The newest coffee bar in the neighborhood, Crema Coffeehouse, was opened on December 22 by proprietor Michelle Harris. The corner location, at 275 Union at Pershing in the Congress, was formerly 2Shae Cafe.
One might assume that opening a coffee bar would be enough to manage, especially if, like Harris, above, you are also the mother of a 2-year-old daughter named Josie, and a practicing pharmacist to boot.
Harris’s husband, A. J., an actuary, shares in parenting responsibilities but is involved in his wife’s business venture solely as chief cheerleader and taste tester.
Harris’s job in pharmacology involves working on clinical vaccine trials at Saint Louis University’s Center for Vaccine Development. She says she is able to manage the coffeehouse and maintain her job as a pharmacist since there are sometimes slower periods when trials are in the planning stages. But when vaccine trials are in full operation—there is currently a Covid vaccine trial underway—she, of course, spends more time at the university.
Harris’s interest in the coffee business blossomed when she was at Drake University in Des Moines, from 2008-2014, earning her doctorate in pharmacology. While in school, she worked at the coffee bar and occasionally waiting tables at the PerKup Cafe.
After graduation, in 2014, she and her husband moved to St. Louis to start new jobs and settled in University City. She began developing a business plan for a coffee bar four years ago, just as the pandemic hit. Her mentor and inspiration, Delores Clouse, the founder of PerKup Cafe, continues to offer advice.
Harris’s hours in the shop vary, depending on what is going on with her pharmacy job. She said she has a great team at Crema Coffeehouse who are trained in all aspects of the business. “We are figuring it out as we go,” she explained.
The pastries are baked in-house—except for croissants. The pastry selection the day I visited included cinnamon chip and raspberry white chocolate scones, blueberry and coffee cake muffins, and banana bread mini-loaves, $3.50 each. (The pastry display looks a little empty in the photograph since my visit was at mid-day.)
View full beverage and food menu here.
One of the lunchtime offerings is a chicken salad sandwich on croissant, above, $12.75.
The shop’s website includes a list of company partners that check all the boxes when it comes to the business’s environmental impact and sourcing. Click here for that information.
Top shelf: Crema Coffeehouse serves Fair Trade Organic Coffee from Africa, Central and South America sourced through Bongo Java in Nashville. The light roast espresso is shipped overnight as needed. Bottom shelf: Harris donates shelf space to Fairol Ahmed, who started his own coffee business, Moii Coffee, in 2023 while in business school at Saint Louis University.
When asked how business has been since Crema Coffeehouse opened at the end of December, Harris said, “It’s been steady.” Steady is good. Harris explained that she’s begun doing more social media postings to garner more publicity. That seems to be working well. When I drove by last Saturday mid-morning the shop was bustling.
If you’re out for a walk in the neighborhood or heading to Forest Park stop in for coffee, tea, and pastries, or pick up lunch to go. It’s a welcoming, light-filled space, and wonderful to see activity once again on that busy corner of the CWE.
Crema Coffeehouse, 275 Union, Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Very exciting and inviting passing by. A block from my house! I love this neighborhood