NewsApril 15, 2016
Coffee culture: Southeast Missouri baristas spill the secrets of a perfect coffee experience
Any true coffee aficionado knows there's more to a good cup of joe than coffee grounds and water. Sure, that may suffice for the daily grind, so to speak, but the best coffee draws from the atmosphere of the shop, the quality of the products and the interaction with your friendly neighborhood barista...
Robyn Gautschy
Any true coffee aficionado knows there's more to a good cup of joe than coffee grounds and water. Sure, that may suffice for the daily grind, so to speak, but the best coffee draws from the atmosphere of the shop, the quality of the products and the interaction with your friendly neighborhood barista.
"Like most other people, I started drinking coffee in college when I needed to stay up late," says Colby Williams, who owns Parengo Coffee in Sikeston, Missouri, along with his parents, Larry and Theda Williams. "I used as much Hershey's syrup and cups of creamer as I could."
But one can only guzzle so many 30-ounce drive-thru white mochas before the body, and budget, begin to object.
"As I got more into the world of coffee, I gradually developed a love for espresso, single-origin drip coffee, cold brew and everything else," Williams says. "It just takes you down a rabbit hole."
Noticing the revitalization efforts in historic downtown Sikeston, the Williams family decided it was a good time and place to open a mom-and-pop coffee shop, and before they knew it, they'd stumbled into roasting their own beans and found a location on West Malone Avenue, Williams says. That was two and a half years ago, and they've since opened a second location on East Malone and begun a wholesale operation, selling coffee to area restaurants and grocery stores. And it's that kind of teamwork among local businesses that gets Williams pumped about Parengo -- almost as much as the coffee itself.
"It was a conscious decision by us to put our company in a small town and work within the culture of a small town," he explains. "Local companies serve our products, which are made locally. ... I really believe small businesses in small towns are better off working together to push local products, but also to progress the local economy."
Each of Parengo's locations has a different atmosphere to appeal to different types of coffee drinkers. In downtown Sikeston, for example, where guests are likely to spend the day shopping, attending events and lingering over coffee, Parengo features local artwork, natural materials, comfy seating, and lighting in different brightnesses and heights.
"It's homey and comfortable and the music is kind of chill. A lot of people like to come and sit here and spend more time," Williams says.
The midtown shop is in a busy spot with more commuter traffic, so it has a parking lot with a drive-thru option, faster-paced music, lots of natural light and a laptop bar for workers on the go.
"The vibe of the store reflects its function," Williams says -- and that's also his advice to other would-be entrepreneurs on starting a coffee shop. All parts of a coffee shop should complement one another, from the menu to the decor to the location, he says.
At Villainous Grounds in Perryville, Missouri, the vibe is warm and soothing or fun and whimsical, depending on where you are in the building. Owners Mary Jo and David Brammel opened the business about three months ago on the square in Perryville, where they offer a coffee shop on the first floor and a comic book store upstairs.
"We were wanting to start our own business, and we wanted to be able to work together more than anything," David Brammel says. "We were both very much into coffee ourselves in our home, but we learned that something as simple as grinding and water ratios goes into making the perfect cup each time."
Villainous Grounds buys fresh-roasted beans from Maplewood, Missouri, and Brammel says the most popular items on the menu so far are the caramel crème drinks.
As for the upstairs of the 150-year-old building, he says, "My other addiction is comic books, and I've been into it for quite some time."
Before Villianous Grounds, the closest comic book stores to Perryville were in the St. Louis area and Cape Girardeau. While the Brammels weren't sure a comic book store could sustain itself in Perryville, they felt that a shop and cafe combination would "bridge the gap" to a successful business venture, Brammel says.
Brammel has noticed many grandparents coming in with their grandchildren to visit the kids corner of the shop and, surprisingly, he says, "We have found more adults my age and my wife's age really getting excited about the comic book portion of it."
