Any new opening from Onyx Coffee Lab is a major event. Today on the Build-Outs of Coffee feature series, we’re taking a look at Onyx at The Preserve, perhaps the brand’s most ambitious new coffee bar to date.
The 2026 Build-outs of Coffee is presented by DONA, Pacific Barista Series, and La Marzocco.
As told to Sprudge by Niki Weegens.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
Onyx Coffee Lab is an Arkansas-based coffee company founded in 2012 with the goal of both serving and challenging the specialty coffee industry. From the beginning, our mantra has been “Never Settle for Good Enough,” a phrase that has shaped the way we approach sourcing, roasting, hospitality, design, education, transparency, and the way we care for both guests and employees. Coffee remains the foundation of who we are, but our work has always been about more than the cup. Our work is about building a more thoughtful, equitable, and excellent coffee experience from origin to end consumer.
Over the years, Onyx has grown into an internationally recognized roastery and hospitality company. In 2026, Onyx was named as a James Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Bar, a milestone that brought specialty coffee further into the national hospitality conversation. We are also a Certified B Corporation, with commitments that reflect our belief that excellence has to include how we source, how we operate, and how we support the people who make this work possible.
Onyx at The Preserve is the newest expression of that work, and our most ambitious concept to date. It expands the Onyx experience into a full-day gathering place where world-class coffee, vibrant food, beverage, architecture, landscape, and community all meet in one space. While the offering has grown, the heart of the project remains the same: exceptional coffee, meaningful hospitality, and a desire to create spaces where people feel welcomed, seen, and invited to stay awhile.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
Onyx at The Preserve is our most ambitious concept to date, located in Bud’s Preserve Park in Bentonville, Arkansas. The building sits directly on the Greenway and is woven into the surrounding trail system, making it accessible by bike, by foot, and by car from across Northwest Arkansas. From the beginning, the goal was not to create a building that simply sat on the land, but one that felt as though it had emerged from it.
The space was designed by Jon Allen, co-owner of Onyx Coffee Lab, in partnership with architect Marlon Blackwell. Concepting began in 2020 with a guiding question: how do we create something minimal and restrained that still feels warm, tactile, and deeply human? That intention shaped every material and detail. A fully custom stainless steel bar anchors the room with precision and clarity, while white oak, earthy plaster, and limestone-rich surfaces bring warmth, texture, and a sense of calm. Indirect lighting washes the walls and ceiling rather than calling attention to itself, allowing the space to shift throughout the day.
At its heart, The Preserve is a gathering place. Coffee remains the foundation of the experience, but this location expands that rhythm into breakfast, daytime dining, dinner, cocktails, wine, events, and full-service hospitality. Our hope is that The Preserve feels ambitious but deeply inviting—a place for morning coffee, midday connection, evening meals, quiet pauses, trail stops, and shared moments around the table.
What’s your approach to coffee?
Coffee is where Onyx began, and it remains at the center of The Preserve. Our approach starts long before a drink reaches the bar: transparent sourcing, close producer relationships, careful roasting, rigorous quality control, and deep training for the people preparing and serving the coffee.
At The Preserve, coffee becomes the first welcome into a larger hospitality experience. Guests can enjoy espresso drinks, pour overs, and familiar Onyx offerings in a space designed for both movement and pause. Whether someone is stopping in from the trail, settling into the cafe, or beginning a full meal, the goal is the same as always: coffee prepared with precision and care, served in a way that makes people feel welcomed, seen, and invited in.
Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?
Like every Onyx cafe, The Preserve proudly uses Modbar espresso machines, allowing the bar to remain open, intentional, and deeply connected to the guest experience. The clean, under-counter system supports the architectural vision of the space while giving our baristas the precision and consistency needed to serve espresso at the level we expect from every Onyx location.
We are also using custom Onyx Edition Ceado Rev Zero grinders for espresso, chosen for their ability to pull shots with incredible flavor clarity, consistency, and expression. Together, the Modbar system and Ceado grinders allow us to highlight the coffees we love with precision while keeping the bar experience warm, engaging, and genuinely approachable.
The centerpiece of the room is a fully custom stainless steel bar designed to support both coffee service and the broader food and beverage experience at The Preserve. The coffee program features Onyx-roasted coffees across espresso and pour over menus, with selections chosen to highlight clarity, sweetness, texture, and the unique character of each coffee.
How is your project considering sustainability?
For this project, sustainability begins with restraint, longevity, and a deep relationship to place. The design was guided by the question of how to do more with less material, creating a space that feels warm and immersive without relying on excess. Durable materials like stainless steel, white oak, plaster, and limestone-rich surfaces were chosen for how they age, how they feel, and how they belong within the surrounding landscape.
The building’s placement also encourages alternative ways of arriving. Because The Preserve sits directly on the Greenway and within Bud’s Preserve Park, guests can access the space by bike or on foot through the surrounding trail system. That connection to the landscape is central to the concept: the grounds are not just scenery, but part of the guest experience.
The project also extends Onyx Coffee Lab’s broader commitments to responsible business practices, including transparent coffee sourcing, solar energy investment, B Corp Certification, and Living Wage Certification. Sustainability here is not a single feature; it is an ongoing responsibility that touches sourcing, labor, materials, energy, and the way the space serves its community over time.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
Onyx at The Preserve began its soft opening in June 2026, with expanded service rolling out throughout summer 2026.
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
Onyx at The Preserve was designed by Jon Allen, owner of Onyx Coffee Lab, in partnership with architect Marlon Blackwell and the team at Marlon Blackwell Architects.
The project is also the result of deep collaboration between Onyx and an incredible group of builders, craftspeople, designers, chefs, baristas, beverage professionals, and hospitality leaders. Every part of the space was considered through the lens of hospitality: how guests arrive, how light moves, how materials feel, how the bar functions, how people gather, and how the building becomes part of the park rather than separate from it.
Thank you!
Thank you for considering Onyx at The Preserve for Build-Outs of Coffee. This project represents a meaningful new chapter for Onyx Coffee Lab, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to share the intention, collaboration, and care behind the space.
The 2026 Build-outs of Coffee is presented by DONA, Pacific Barista Series, and La Marzocco.
