Brew Tulum opens in the Delmar Maker District

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Photo by Collin Preciado

The budding Delmar Maker District continues to grow. Already home to such attractions as the Third Degree Glass Factory, MADE Makerspace, and Craft Alliance, the area is advancing its mission of artistic entrepreneurial growth with Brew Tulum (5090 Delmar), an artisanal Mexican café.

The Drink Menu

The emphasis at Brew Tulum is artisanal house-roasted coffee, with beans sourced from Mexico. There are multiple caffeinated drink categories available, including spiced coffees, cold brews, coffee coolers (cold brews with splashes of sweet), cold brew mocktails, and “Special Elixers” (with such options as a Mexican version of kombucha).

Photo by Collin Preciado

Brew Tulum's Café de Olla

The store employs a wide variety of flavors, brew methods, and presentation to put a memorable stamp on each drink. For example, the café de olla from its spiced coffee category utilizes a French press brewing method and is infused with pure cacao, cinnamon, cardamom, and piloncillo. The traditional Mexican drink is served in a clay mug, an homage to its origins of being brewed in giant clay pots by the Adelitas on the front lines of the Mexican Revolution.

“What we love to do is bring heritage,” says owner Laura McNamara. “We want to transmit heritage, introduce heritage, and get people to think about it and remind them of it when they’re drinking the coffee or eating the food. We want the experience to be a catalyst for more.”

Coffee by the cup and traditional espresso drinks, made with a high level of attentiveness, are available as well. All drinks, including the single cups, are brewed fresh to order.

The Food

Photo by Collin Preciado

Like the drinks, the food is rooted in authentic Mexican traditions, with a focus on morning fare. Menu items range from such options as savory sopes, chilaquiles, tamales, and quesadillas to cazuela, a Mexican breakfast casserole with two poached eggs stewed in tomato broth alongside spinach and black beans. The dish is served with three handmade tortillas, each with a different variety of heirloom corn. Brew Tulum makes the tortillas from a process known as nixtamalization, which results in a thicker masa creation.

There are also such familiar dishes as hotcakes, eggs, and avocado toast, as well as rolled oats, vegan ceviche, and mixed fruit with yogurt. “We are rooted in Mexican culture,” says McNamara, “but you’ll see some things on our menu that aren’t Mexican-based, but they are boho international-based.”

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Photo by Collin Preciado

Sopes with smashed black beans, lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream, onion, Mexican soft cheese, and red salsa

The Atmosphere

Brew Tulum has combined its cultural roots with a modern interior design. The coffee bar runs the length of a white subway-tiled wall and is loaded with an arsenal of shiny machinery, gadgets, tools, and receptacles. Seating options include wooden tables and chairs, stools at the coffee bar, and lounge chairs by the storefront windows. Handwoven baskets serve as light fixtures and suggest a more tropical climate. Outdoor seating is also available along Delmar.

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Photo by Collin Preciado

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The Background & Hours

Photo by Collin Preciado

Laura McNamara spent eight years traveling the world until she put down roots in Mexico, where she lived for the next decade and met her husband, Alberto Juarez. Together, they dabbled in real estate before going full steam ahead with coffee. Juarez opened the first Brew Tulum location in 2018 in Tulum in Quintana Roo, Mexico. During the pandemic, McNamara and her husband returned to her hometown of St. Charles. The pair began to import some of the same varieties of Mexican coffee beans used at the flagship café for roasting and built a following at farmers' markets in St. Charles, Lake St. Louis, and Richmond Heights. They eventually crossed paths with the owners of MADE Makerspace, who had a nearby building they were looking to fill with a coffee concept. 

"That building that houses Brew Tulum and Craft Alliance is part of the redevelopment efforts that Jim [McKelvey] and I are doing on Delmar," explains Doug Auer, who owns Third Degree Glass Factory along with McKelvey. "We are excited to be bringing new businesses, jobs, and resources to a section of Delmar that has been otherwise quiet for decades. We hope to become the center of something great for this city. The Delmar Maker District is being, well...made."