A little farther north in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, Cafe Rust has created a buzz over its coffee and homemade treats. Owner Shannon McBride came to Ste. Genevieve about two and a half years ago to help her mom open a bed-and-breakfast, and she stayed because she fell in love with the town. She gained a business partner in Sam Conlon, who was renovating the building on Main Street where Cafe Rust now resides.
McBride describes the cafe's vibe as "totally awesome," in part because it features the work of six local artists, including Conlon, who makes luminaries out of tin.
But the food and coffee are a big part of the atmosphere at Cafe Rust.
"Every day I make two kinds of quiche. It's all made from scratch on site every morning," McBride says. The same goes for the Belgian waffles, mini loaves of bread, pastries, biscuits and gravy, salads and more.
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"A lot of people come in for our coffee. It's a unique quality and they appreciate the time we invest in it," McBride adds.
With an education and career background in chemistry and kinesiology, part of her interest in coffee is the science of how it's made.
The other part is just in drinking it.
"I am a bit of a coffee snob," she admits. "I enjoy a really good cup of coffee and I'm particular about how it's made."
The cafe's beans come from Blueprint Coffee near University City, Missouri.
"We do pour-over coffee. It's a movement of coffee occurring across the United States where individual small roasters go to countries themselves and pick out the highest quality bean, then roast it to bring out the flavor of the bean and the area in which it's grown," McBride explains. "We have three origins every day and we brew the coffee right in front of you. ... A lot of people are very excited to learn, 'Hey, I like Ethiopian coffee -- I never knew that about myself.'"
A coffee tour of Southeast Missouri would not be complete without a stop in downtown Cape Girardeau, which is home to four popular coffee hangouts: Cup 'n' Cork on Spanish Street, Dynamite Coffee on Independence, Socials Cafe on Main Street and Catapult Creative House on Broadway.
While the menus at Cup 'n' Cork and Socials boast fresh salads, sandwiches, desserts and coffees in a laid-back setting, Dynamite owners Robbie and Katie Britt have zeroed in on roasting their own coffee and serving high-quality espresso beverages and seasonal drinks. What started as a mobile trailer business at West Park Mall and the Cape Riverfront Market evolved into the bricks-and-mortar spot downtown, which opened in 2013.
And Catapult, a Southeast Missouri State University facility, contains an art gallery, retail store, classroom, printing stations and studios, along with a coffee bar run by hospitality management students and sourced from St. Louis-based Kaldi's Coffee.
Patrick and Tina Abbott previously owned a restaurant in Sikeston and purchased Cup 'n' Cork in 2012.
"If you talk to my wife, she bought a coffee and wine shop that sells food. I bought a restaurant that has coffee and wine," Abbott laughs.
Either way, the Abbotts share the sentiment of other coffee shop owners in Southeast Missouri: "Local, local, local," Patrick Abbott says.
For starters, the shop's house blend coffee and its espresso blend are exclusive to Cup 'n' Cork, roasted and blended by none other than Parengo Coffee of Sikeston.
"We try to source as much of what we can locally," Abbott says. "The farmers market is right next door, so we get all our tomatoes and vegetables from there -- that's my favorite part of the year."
The shop also features the work of local artists, sells homemade, locally-made desserts, hosts book clubs, movie nights, musicians and speakers, and is a popular meeting spot for small groups.
"My mother was a big theater and arts supporter, so I try to carry that on," Abbott says.
The Abbotts also work to make their guests feel at home.
"People come here to feel comfortable and welcomed and to fill up. We make everything we can from scratch in terms of food, and we try be as genuine and open as we can," Abbott says.
For many owners of small coffee shops, the feeling goes both ways as they get to know the regulars who, in time, become friends.
"We both love coffee and customer service," Brammel says, speaking for himself and his wife, Mary Jo, at Villainous Grounds. "We share a little bit in people's lives. We like to learn more about them and see the smile on their face whenever they come in and get their fix."
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