Ivy café opening in Clayton in late June

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Courtesy Ivy Cafe

Crab & Kale Microgreen Tartine with mayo, celery, tarragon, green onions, dijon mustard, black pepper, and microgreens, served on toasted sourdough on a plate made by co-owner Julie Keane

The sign in the window has been up for months, but Ivy Coffee, Tartines & Things has been in the works for years. In fall 2019, Julie Keane and Ashley Morrision intended to open a café at 14 N. Central in Clayton, until a new development altered their plans. Three years later, Ivy is slated to open exactly a block west of the original location, at 14 N. Meramec, in the former Miso on Meramec space. Here's what to know before you go.

The Concept

Courtesy Ivy Cafe

Tartine with whipped feta, spiced homemade tomato jam, parsley, and uncured bacon

As the café's name implies, the focus will be on coffee, tartines (open face toasts), and other healthy fare. The owners plan to serve breakfast and lunch seven days a week, then open the space at night for pop-ups and tasting dinners, which will provide upcoming chefs with a venue to test the waters. Keane and Morrison also plan to eventually introduce evening service, when charcuterie, light entrées, and wine will be offered. (The latter is Morrison’s strong suit, as she co-founded Bella Vino Wine Bar & Tapas in St. Charles.)

Off-site catering will be a key part of the Ivy business model as well. “Being able to offer a tartine bar at a party, where guests can customize their toppings, is something new and different that we plan to capitalize on,” Keane says.

Delivery is not part of the current model, “at least not until we figure out how to make a tartine travel well, which will take some doing,” Keane says.

The owners also plan to offer house accounts, an old-school throwback. “I've always liked the idea of being able to just sign and go, without having to produce a card,” Keane says. In the same vein, QR codes will be used but judiciously. “I can see having one for passersby to see what’s available,” Keane says, “but we want to offer a certain level of hospitality that using only QR code menus can't provide.

"We want people to come for the experience—to smell the bread and coffee, to unwind, to touch the menu and feel what’s going on. We'd rather people interact with their tablemate, not their phone.”

The Menu

Courtesy Ivy Cafe

One of Julie Keane's sourdough loaves

The menu will revolve around house-made sourdough breads (including a gluten-free option that won't be made in house), as well as 10 seasonal tartines, sourdough banana bread, blueberry sourdough muffins, and a "proper" scone. (Jon Hamm’s analysis of scones—and dead-on impression of Larry David—on Curb Your Enthusiasm is worth watching.) The biscuits, scones, and pastries will be made from “sourdough discards” (unfed sourdough bread starter), which limits the waste of raw product.

A handful of healthy salads and soups (three to four each day) will round out the menu, along with several interesting sides, among them watermelon “fries” with yogurt dip, fried spinach, sweet potato fries, and kale chips.

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Courtesy Ivy Cafe

Kalamata Olive hummus, goat cheese, wild mushrooms, pine nuts, dill, parsley, EVOO

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Courtesy Ivy Cafe

Beet, goat cheese, pine nuts, microgreens

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Courtesy Ivy Cafe

Gazpacho with basil leaves and cracked pepper

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Courtesy Ivy Cafe

Oyster mushroom quiche from Ivy cafe

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Courtesy Ivy Cafe

At Ivy, lattes are served in mugs made by local ceramicists.

On the beverage side, Coma and LC Coffee Roasters (formerly La Cosecha) will supply the beans. The add-in syrups (for items such as the Lavender Honey Latte and Hibiscus Latte) will be made in house. Hot tea will be served in a French press.

Cold drink options will include specialty kombuchas from Confluence Kombucha and sparkling sodas utilizing shrubs (a sweetened, fermented, vinegar-based syrup) made by Forest & Meadow, where options include Strawberry Basil, Lemon Rosemary, Cucumber Mint, and Medicinal Root Beer. Having a full liquor license opens the door to both standard cocktails (French 75, Espresso Martini, Pomegranate Margarita, Ivy Old Fashioned) and specialty cocktails, such as kombucha mimosas.

A grab-and-go case will offer quiche, salads, soups, tinctures, and fresh juice blends from local suppliers. “We’ll do anything we can to help build up the local healthy eating community,” Keane says.

The Décor

Courtesy Ivy Cafe

The fresh fare will be presented in a cheerful, plant- and light-filled, 40-seat space with large, sliding windows that open onto a sidewalk patio. If the open air vibe doesn't lure passersby, then the smell of sourdough baking in the oven might. Morrison says greenery will also be everywhere: in stand-up planters, planter boxes, a live wall with planted strawberry baskets... "The name needed to reflect all that,” she says. 

Other thoughtful touches include marble bistro tables with self-leveling legs. A long hallway will be decorated with paintings from a local watercolor artist. Another wall will have shelves stocked with retail items—local edible products, jams, spices, sauces—along with plates, bowls, and mugs made by local ceramicists, including Keane, who's begun adding messages to the bottom of her pieces. The stream-of-consciousness musings range from "song lyrics to cheesy sayings," she says. "When people realize they’re eating off a handmade plate, they often turn them over to make sure. I just added a fun little surprise when they do.”

The Team

Courtesy Ivy Cafe

Ivy cafe owners Julie Keane and Ashley Morrison

Keane and Morrison met in high school, where they became best friends. Keane’s job in the health care industry took her to San Francisco, where she fell in love with sourdough bread and “the way that West Coast cafés support local farmers and artisans.”

Morrison, an accountant by trade, dabbled in the restaurant industry before co-founding Bella Vino Wine Bar & Tapas (325 S. Main) in St. Charles eight years ago. She’s also comptroller for Greenlight Dispensary, and will manage the store along with Keane.

Courtesy Ivy Cafe

Ivy became the vehicle that checked off “mutual passions,” Keane says. The idea arose from increasing demand for healthy dining options in the Clayton area. “We were both raised in families with parents that didn’t emphasize healthy eating," Keane says. "In those days, not many families did.”

Using sourdough bread and tartines as the springboard—and local farmers, coffee roasters, ceramicists as the catalysts—the café will put an emphasis on high-quality products. “Ashley and I are very particular humans,” Keane quips. “If we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it the right way.”