WHAT’S BREW ING AT THE RE X? The idea for the café stemmed from a long-time desire of Generation Church Lead Pastor, Roger Hirth, who wanted to share his love of coffee with the church community by providing them with a welcoming place to gather and visit throughout the week outside of regular church services. Hirth’s vision was finally brought to life this year with the opening of Generation Church’s nonprofit coffee shop, which was aptly named The Rex Café. The Rex Café’s Store Manager, Lois Renaud, and Assistant Manager, Annie Gray, have been working tirelessly to execute Hirth’s vision for the café. Renaud, originally from France, sought to foster the culture found in European cafés through the interior design elements and authentic menu offerings. Renaud explained that European café culture focuses on highquality espresso and a relaxed atmosphere, whereas American cafés usually focus on large and sugary drinks that can be taken on the go.
By Nicole Willis • photos by Guy Stevens
If you’ve ever taken a stroll through Downtown Pensacola, you’ve likely noticed the bright red and yellow hues adorning the marquee outside the historic Rex Theatre on North Palafox Street. Tucked away inside the Art Deco-style building, which is also home to Generation Church, is downtown’s newest coffee shop—The Rex Café.
“I was shocked when I was served a 20 or 24-ounce drink at a café. In America, people want big portions and drinks on the go, it’s just not like that in Europe,” Renaud said. Renaud and Gray want to deliver authentic European-style beverages and provide customers with a more relaxing experience instead of just rushing in and out of the door. The Rex Café’s menu is reminiscent of what you would find when walking into a French or Italian café, prioritizing small drinks that invite customers to sit, relax, enjoy the space and sip on their coffee. “About 80 percent of our menu consists of espressobased drinks,” Renaud said. “We put a lot of emphasis on people experiencing high-quality coffee.” Among the espresso-based drinks are lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos and cortados. The Rex Café will
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also be serving up two of their signature lattes—a sweet and floral honey lavender latte and a buttery popcorn latte, which was specifically designed with the idea of the drink being served in a theatre. Apart from espresso-based drinks, The Rex Café also offers cold brew, nitro cold brew, assorted teas and regular drip coffee. The menu also features a small assortment of pastries, such as butter or almond croissants from Craft Bakery and doughnuts by Le Dough. The café management team even worked with Le Dough to have them craft a custom doughnut for the café using their coffee to create a special vegan coffee doughnut. When it came to selecting which local bakeries to collaborate with, Gray explained that it all came down to quality. ”We wanted to find local businesses that match our goals and aesthetics that can also provide
