Cove Cafe – a short jaunt down I-55 South to 6060 Telegraph Road, Suite B – is very busy building community. In the nine short months since it opened, this sunny coffeeshop has quickly become a thriving neighborhood hub. The cafe inhabits the spot formerly occupied by That’s Sip, whose owner Jennifer Lunsford sold to Mirna Zukanovic and Zerina Gredelj in December 2024. In short order, this young pair, who are best friends, had put their own stamp on the space – renaming, refiguring and repainting it, and bringing in the star of the show: a beast, a high-end, Oxford-blue (custom painted) La Marzocco espresso machine purchased as soon as sales allowed. “We did really well, really quickly,” Zukanovic said. “It was all because of the support that people gave us.”
They also changed the beans which are now sourced from the local Kirkwood roaster Teleo. The house espresso is made with their Brazil bean (decaf with a Columbian bean); and brewed coffee is made with Teleo’s “Neighborhood” blend. And there are an astonishing number of possible drinks to be had on this menu. Foam things and drizzled things, lattes dusted with spice, coldbrews boosted by protein powder and collagen and heavy whipping cream. Teas, as well – made of jasmine or red berries, lavender and chamomile. The list goes on and on.
“We want to make sure everyone has what they want,” Zukanovic said. But the top two sellers, and now Cove’s signature drinks, are July’s Joe, a white chocolate caramel latte; and That Girl, which is a latte crafted with brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.
For now, pastries are supplied by Cake House Design Bakery in South County. “We want to support local business,” Zukanovic said. But in a few months, she said Cove will be adding sandwiches and other bites made in-house.
“They have changed the whole vibe of the shop,” said customer Larry Bader. “They have transformed [it] into a very comfortable and inviting space.”
Gredelj had spent some time working at That’s Sip and studied business at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Zukanovic was lukewarm about her biology classes at Maryville University. “I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab forever,” she said. When Lunsford said she was moving on, it sparked a little flame. “We breathed the idea once, and it wasn’t even two months before the shop was ours,” Zukanovic said.
There’s no doubt these two women have the benefit of youth. They live and breathe Cove Cafe. So much so that they are in need of help and are looking to hire more staff as soon as possible. Currently, they have one employee and seasonal help. Their families jump in as well.