An odd sense of stillness fell over the empty café as Riley Kiltz closed up shop for the day at The Foundry District location of Craftwork Coffee Co. Hitting the lights, he sat down for a moment and stared silently at the space.
It was spring, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that shook local businesses in a way no one could have predicted, and Craftwork was no exception. The Fort Worth-born company had been growing at a seemingly nonstop pace since opening its first location at Camp Bowie Boulevard in 2016. The original concept was a novel one — coffee shop up front, coworking space at the back — and the neighborhood fell in love with both. Craftwork would spend the next four years building off Camp Bowie’s success, opening another shop on Magnolia Avenue, and eventually expanding outside city limits to Austin.
But for Kiltz, Craftwork Foundry was something special. In a burgeoning district just north of West Seventh Street, defined by colorful murals, upscale bars, and eclectic shops, Kiltz wanted the design of this Craftwork to fit the locale — something that contrasted the brutal minimalism of Camp Bowie and the warm, wood-heavy aesthetic of Magnolia.
But, two years later, on that quiet night in the spring, Kiltz took a long, hard look at the empty coffee shop, pondering its future. He knew the numbers — revenue for Foundry fell 46% during the pandemic, and the likelihood of breaking even was becoming close to impossible. On Saturday, Nov. 7, Craftwork Foundry served its final cup of coffee.