Camel City Coffee

Camel City Coffee is a locally owned coffee shop in Winston-Salem, NC run by a mother-daughter team, Lynn and Chelsea Tart — known for handcrafted espresso drinks, drip coffee and cold brew, teas, and a large covered patio that’s dog-friendly.

The shop grew out of the Tarts’ earlier venture, a bakery called Tart Sweets. They started serving drip coffee and cold brew because customers asked for it, formally created the Camel City Coffee brand in 2015, and spun it off as its own business in 2019. The name is a nod to Winston-Salem’s tobacco-era nickname, earned when R.J. Reynolds’s Camel cigarettes were manufactured here.

Be sure to check out the pictures below to get a feel for Camel City Coffee before you go — or to relive the visit after.

The Tarts and the Sourcing

What separates Camel City Coffee from most shops its size is where the beans come from. The Tarts have their espresso roasted by Case Coffee, a small roaster based in Ashland, Oregon that works with small family farms to source organic beans — an unusual arrangement for a North Carolina coffee shop and one the owners have pointed to as a deliberate point of difference.

The drip coffees are roasted closer to home by a wholesale roaster in Greensboro, also organically produced. And the teas come from Angelina’s, right here in Winston-Salem, which keeps the sourcing genuinely local.

The business itself started somewhere else entirely. Lynn and Chelsea Tart built Tart Sweets first, and coffee entered the picture only because their bakery customers kept asking for it. That progression — bakery to coffee counter to standalone coffee brand — explains why the baked goods side has never felt like an afterthought here.

The Shop

The Oakwood Drive location pairs an indoor space with a large covered patio, which is the draw for a lot of regulars. It’s dog-friendly, and the patio makes it workable in most weather.

On the menu: handcrafted espresso drinks — lattes, cappuccinos, and the rest of the standard bar — plus drip coffee, cold brew, pour-overs, specialty beverages, and teas, with baked goods carrying over from the Tart Sweets side of the operation. Online ordering is available, and the shop runs a rewards program for regulars.

Camel City Coffee also handles catering for corporate meetings and local events, bringing coffee along with breakfast or dessert items.

Good to Know

• Location: 110 Oakwood Drive, Suite F, Winston-Salem, NC 27103
• Phone: 336-955-2246
• Email: info@camelcitycoffee.com
• Hours: Monday–Friday 8 AM–5 PM; Saturday 9 AM–3 PM; Sunday 9 AM–1 PM (check the Camel City Coffee website for current hours)
• Owners: Lynn and Chelsea Tart, a mother-daughter team
• History: Grew out of the owners’ bakery, Tart Sweets; the Camel City Coffee brand was created in 2015 and became its own business in 2019
• Sourcing: Espresso roasted by Case Coffee of Ashland, Oregon (organic, small family farms); drip coffee roasted organically by a Greensboro wholesale roaster; teas from Angelina’s in Winston-Salem
• The menu: Handcrafted espresso drinks, drip coffee, cold brew, pour-overs, specialty beverages, teas, and baked goods
• The space: Indoor seating plus a large covered patio
• Dog friendly: Yes, on the patio
• Ordering: Online ordering available; rewards program for regulars
• Catering: Available for corporate meetings and local events
• Best for: Coffee drinkers who care about sourcing, remote workers, dog owners, patio sitters, and anyone pairing a good cup with a pastry
• Pair with: The full Winston-Salem food and beverage cluster; Krankies Coffee and Chad’s Chai for the rest of the local coffee and tea scene; Camino Bakery or Dough Joe’s Doughnuts & Coffee on the bakery side; or Camel City BBQ Factory for the other business carrying the Camel City name

A Winston-Salem Highlight

Camel City Coffee started as a request. Lynn and Chelsea Tart were running a bakery; customers kept asking for coffee, and the coffee eventually outgrew the bakery — becoming its own brand in 2015 and its own business in 2019. That’s a more honest origin than most coffee shops can offer, and it shows in the way the baked goods here are as considered as the drinks.

The sourcing is the part worth knowing about. Espresso roasted by Case Coffee in Ashland, Oregon, drip coffee from an organic roaster in Greensboro, and teas from Angelina’s here in Winston-Salem — three different suppliers chosen deliberately rather than one distributor covering everything. For a shop this size, that’s a real commitment.

Go for the covered patio if the weather cooperates. It’s the feature regulars mention first, it’s dog-friendly, and it makes Camel City a better hang than the average grab-and-go coffee counter.

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Resources

Camel City Coffee Website

Camel City Coffee Facebook

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Location

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Social Media

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