Little Joy Coffee, formerly B-Side Coffee in Oak Cliff, changed ownership in May and has hit the ground running ever since.
Little Joy owners Russell Tibbits and Allison Macalik stand inside their rebranded coffee shop. Courtesy of Little Joy Coffee
Wife Allison Macalik and husband Russell Tibbits co-own Little Joy in Oak Cliff’s Elmwood neighborhood, home to many small businesses. On top of continuing to work their full-time tech jobs, Macalik and Tibbits began owning the cafe together earlier this year.
“We decided not to have a third child, so we just had a coffee shop instead,” Tibbits said jokingly.
The couple renamed the shop Little Joy for two main reasons, and they had the idea in mind for years prior to taking over the space, they said.
“Our daughter’s middle name is Joy, my middle name is Joy, and we’re named after my nana, whose name was Joy,” Macalik said. “And we thought that everyone needs a little joy in their day.”
Courtesy of Little Joy Coffee
Since its rebrand, the cafe has partnered with other local businesses to host family-friendly events — and plans to host many more in the coming weeks, including with its neighbors Olmo Market and Herby’s Burgers.
“We want to get a community calendar on the wall because there’s so much already planned for July,” Macalik said.
The couple and their two children are Oak Cliff locals through and through, Macalik added. In fact, the bathroom’s new custom wallpaper includes symbols of Elmwood and Oak Cliff.
“We’ve lived in Oak Cliff now for eight years,” she said. “Every single thing we do is here. We don’t go north of the bridge, except to visit family.”
Courtesy of Little Joy Coffee
Little Joy recently secured a new coffee supplier and kolache baker, both of which the owners carefully selected.
“We’re also looking at what it would look like to be able to sell beer and wine,” Macalik said.
Macalik and Tibbits are intentionally staying receptive to people’s feedback as Little Joy establishes itself further, they said. For example, the ARCO community bookshelf they recently added to the space was inspired by a community member’s suggestion.
“In some ways, it almost makes it easy because all we have to do is listen to what people are telling us,” Tibbits said.
While it’s an exciting challenge for the couple to take on as new owners, Macalik said the community is still what matters most.
“We have to take our ego out of this because it’s not what Allison and Russ want,” she said. “It’s what the community wants.”
Little Joy Coffee is located at 2105 South Edgefield Ave. in West Oak Cliff.
