All across the East Metro, from downtown St. Paul to the North End to Inver Grove Heights, coffee shops are breathing new life into neighborhood streetcorners.
So far this summer, we’ve visited four recently opened spots to kick-start your day — or get a quick mid-afternoon refresh, maybe — with a little buzz.
Salty and Cheesy at Phe Coffee
The Salty and Cheesy is served June 11, 2025, at Phe Coffee in Lowertown. A signature beverage at the new Vietnamese cafe, the drink consists of Vietnamese iced coffee topped with a whipped foam made of cream cheese. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
This Vietnamese coffee shop opened in early summer in the sunny Lowertown spot previously home to True Stone Coffee and, before that, the much-missed local pastry shop Salty Tart. Now, the decor is darker and classier, and there’s a nice mix of tables and comfy chairs to relax.
Phe Coffee’s signature drinks — all served iced — are visually stunning and full of creative flavor, from the matcha latte with banana foam to the mesmerizing ube- and espresso-based Purple Lava. The cafe offers hot drinks and light food, too. Arguably one of the more unique concoctions is the Salty and Cheesy, a Vietnamese iced coffee topped with a whipped foam made of cream cheese.
On its own, the foam tastes almost as if someone had accidentally grabbed salt instead of sugar when making cream-cheese frosting, but give it a chance: When you sip the whole drink together, the cheese foam gives the sweet coffee a savory, dynamic, earthy character that’s unique and refreshing.
Open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
Phe Coffee: 289 E. 5th St.; 651-788-9573; website is www.phecoffee.house
Garden cookie latte at Karol Coffee
A pair of lattes and a chocolate croissant are served July 16, 2025, at Karol Coffee in Como Park. The cafe is named after the late Pope John Paul II’s birth name. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
First a garage roastery and then a travelling coffee-shop camper, Karol Coffee — after the late Pope John Paul II’s birth name, Karol Wojtyła — has opened its brick-and-mortar coffee shop on a Hamline Avenue corner sandwiched between Como Regional Park and the State Fairgrounds.
The shop, with a wood-paneled coffee bar and rustic touches, manages to feel serene even on a bustling weekday morning. Coffee drinks use the shop’s house-roasted beans. The garden cookie latte, a summer special that contains brown sugar, rosemary and chocolate, is not overly sweet and pairs great with a sturdy chocolate croissant delivered from Colossal Cafe.
Although the shop is named after and inspired by the late Catholic leader, it’s not run by a church nor did it feel particularly religious to this non-Christian customer (other than the portrait prints of John Paul II, painted by co-owner Megan Whipple, that are for sale). And the building, most recently a preschool, is more expansive than meets the eye — so if you don’t see any open tables in the main dining room, you’ll find more seating tucked in nooks and hallways and around corners.
Open 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays; closed Sundays.
Karol Coffee: 1503 N. Hamline Ave.; karolcoffeeco.com
Better diner fare at The Perfect Coffee
A latte is served July 28, 2025, at The Perfect Coffee on the North End in St. Paul. The restaurant, which serves a mix of classic American diner fare and Mexican-inspired dishes, opened this summer. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Up on the North End, The Perfect Coffee opened earlier this summer in a space that’s sat empty for more than a half-decade. Neighborhood diner The Coffee Cup moved out following a 2019 fire, and Juan Lopez and his family have been working for years to finance a new restaurant here.
As The Perfect Coffee, the space looks different but retains a classic diner vibe — though, as its name suggests, the coffee and espresso drinks on the menu are much better than a dive-y cup of joe. The food menu also boasts reasonable prices and quite generous portions, with dinner-plate-sized pancakes and Mexican-inspired dishes like huevos en salsa (scrambled eggs in salsa, served with a breakfast-potato hash) standing out as highlights.
Open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.
The Perfect Coffee: 1446 Rice St.; 651-348-2971; theperfectcoffeemn.com
Coffee and a book at Cuppa More Pages
Espresso drinks and books are both available at Cuppa More Pages on July 28, 2025, in Inver Grove Heights. The coffee shop, which opened in April, is not a bookstore but a book exchange, with plenty of books available to swap or borrow on the honor system. (Jared Kaufman / Pioneer Press)
Suburban stripmalls are usually the domain of chain coffee shops, but not by Cub Foods in Inver Grove Heights: Cuppa More Pages, a coffee shop and book exchange that opened in April, is keeping things local. The coffee beans themselves are roasted by Ember Coffee Co. in Big Lake, and Minnesota authors swing by a couple times a month for readings and events.
It’s less a bookstore and more a huge “little free library,” with more than a hundred books for all ages to swap or borrow on the honor system. The specialty coffee drinks are also book-inspired, but the shop has an unusually sizable array of flavor syrups to customize your lattes, too.
Summer opening hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; closed Sundays.
Cuppa More Pages: 7826 Cahill Ave., Inver Grove Heights; cuppamorepages.com
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