Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea now open in The Grove

×

Expand

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea is now open in the Chroma building in The Grove. The St. Louis café is the first Missouri location for the rapidly growing Michigan-based business.

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

Owners Jason and Leah Rooney committed to opening a Sweetwaters franchise after a visit to the brand’s flagship cafe in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jason was looking for something new after a successful career as a voiceover artist, including work on the Wendy Williams Show and Saturday Night Live, as well as commercials for Walmart and other brands.

“We met the founders of the company [Sweetwaters], found out what they're all about, tried out all their products, and we were just really sold on it,” Jason says. “The products are just terrific.”

The couple, who moved to St. Louis from Las Vegas five years ago, had been exploring franchising opportunities for some time. Jason says they were drawn to Sweetwaters by two factors: the company’s commitment to community and a preference for authentic, fresh ingredients. 

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

For Jason and Leah, the ingredients were a major detail. “Number one, they taste better. And number two, you don't have that thought of not really being sure what you're putting in your body. I think people are really focused on that,” Jason says.

One drink that he believes will be well-received in St. Louis is the Strawberry Bliss, one of the brand’s signature frozen Ice Dragons beverages. The drink is made with fresh strawberries, yogurt, and sweet condensed milk. There are also caffeinated Ice Dragons including one with espresso, cream, whipped cream, and ice, as well as caramel and mocha variations on that combination.

×

Expand

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

Caramel apple, a seasonal offering: hot chai spiced cider with caramel, topped with whipped cream and a caramel ribbon

Four signature coffees include the Dragon Eye and the French Vietnamese au Lait, both of which follow the Vietnamese tradition of flavoring coffee with condensed milk. The Crème Caramel is a caramel latte topped with whipped cream, while the Cocoa Cappucino speaks for itself. The café also offers all of the usual standbys, such as espressos, lattes and cappuccinos, made from coffee beans roasted by Sweetwaters’ proprietary roaster.

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

Most drinks can be highly customized, with a range of milks offered and flavored syrups that can be added. (Sugar-free options are available.) And if you like cold brew, you can have it three ways: Straight Up (sans add-ons), Dreamy (with vanilla syrup and cream), or Dirty (with added espresso, chocolate sauce, and cream).

×

Expand

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

Tea drinkers also have plenty of options, with more than 20 varieties of black, green, oolong, and herbal loose leaf tea available. “We have all kinds of different things—things you’re not going to find anywhere else,” Jason says. Signature teas include ginger lemon, ginger raspberry, and chai, all available hot or iced. The Thai tea (pictured at right) is another popular option. Other drinks include the Ginger Fizz, a ginger ale made in house, Italian sodas, and a small selection of milkshakes.

×

Expand

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

The menu is lighter on food than drinks, but Sweetwaters offers breakfast and lunch sandwiches, as well as yogurt parfaits, pastries, and cakes. And there’s room for Jason and Leah to forge partnerships with local producers. “We have the opportunity to source locally produced foods that we can add to our menu,” Jason says.

He believes there’s an opportunity to expand across the region, too. “Sweetwaters works well in The Grove neighborhood but also in the Central West End and would work well in a suburban strip mall location with a drive-thru,” he says. "We think it’s a perfect fit.”

Wei and Lisa Bee founded Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea in Ann Arbor in 1993. The Bees met while studying at the University of Michigan. After graduation, they stayed in Ann Arbor and drew on influences from multiple cultures as Sweetwaters evolved. The menu includes elements of American, European, and Vietnamese coffee culture, and the tea selection includes items from Japan, Thailand, and China. The café’s logo features a Chinese “chop,” a stamp that serves as a substitute for a signature on official documents in China, while the calligraphy inside the chop represents the characters for “sweet” and “water.”

There are currently more than 30 Sweetwaters locations across nine states, but that number is growing fast. Jason says there are likely to be close to 100 locations across the nation by the end of 2021. 

Courtesy Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea

The interior at Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea in the Grove

To live out a commitment to the local community, Jason says they hope to host local music events and work with local artists. He also wants to challenge common perceptions of how a franchise business operates.  “They think that somehow you're a corporate entity and you're not a local person, which is certainly not true,” Rooney says. Under the franchise contract, he says, only a small part of the profit is returned to the head office, while the remainder stays in the community.

“We own it 100 percent, we run it, and we're involved in all the decision-making that goes on for our store and the money that's spent there,” he says. “It really is operated by people who live here.”