By Aaron Latchaw 

My wife and I moved to Oakhurst in the beginning of 2012. In the early days of owning our first home we came to experience the “Oakhurst Effect,” a phenomena whereby no yard work can be completed due to stopping frequently to talk with neighbors. It was unlike anything we’d experienced living elsewhere in Fort Worth — and we loved it.

As we settled in, we began looking for ways to get involved in the community. I briefly organized the “Oakhurst Cycling Club,” a group for cyclists of all skill levels that took jaunts around the area and finished at Martin House Brewing Company for a pint. We hosted garden clubs and dinners in our backyard for new folks moving into the neighborhood. Community was already part of the culture in Oakhurst, we simply chose to participate. Some of our best friends to this day were made through neighborhood dinners and meet-ups.

That’s part of the beauty and depth of Oakhurst and the surrounding Riverside area. It’s easy to be drawn in by the beautiful tree-filled lots, unique homes, proximity to nearly everything, and side streets — to take if traffic is ever an issue.

There’s a spirit of checking in on your neighbors, knowing how folks are doing, what they’re up to and what they need help with. During a tumultuous storm one summer evening, a large limb from one of our beautiful trees came down. When I went out to inspect, two separate neighbors came over to check on us and ensure all was well. I’d planned to clean everything up when I got home from work the next day, but found that the pile was gone. The limbs had been cut up and hauled off by both neighbors. Stories like this are commonplace, it’s something I never want to take for granted and that I treasure so deeply about where we live. 

This feeling of community extended out of Oakhurst and seemed to permeate the greater Riverside area. Soon after we moved in 2012, we found a volunteer group creating a community garden on nearby Race Street. This group would eventually become the Riverside Arts District, a nonprofit we’d help create. Through RAD we work to host street festivals, markets and pop-up art shows to support arts and culture on Race Street and in Riverside. Our aim is to show people how great we think Race Street is and can be. These efforts quickly caught the attention of the city, which resulted in a commitment to bring trees, wider sidewalks and furniture as investment into the future of the street. 

As it goes with life, one connection led to another. It was through this organization that I met my business partner for Race Street Coffee. Opening Race Street Coffee in 2019, just seven years after we moved to Oakhurst felt natural. Creating a coffee shop in the neighborhood was an extension of the gatherings and fellowship that took place on sunny spring days in our front yards with our neighbors — all while the yard work was put on hold for the beauty of human connection. Race Street Coffee is now entering its fifth year, and I’m pleased to say it’s still a place where you can bump into a neighbor and find that feeling of community.

We moved about 500 yards away from our previous home (hah!) in 2022. This seems to be a common occurrence for folks in Oakhurst, moving from one house to another to suit the spatial needs of the time with the goal of remaining in the neighborhood. At our new home, we attempt and fail to wrangle our three beautiful kids. Shortly after moving we met our neighbors who have children close in age to ours. These days it’s common to find a large gaggle of kids having the time of their lives, gallivanting from one backyard to another in our neighborhood. I often swim in gratitude, knowing my kids are experiencing the freedom and autonomy I knew in my own childhood. From events in the park, on cul-de-sacs, at nearby restaurants and cafes, neighbors continually volunteer and invest in the beautiful community of Oakhurst and Riverside.

Aaron Latchaw is co-founder of Race Street Coffee and lives in Oakhurst with his wife and their three children.