Jason Wilson is opening a coffee shop at 1235 Blumeyer St., just north of Grand Center. As reported by Doug Moore of the Post-Dispatch, Wilson doesn’t want his cafe, Chronicle Coffee, to be just any old coffee shop. Instead, he hopes to create “a different narrative about coffee” by featuring fair-trade beans from African countries as well as African diaspora coffee-producing countries like Brazil. Chronicle Coffee will be open for breakfast and lunch, but the menu has yet to be determined. Wilson plans to serve goods from local bakers and has already approached Reine and Cbabi Bayoc, co-owners of SweetArt, about supplying their products to his customers.
Wilson explained that he chose the cafe’s location in the area known as Renaissance Place at Grand because he felt that the predominately African American community in the neighborhood lacked “an engagement space.” He hopes that the 30-seat space (located in the same building as the St. Louis Housing Authority), with comfy sofas and other soft seating, will attract patrons to come in and relax over a good cup of coffee.
In honor of Wilson’s deceased mother, the target opening date for Chronicle Coffee is on her birthday, Sept 1. Wilson thought the gesture would make his mother proud since, as a former principal in the St. Louis Public School system, she advocated for education and community.
This article appears in July 2012.