Lafayette Square has a new urban garden, market, and café.
Picky Café (1410 S. 18th) debuts Monday, August 31. The café features a seasonal menu of breakfast, lunch, baked goods, coffee, and smoothies, alongside a retail area with curated goods, fresh local produce, flowers, and grab-and-go fare.
Here’s what to know before you go.
The Concept
Regarding the name, owner Erin Budde says, “I think everybody is picky about something. I really wanted to open a place that was small enough that I could landscape beautifully, garden, and raise vegetables. I wanted to have a really small menu and feed people what I would like to eat myself.”
She created the concept in collaboration with her sister, Bethany Budde Cohen, who has owned and operated nearby eatery SqWires (1415 S. 18th) for the past 25 years.
“I could not think of opening anything that had to do with hospitality without her expertise and help,” Erin says.
With the café having a footprint of approximately 1,100 square feet, the duo came up with a mutually beneficial partnership plan: SqWires serves as the commissary kitchen for Picky Café, while the café vends the restaurant’s prepared foods in its on-site market. The synergistic relationship builds upon SqWires community-minded goals to provide nourishment and comfortable gathering places for the neighborhood.
The Menu
In addition to breakfast options (for instance, an egg sandwich with bacon, brie, and spinach, as well as overnight oats with cinnamon, orange, and vanilla), the cafe’s food offerings will change daily depending on Erin’s whims. Many items—including quiche, soup, sandwich, salad, biscotti, and coffee cake—come served on an “of the day” basis. Selections could include items such as leek and scallion quiche, a mixed berry compote coffee cake, and banana-nut muffins.
“I love to bake, garden, eat good food, and cook, so a lot of it is inspired by the season and really leaning into fresh vegetables and fresh herbs,” she says.
The market will sell fresh bread baked daily, including house signature white, wheat, and blackstrap rye made with coffee and fennel seeds. An example of a summer lunch sandwich utilizes the latter topped with whipped herb cream cheese, homegrown cucumbers, sea salt and Bee Simple flower mix.
The smoothie menu will also change seasonally. Current options include the My, It’s Hot! with watermelon, mint, and almond milk.
Lead barista Justin Livon developed the coffee program in collaboration with Coffeestamp. The list includes espressos, cortados, cappuccinos, lattes with house-made syrup, americanos, drip coffee, café au lait, and pour overs (whole, skim, almond, and oat milks are available).
The range of grab-and-go items by SqWires includes sandwiches, entrées, desserts, salads, and dips. “For the sandwiches, we get very creative throughout the week,” Bethany says. “We could have a turkey, bacon, and brie sandwich with sun-dried tomato pesto or smoked salmon on a bagel with homegrown tomatoes. Sometimes, we have meatloaf sandwiches or brisket with bacon jam, as well as lots of vegetarian options with fresh roasted veggies.”
SqWires entrées that are ready to warm up include salmon with sides, chicken with creamy orzo, and a baked potato stuffed with herb-rubbed pork tenderloin. Dessert options include carrot cake and flourless chocolate cake.
The market features “very intentionally locally sourced goods in terms of sauces, cheeses, salamis, drinks, and pastas—all of that great stuff,” Erin says. “We have fresh flowers daily in the market. You can either pick up a bouquet or make your own.”
The shop will also offer her husband Rich’s signature cheesecake, a New York-style dessert made from an old friend’s family recipe. “It doesn’t pull any punches,” she says.
The Atmosphere
The Picky Café building dates back to the 1890s as a blacksmith shop, with wide front and rear doors that allowed for horses and carriages to pass through. The space’s past lives include eras as an artist’s studio, antique store, and, most recently, a business consultant office.
The 15-seat café’s color palette is gray-green with dark green accents. Decorative interior highlights include restored antique window trim, a 1900s baker’s rack repurposed as an ordering station and bread stand, 1940s glassware and pottery, and vintage mirrors. The lounge area displays framed photographs by Linda Rivard (the sister of Little Fox’s Craig Rivard).
“What we tried to go for was mid-century modern and a little bit Victorian. I think it makes for a welcoming space,” Erin says.
The 2,000-square-foot flagstone patio hosts lush floral landscaping, a fountain filled with lily pads, and a gardening area with plants for sale and raised beds “to grow a lot of what we use on our menus and make available for folks who come into our market,” Erin says. She and her husband restored six wrought-iron tables to outfit the cozy oasis with around 30 seats.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to fill a niche in the neighborhood in terms of just having a really wonderful outdoor environment and a loungey place and coffee bar inside,” she says.
The Backstory
Throughout high school and college, Erin Budde waited tables, managed, and bartended at establishments in St. Louis and Tampa, Florida, where she attended grad school. After 30 years in the nonprofit sector (most recently in Alexandria, Virginia), “it was time to chase a dream that had been percolating for 15 years. That dream is Picky,” she says.
“We have a canoe trip that we take every single summer with our besties and have been hearing about Erin’s ideas during floats, during campfires, and during lots and of lots of wine for many years,” Bethany says. “It’s been a long time coming.”
The sisters come from a long line of food lovers who gather annually over the holidays by the dozens to perfect their favorite recipes, many of which they hope to feature throughout the changing seasons at the market and café.
“I am excited about every facet of Picky. The menu has come together beautifully, the space is gorgeous, and the patio is phenomenal,” Erin says. “I really hope that people come in, whether it is to visit the market, grab something good for lunch, or come use our space to work remotely or hang out. It all just really came to life in the way I imagined it would be.”
Picky Cafe
📍 1410 S. 18th, Lafayette Square
⏰ 6 a.m.–6 p.m. Mon–Sun
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