The Partnership Behind Palace

What COFFEE The Universal Language captured about Krystal & me - & why Palace has always been about more than coffee.

When Darla & Nes asked us to be part of COFFEE The Universal Language, I was excited. Then the cameras arrived, & excitement gave way to a different feeling: vulnerability.

How do you explain a life, a marriage, a family, & a business while someone is filming? How do you make sure people understand what Palace is really about? Eventually, the answer became simple: get
out of your head & just be us.

That was the gift Darla & Nes gave us. They did not ask us to perform a polished version of Palace. They paid attention to the life underneath it. And at the center of that life is the partnership Krystal & I have built together.

Built as a Partnership

Krystal & I have been together since high school, & Palace carries the rhythm we have developed over all those years. My instinct is to push toward what something could become. Krystal knows how to test an idea, strengthen it, & give it a shape that can last.

That balance has never been about one of us winning an argument. It is about trusting that we are protecting the same things: our family, the health of the business, & the people who depend on it. Some seasons have called for a leap; others have called for patience. Palace needed both.

The secret behind Palace is not that Krystal & I always see things the same way. It is that we have learned how to build from our differences.

Choosing Amarillo Again

Like a lot of young people from this area, we spent a few years away from Amarillo. At the time, I thought success meant proving I could make it somewhere else. When Krystal suggested moving back, I
resisted. But returning changed the way I saw home. Distance had shown us what was distinctive about Amarillo, Canyon, & the communities around them - & what we might be able to contribute here.

We chose this area as the place to raise our family & put down deeper roots. Palace grew out of that choice. We were not trying to import a big-city idea or make our town feel like somewhere else. We wanted to create the kind of place that felt unmistakably at home here: welcoming, thoughtful, & good enough to make both locals & travelers take notice.

Coffee may be the universal language in the cup, but the deeper language is belonging. The episode carries that idea beyond Palace, showing how The 806 in Amarillo & Herencia Coffee in Dumas serve
their own communities in distinct ways. Each shop is different, but each understands that coffee can be the beginning of conversation, connection, & pride of place.

Seeing What They Saw

After filming ended, Darla & Nes shaped what they had captured into the finished series & planned a June premiere at Amarillo Little Theatre. The anxiety returned when I realized my first viewing would
happen in a room filled with people from our community.

We watched together, then Jason Boyett led a panel with Courtney Brown from The 806, Joel Carbajal from Herencia, Jackie Kingston from the Amarillo Tribune, & others involved in the project. By the end
of the night, the nerves had given way to relief & pride. Darla & Nes had seen the thing I most hoped they would see: Palace is not one person's vision. It is the expression of a partnership.

The project gave us a friendship, too. We have shared meals with Darla & Nes, caught up at World of Coffee, & watched the relationship grow beyond the filming. A story about community created more community in our own lives.

What We Hope Comes Next

We hope COFFEE The Universal Language helps people look at their own towns with new eyes. We build better communities by creating new things: places where people belong, businesses with both heart & discipline, & experiences that make people proud to call a place home.

That takes vision & honesty. You have to understand your market, know what the business needs to support, & decide what success should look like for you. It also helps to have someone beside you who can see both the dream & the work required to sustain it.

If this story sparks something in you, watch the episode, subscribe to COFFEE The Universal Language, & explore the other episodes - including season one. Then take another look at your own community. What is already there that deserves to be celebrated? What is missing? What could you help build?

If you have thoughts, questions, or an idea you want to talk through, reach out to us at Palace. Helping people build meaningful coffee businesses & stronger community spaces is work we believe in - & after everything Krystal and I have learned together, it is work we are pretty good at.