By Amy White
The Texas Catholic
FRISCO — What was once a lone espresso machine on the campus of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church has transformed into a much more sophisticated coffee operation at the Frisco parish — and a truly unique spot in the Diocese of Dallas: Gubbio’s Coffee & More.
Today, the parish coffee shop is a cozy space with booths and tables and a blazing fireplace; but not long ago, it was just a concept. The idea can be traced to Father Rudy Garcia, pastor of the parish, who in turn traces it to his time in the Eternal City. Rome, he said, may be known for its historic churches and grand basilicas; but the city is also noted for its café culture.
“I was always inspired by the fact that you could walk into these coffee shops, and you would have these people, these Italian people, talking politics passionately right over a cup of coffee,” Father Garcia said. “The church is a place of community, and so I wanted to bring that experience here.”
The project started modestly, with the single espresso machine, but the pastor had hopes to grow that small seed into a more fruitful project: a dedicated space where community could be formed and strengthened over a cappuccino, an americano, or a cup of hot tea.
“It’s unique to have a coffee shop in a Catholic church,” Father Garcia said, “but we thought it was worth the risk. We had a vision, and we wanted to implement it.”
Gubbio’s Coffee & More, located in the parish’s pastoral center, opened its doors in April of 2024, becoming “the only formal coffee shop of this size in the diocese and also probably [among other parishes] in the United States,” the pastor said. The café took on the name of Gubbio’s, a reference to the Italian city of Gubbio, which is said to have been terrorized by a wolf before St. Francis of Assisi, the Frisco parish’s namesake, remedied the situation.
“St. Francis, with his humility, with his capacity for dialogue, was able to turn the wolf from an enemy into a friend of the city,” Father Garcia said. “Those who we thought were our enemies can become our greatest friends through humility, through dialogue, through conversation; and so that’s why we named this place Gubbio’s, because we hope that this is a place where strangers become neighbors and relationships are deepened and tensions dissolve into conversations.”
Catalyst for connection
Mystical Rose, Amazing Grace, Salt of the Earth — these are just a few signature drinks from a longer list of orders on the Gubbio’s menu that cheekily nod toward Catholicism; but Gubbio’s manager Kevin Murphy, a longtime St. Francis parishioner, still prefers his coffee black.
In his role as manager of the coffee shop, Murphy is tasked with ensuring the coffee shop runs smoothy during its hours of operation, both by scheduling shifts for the more than 90 Gubbio’s volunteers and by tracking the inventory of coffee and supplies — including the approximately 25 to 35 pounds of espresso beans and 20 to 30 pounds of coffee beans that the café tends to use up each week. He also keeps track of the array of parishioner-made tasty treats in the café, from cake pops to chocolate-covered pretzels to kolaches.
As he oversees the coffee shop each week, the manager said, he remains mindful of the fact that the project is about more than just espresso and pastries; it is about community, connection, and even evangelization.
“We’re seeing a lot more general public coming in,” Murphy shared. “Friends bring other people around, just to be able to sit here, see what kind of space it is, and see how peaceful it is.”
Parishioners, too, are able to connect in meaningful ways in the coffee shop — both with each other and with the clergy of the parish. Many times, the manager has spotted patrons spontaneously connecting with a parish priest or deacon, sometimes even producing a rosary or a medal to be blessed by the cleric then and there.
“As a pastor,” Father Garcia said, “this place has been very important and has born much spiritual fruit, because it allows me to be closer to my people in a more informal setting.”
The parish priest recalled a time when two college students approached him in Gubbio’s as he enjoyed a cup of coffee and asked: How can we become Catholic?
“Had I not been here at that precise moment, who knows if they would have engaged in that way,” he said. “Coffee is a catalyst for dialogue, for good conversation, for community building, and that’s what we see happening here.”
A place to linger
With its large windows that let in the sunshine and its aroma of coffee beans in the air, Gubbio’s is meant to be a place where parishioners are invited to linger — after Mass or a Bible study session or a faith formation class — and conversationally unpack what they experienced there.
“It basically says, ‘Come here. Meet here. Stay here,’” St. Francis parishioner Bernadette Dozier said of the space, which she described as open and cozy. “With our parish being so large, having a place like this makes it feel a lot smaller, just makes it feel like there’s sort of, I don’t know, a common space, a place where you can feel grounded and rooted.”
In the comfort of the coffee shop, she said, anyone can create community between sips of coffee. Parishioner Ana Acuna echoed the sentiment, sharing her own story of connection at the café.
“Last year, my daughter Maria did her first Communion, and we came every Sunday to take the formation classes,” she said. At the time, Acuna did not know many people from the community, but as she started waiting for her daughter each Sunday at Gubbio’s, that changed.
“I started talking to one mom and then we met one more,” Acuna recalled. “I met, I don’t know, 10 people being here, because the environment is nice, the coffee is good.”
To this day, she said, she gathers with those friends at Gubbio’s each Sunday to talk — about life, about church, about anything at all — with a latte in hand.
“I hope it continues to be a place where strangers become neighbors,” Father Garcia said. “I hope it continues to be a place where the great conversations are had around faith and about life; and I hope that it continues to build up our community.”
Cutline for featured image: St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church parishioners Ana Acuna, left, and Cristina Ezquer hold drinks from Gubbio’s Coffee & More on Jan. 16. (AMY WHITE/The Texas Catholic)
