A stylish coffee trailer is upgrading to brick-and-mortar after a long wait. El Tigre Coffee Roasters will open Friday, September 25, at 2909 E. 12th St. The address is part of a small compound developed by El Tigre owner Tatanka Guerrero.
El Tigre started in Austin in 2019 and expanded to a San Antonio brick-and-mortar in early 2025. The vintage trailer in Austin was charming, but it had its limitations: a small water tank, for example, or tricky power specifications.
The Austin brick-and-mortar shop has actually been physically ready for a year and a half, Guerrero says, but he'd been waiting on the city to issue paperwork, including a change of use. (This exact kind and intensity of delay is not unheard of in Austin's beverage spaces.)
The new location really does feel like a regular house.Photo courtesy of El Tigre Coffee Roasters
Although the shop made a good impression on San Antonians, Guerrero says he got an offer on the location from someone who wanted a coffee shop that was already built out, and he decided to sell it. That means the new Austin location will be the only current one for now, but El Tigre will still have a San Antonio presence through pop-ups and partnerships.
"And hopefully, in the future, we'll find another location for El Tigre down there," says Guerrero, "because people loved us and we loved it out there."
The new Austin location situates El Tigre next to its sibling concepts, including Slowpoke Tattoo and wine shop Cork & Screw. Visitors could easily spend the whole day there, especially with help from Sammataro Pizza. Each business is in a small, homey structure, and El Tigre fits right in. (Guerrero describes the building as a 520-square-foot bungalow.)
All the buildings are connected by adjoining yards, and although each operates independently, it's easy to feel like you've stepped into a tiny neighborhood rather than a strip of businesses.
"The whole idea and the point [of the compound] was just kind of to come in and create community," Guerrero says.
Similarly, instead of standing out as a bold, unqiue concept, Guerrero wants El Tigre to be known simply for having great coffee that's roasted in-house. There won't be many fancy menu items, but guests can expect a signature latte that really shows off the staff's skills and tastes, a Mexican drip coffee with cinnamon, a strawberry matcha, and an affogato with Blue Bell ice cream.
Small food items such as weekday pastries, tacos, and bagels will be available. Plus, El Tigre will also set up some local food collaborations on the weekends.
Indoor and outdoor seating will be a game-changer for the cozy space, and window service will help keep things moving for folks making shorter stops.
"We're working on some little details behind it, but like I said, we just thrive on the classics," Guerrero says. "We thrive on being a coffee shop where our main focus is hospitality and our brews, and our beans, and stuff like that."
El Tigre will be open daily from 7 am to 3 pm.
