Are coffee shops opening in St. Louis at a breakneck pace lately, or is it my imagination? —John C., St. Louis
Just as restaurants tend to open in the spring and fall, when the weather’s pleasant, many coffee shops aim to open their doors as the weather turns, when demand rises for a steaming hot beverage.
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
In 2023, Inc. Magazine named Exit 11 Coffee one of the fastest-growing privately owned companies in the Midwest. The chain just opened its sixth drive-up facility and has a location in Brentwood (2944 S. Brentwood). Scooter’s Coffee, the popular drive-thru specialty coffee franchise now approaching 700 units in 29 states, continues its expansion into the metro St. Louis area, where there are currently over 20 locations.
At recently opened The Drip Community Coffee House (3615 Potomac), it took the owner five years to transform the sprawling Tower Grove South space into the eclectic gathering spot it is today. Looking Meadow Café (2500 Sutton), a plant-based coffee and pastry shop in Maplewood, is the six week old, brick and mortar descendant of a “coffee camper.” On Wednesday, a spectacular new coffee shop opened in Webster—read all about 23 West Coffee here.
Looking ahead, Balkan Treat Box owners Loryn and Edo Nalic hope to officially open the long-awaited Telva at the Ridge in the coming weeks (The Ridge Room, the adjoining 80-seat event space, is already open). Located inside Rolling Ridge Nursery (60 N. Gore) in Webster Groves, Telva at The Ridge will offer traditional Balkan-style wood-fire roasted coffee as well as other coffee drinks, along with a selection of pastries, sandwiches, soups, and salads. Balkan coffee is brewed in a small copper pot called a džezva. The name Telva comes from the sediment that remains at the bottom, which Balkan fortune tellers use to tell the drinkers’ future.
Crema Coffeehouse (275 Union, Ste. 100) is slated to debut next month in the former 2Schae Café space in the DeBaliviere neighborhood. With fingers crossed, And just after the first of the year, Southern Grace Coffee will be opening a second location at The Meadows at Lake St. Louis.
Follow George on X, Instagram, his Arch Eats podcast, or send him an “Ask George” email at [email protected]. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe, sign up for the newsletters, or follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
