If you’re driving on Southwest Boulevard or north on I-35 toward downtown, you’ve probably noticed a giant airplane frozen mid-takeoff, hoisted on curved metal supports on top of The Roasterie Factory Cafe.
How did it end up there? What was the reason? All good questions — and we’re here to answer them.
Meet Betty
First and foremost — the plane’s name is Betty, named after founder Danny O’Neill’s mom. She was placed in 2012, crane lifted the same year the Factory Café opened to the public.
The DC-3 plane is a fixed-wing, propeller-driven aircraft that “revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 40s,” according to The Roasterie.
The aircraft’s significance
“DC-3’s just like ours were often used to haul coffee beans around the globe,” the company’s website states.
The airplane is also symbolic of how the company originally roasted its coffee. Air roasting blasts the beans with heated air as the beans are rotated. You can see the plane in the company’s logo.
