Friday, April 26, 2024
At times, Vincent Knox felt he might have landed in hot water with the small piece of property he bought on Water’s Edge Drive near Whataburger and StoneWater Church.
But with God adding just the right ingredients at just the right time, that hot water turned into a perfect brew.
Since opening in September, Knox’s Tree of Life coffee house has become a site for Bible studies and other intimate gatherings, and proceeds from the sale of brewed coffees, lattes, cinnamon rolls, teas and smoothies are funding mission projects.
Knox’s mission outreach is currently focused on Russia, a country he has visited 22 times and where he has taught students about “Christian evidences.” But he is open to whatever God leads him to financially support.
“I don’t know what’s going to present itself,” he said, as workers served customers and a couple sat at a table, engrossed in conversation.
The faith-based coffee house was three years in the making, but Knox feels that God’s hand was in it from the start.
He and his wife Becky, who sometimes helps out behind the counter, sold their house in Lakewood Hills so that they could refurbish the small building that stood at 1005 Waters Edge Dr. and reopen it as a coffee house.
The property was originally on the market for about $400,000, Knox said, but the owner kept lowering the price.
“I offered half of what they were finally asking and they took it,” said Knox, who used to work in the computer field. “I say it’s the Lord’s property because I got it at a price that was much, much, much lower than they were asking.”
Another important component in the coffee house’s founding was Casey Oliver, a now-former neighbor of Knox’s who is a member of StoneWater’s leadership team and a former Granbury city employee. Oliver guided Knox through all of the processes involved in working with the city.
“He’s the one that signed the real estate agreement between myself and StoneWater to where I could cut the curb,” Knox said. Cutting the curb, he explained, allowed for a parking lot and a drive-through on the small patch of land.
Further indications that the venture was blessed came in the form of just-right employees, such as Freedom Noble, who owned a coffee bar in Washington state and has experience with operating drive-throughs. Tree of Life will begin offering drive-through service once Noble has properly trained newly hired staffers.
The coffee house is open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
UNIQUE TOUCH
Perhaps the most unique aspect of Tree of Life came from Knox’s friendship with another of his former neighbors, Phillip Gates. A retired oil company machinist, Gates loves working with wood, as does Knox. Gates’ unique rolling pins are sold at Tree of Life and also at The Pan Handle on the square.
Between the two of them, the men built much of the unique furnishings at Tree of Life, as well as the bar where orders are placed.
Pecan wood used for the bar and a table came from the county’s brush dump. Wood for the furnishings also came from two large live oaks that once stood at the site on East Pearl Street where the city has been working on Phase II of its water treatment plant.
Knox said that after moving to the neighborhood he introduced himself to Gates, who he joked was “making a bunch of noise” in his wood shop.
“I like to walk around and talk to people,” he said. “I’m not shy. Phillip’s not shy either. We just got to talking and found that we have a whole lot in common, in particular, spiritually, as believers. We just hit it off.”
Knox said there were times, such as when he hauled rock from the site in a wheelbarrow and cleared away vines, when he felt overwhelmed by all the work.
“You get anxiety because of all the steps involved,” he said, such as “the permits, and learning the coffee business.”
“Which we didn’t know,” Becky interjected as she worked busily behind the counter with Noble and other employees.
Nevertheless, “everything worked out precisely,” Knox said. “If everything hadn’t lined up, this property wouldn’t have been usable.”
Neither Knox nor Gates are inclined to believe that everything just naturally fell together on its own.
“I don’t think there are any coincidences with God,” Gates said.
Knox said that he has always felt a divine hand on his life and is not surprised that his desire to raise money for mission work has been blessed.
“If you draw nearer to God,” he said, “he’ll draw nearer to you.”
kcruz@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 258
