across the street from the University of North Texas, is open 24 hours daily.

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The mural Sutton sits under was painted 15 years ago, when the building housed his former business, Voyager’s Dream, which closed in January.

Now that he’s opened Big Mike’s Coffee Shop in the spot off Hickory Street, the mural is one of the only remnants of the interior of Voyager’s Dream.

Sutton said he had wanted to leave Denton and sell the store’s products on the road, but with the closing of Kharma Cafe, a longtime coffee house on Fry Street, he knew there was a caffeine void that needed filling.

And when he saw University of North Texas students buying coffee from corporate businesses that don’t specialize in the beverage, he knew he had to step in, he said.

“It’s important to honor the community down here — it’s important to bring it back or people will stop coming to Fry Street,” Sutton said.

The 2,500-square-foot shop is now the only coffee shop in Denton open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

DRC/David Minton

Customers decide on their orders at Big Mike’s Coffee Shop on Oct. 9.

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Sutton said he has 30 part-time workers and has thrown “way too much money” into bringing the building up to code, including replacing the building’s plumbing, electrical system and making it accessible to the disabled.

And now every cent he has is wrapped up into another Fry Street business.

“I was really, really, really scared of opening,” Sutton said. “But this area is really special to me.

“I think this will help the area quite a bit and I hope to bring the destination part of Fry Street back. That’s what Fry Street is — you stay.”

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com.