White Box Roastery Co. — Restaurant in McKinney

TL;DR: Good coffee, nice atmosphere, but no posted prices, big price hikes, hidden surcharges, past tax overcharges, and sometimes skimpy pours. Can’t recommend anymore.

I’ve been a loyal customer of this coffee shop for over a year now, but the growing list of pricing and transparency issues has become impossible to ignore.

​​First and foremost: there is no pricing displayed anywhere. This has been the case since at least 2024. Without visible prices, you’re left guessing until the total appears at the register — and even then, you’ll want to pay close attention.

For example, a 16 oz hot latte with whole milk cost: $5.77 on Feb 9, 2025 $6.35 on May 5 $7.15 on July 19

That’s nearly a 24% increase in just five months, with zero explanation or menu transparency. To make matters worse, the last couple of times I visited, my latte wasn’t even filled to the top — not exactly what you’d expect when prices keep climbing.

There was also a months-long issue with sales tax: from 2024 through early 2025, they were charging 11.90% instead of the correct, local 8.25%. After I raised the issue, a sign appeared about a 3% credit card surcharge — but it was applied even to cash payments, which made the notice misleading. That sign was only removed once the tax rate was finally corrected in May.

Another issue is their default use of a “house milk” on drinks, which quietly adds a $0.26 surcharge. Unless you specifically ask for whole or 2% milk — which doesn't incur the fee — you’ll be charged extra. And despite the “house milk” being a standard option, the ingredients of the house milk aren’t disclosed, which is a concern for anyone with dietary restrictions or allergies.

Parking is also hit-or-miss, especially on weekends or when there are events happening at the mill complex.

The drinks are pretty good. I particularly like the regular latte with whole milk (NOT house milk) and they probably do use higher quality beans for their espresso-based drinks. I also really enjoy the strawberry guava pop tart from La Casita Bakery that they resell — it's one of the few pastry options I still look forward to ordering (they used to have premium pastries from Bresnan bakery but they’ve switched to lower quality pastries).

I really wanted to like this place but with the undisclosed charges, misleading signage, shrinking portions, lack of posted prices, significant increase in prices, and lowered quality of pastries, I don’t think I can recommend this place anymore.

Response to Owner's Response TL;DR: The issue isn’t price — it’s that hidden fees and no posted prices leave customers guessing at checkout.

Unfortunately, the owner’s reply sidesteps the main issue: lack of transparent and upfront pricing. I don’t mind paying more for quality coffee, but customers deserve clear prices and honest receipts. At the time of my review, that wasn’t the case:

There were no posted prices on the menu/board; you only learned the cost at checkout.

The receipts I shared show a single line labeled “tax” at 11.90% (not 8.25%), and if you do the math, 3% of the total (including 8.25% tax) is $0.56, not the extra $0.63 that we were charged.

The owner calls it a credit card fee; however, after I raised the issue, I asked the staff to ring it up as “cash,” and the same fee was still applied. That’s not a card fee, it’s a hidden surcharge which was likely a POS system fee that was being passed on to the customer in an opaque way.

At my last visit, hot drinks came in 12 oz and 16 oz. I paid $7.15 pre-tax for a 16 oz hot latte, not 20 oz like the owner suggested. This puts their lattes firmly among the most expensive in the area, unlike what the owner is implying.

As for the "house milk" the issue isn't that it's an option, it's that it's the default option with a secret recipe and an undisclosed surcharge. This is not what most people would expect when simply ordering a "hot latte" and could even cause health issues for some (e.g. extra sugar for people with diabetes, allergies, and/or food...

We have been here multiple times and have enjoyed the family friendliness of the location. However we will not be returning after today’s incident. My wife and a family friend were catching up and letting our children play in the provided play space. The children, ranging from 18 months to 3 years old, were playing and the 18 month old was laughing and having fun. An employee approached one of the parents (our friend, never addressed my wife) and asked if they could be quieter because a laughing child is being overly disruptive. Our friend said she would try to keep his squeals at bay. They were then then unexpectedly asked to leave and ESCORTED out of the building by the building manager (who was not informed to why they were being removed). Now the coffee shop is accusing my family and friends of allowing our kids to jump off furniture, causing major disruptions and interfering with the “safety of children and others” which never happened. They then lied about addressing the group multiple times (a barista approached one parent once and the parent assured them they would try to keep the 18 month old quiet) and are refusing to return any communications or phone calls. If you are going to visit this location with your small children, know they are expected to be seen and not heard and not show any signs of enjoying being at the White Box Roastery, otherwise you will be escorted out of the shop as if you were a “threat to the coffee shop”.

Response to white box response Unfortunately there must be some miscommunication on the point of your staff. We were only approached again one time asking for the 18 month old to be quieter and were never approached again. There were not any other children in the play space besides our children in the play space when the property manager, not your staff, said we had to leave without explanation. When asked why we were being asked to leave he said “I don’t really know they just asked me to remove you group”. Beyond the one interaction with your staff, there was no other explanation or communication. And as for the no intervention from the parents, that was definitely not the case. There could have been a more professional and considerate way to handle the situation and this was not it. Also we have called, left messages and have tried to communicate and understand the situation, but no one has responded beyond...

While I enjoyed the coffee I had and the customer service was fantastic, I can't say Id return unfortunately. I had multiple issues with the shop (to note, I've worked in food service management for over 10 years, this is just what I noticed during my visit.)

• a pet dog (not a service animal) was walking around the cafe, which 100% is a health code violation. Pets (excluding service animals) are NOT permitted in food service areas, only on outdoor patios. The dogs are not permitted to enter the buildings where food is.

•I saw small gnats flying around the food and drinks, even inside the pastry case

• saw what I presume to be the owner/manager correcting employees in the middle of a rush while not offering help/walking away from customers at the register and passing the job off to employees who were clearly trying to do other things

• I didn't see any cleaners being used to wipe down customer tables or the counters behind the bar, just wet rags

• unlabeled pastries with very clear cross contamination with allergen products (if you have allergies/sensitivities, I wouldn't recommend getting food)

•no way for the employees to mark cups so customers know which drink is theirs

• absolutely no list for nutritional values/sugar content/allergens in the food OR drinks

• prices not listed on the menu board?

•hand washing dishes? No dishwasher?

Ect, ect.

It seems like the staff are doing their best to make the most out of the situation, but it does not seem like management was very supportive of them or has the knowledge of food service. I was able to glance into the back room as well as the door was being opened and it's extremely disorganized, I can't imagine the employees are able to find what they need when they need it. Just seems like an amazing idea with poor execution...