Tucked away off the intersection of Clayton and Kehrs Mill roads is a new eclectic coffee shop bringing Greek coffee culture to Ballwin. Pana Coffee & Dessert Bar at 910 Kehrs Mill Road is, in many ways, the culmination of a lifetime spent in and around restaurants.
Owner Panayotis Stavrianos grew up in a Greek family that ran Majestic Restaurant and Bar in the Central West End for more than five decades before closing its doors to the public in 2014. When the family retired, the restaurant while Stavrianos was still in high school, he lost the chance to carry that particular torch – but he never lost his love for the service industry.
As a college graduate, Stavrianos traveled around the world, visiting countries like Puerto Rico and Hawaii, discovering coffee cultures that went far beyond the typical grab-and-go model. However, it was his time spent at his wife’s family café in Argentina when Stavrianos realized he wanted to build his own space centered on high-quality coffee and human connection.
“I want to offer something that you can’t get anywhere else except at Pana Coffee,” Stavrianos said.
That passion for coffee lights up Stavrianos in everything he does. Each customer gets a coffee consultation, each cup brewed to personalized perfection.
Every aspect of coffee is carefully thought out: the beans are sourced from Course Coffee Roasters in St. Charles, espresso is served in miniature basalt cups, and the almond milk is made fresh daily, stored in a ginormous carboy jug. He even obsesses over the ice, running it through a multi-stage purifier so that every drink is poured over clear, perfectly square cubes.
For coffee lovers, brews include custom single-origin Brazilian espresso, Colombian decaf and Costa Rican cold brew, and Ethiopian nitro brew.
The Baklava Latte adds a twist to the contemporary latte, a medium blend coffee with hints of honey and clove. It’s perfect for those looking for something new, but not unfamiliar.
The hazelnut mocha is not only visually pleasing, but it’s a delight to drink. Two shots of espresso are blended with Ghirardelli chocolate syrup before being topped with a choice of milk. (Definitely ask for the house-made almond milk; you will not regret it.)
Inspired by his Greek heritage, try the Freddo Cappuccino: a double shot of espresso shaken with ice and topped with cold milk foam.
All syrups are made in-house. Flavors include aged Madagascar vanilla, toasted hazelnut, lavender, fig, raspberry and baklava.
“The syrup should be the side story of the coffee, not the main show. Too many places use syrup to mask the flavor of low-quality coffee,” Stavrianos said.
For non-coffee drinkers, teas are sourced from Harney and Sons, including raspberry herbal, Japanese sencha, indigo punch, Earl Grey supreme and black currant.
Opt for a matcha latte or a chai latte, offered hot or iced. Or grab a smoothie, which comes in five different flavors: dragon fruit, strawberry banana, blueberry, peach and mango.
Pair your drink with a selection of Greek pastries like chocolate chip biscotti; gluten-free almond, olive oil and sesame cookies; and baklava, all made fresh by Stavrianos’ mother.
The baklava is a beauty to look at: a lovely cross-section of layers of phyllo dough and a layer of walnuts, all soaked in honey, cloves and cinnamon. As the layers melt in your mouth, the clove and cinnamon leave a little zing on your tongue. It’s no wonder that the baklava here is a best seller.
Finding the right home for Pana Coffee took six years of searching, until a routine errand at a clock shop led him to the perfect neighborhood spot.
“If I didn’t go and take the clock that day, I would not have known, and I would not have probably been in this space, you would not be talking to me right now,” Stavrianos said.
Six months later, Pana Coffee and Dessert Bar opened its doors on July 6. Inside the cozy space that seats 12, with outside patio seating, the decor reflects Stavrianos’ Greek and American heritage.
“I wanted white walls, white ceiling, or a nice clean look… a taste of what European coffee shops had, but in St. Louis,” Stavrianos said.
Succulents spill from a living wall, and orchids bloom from vintage metal coffee pots salvaged from his family’s old restaurant, turning heirlooms into everyday sculpture. Every plant in the shop is real, from the tiny mint plants on every table to the fig tree standing proudly in the corner. Even the desserts arrive at your table on a slate plate.
The art on the walls doubles as a travelogue: paintings brought back from Mendoza’s wine country in Argentina, and the streets of Plaka in Athens, chosen with the same care as his ingredients.
But the most unexpected piece of decor is hiding just around the corner. The hallway leading to the restrooms is covered with Greek vinyl records, while the opposite side is stacked with American classics – Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Aerosmith, Elton John – creating a visual dialogue between his heritage and his home.
It’s a space that feels like home, a little slice of European café culture reimagined for a neighborhood coffee shop in Ballwin.
Visit Pana Coffee & Dessert Bar, open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Visit their website, Instagram and Facebook for more updates.