Missouri Life September 2023

rooms or coffee shops within the hotel where O’Connor coffee was served. In the 1960s, O’Connor Coffee bought out smaller coffee businesses like Pontiac Tea and Coffee and Hicks-Jensen Coffee. James retired in 1961 and died in 1968. James O’Connor Jr. was owner and president from the mid 1950s until he sold the company in 1969. He died in 1991. Ronnoco still operates in St. Louis under the manage ment of Detroit-based Huron Capital Partners, which purchased the company in 2012 from the Guyol family. The roastery is on South Boyle Avenue. FIRST LAUNDRY, THEN COFFEE Meanwhile, back at MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse, that patri arch behind Chauvin Coffee was Isaac Rose. Owner of a laundry business, Rose offered brewed coffee to cus tomers along his route but eventually left laundry to start Rose Coffee Company in the 1920s. Stepson Joe Charleville worked at the plant during summers, and after graduating, went into sales and collections for his family’s business. Joe’s sons, Dave and Tom Charleville, also worked in the coffee industry. In 1977, Joe sold Rose Coffee to Ronnoco. But coffee was in his blood, and in 1984, he and wife, Marge, and her son, Jim Brickey, opened Chauvin Coffee. Chauvin supplies beans, syrups, and accessories to coffee shops. Joe died in 2011, preceded in death by son Dave. However, Tom, now in his 70s, is the owner of Clipper Coffee Company. The coffee is roasted at the Chauvin

Isaac Rose

Coffee plant in Kirkwood by Tom’s nephew, Mike. The Charleville family illustrates how deep coffee’s roots run in St. Louis. Like the Mississippi River, coffee continues to flow in St. Louis, making it one of the coun try’s best-kept coffee secrets. Deborah Reinhardt is author of St. Louis Coffee: A Stimulating History (Arcadia Publishing, 2022). She lives in St. Louis where she works on her award-winning food blog, ThreeWomenInTheKitchen.com

Scan this code to read about the men behind Steinwender- Stoffregen Coffee.

SUITABLE ST. LOUIS SIPS FOR NATIONAL COFFEE DAY September 29 is National Coffee Day, an opportune time to visit a locally owned coffee house. St. Louis has dozens of great coffee spots; here are just a few examples for you to consider: • One of the newest coffee stops, Quarrelsome Coffee, experiments with yeast fermentation as part of its production process. Visit this Central West End shop, which opened in April 2023, and try one of the single-origin coffees from the brew bar. 33 N. Sarah Street, Quarrelsome.coffee • Those who appreciate coffee’s intricacies will enjoy a visit to Sump Coffee . A leader in the city’s coffee scene, Sump—which opened in 2011—specializes in lightly roasted single origin coffee that allows for nuanced flavors to come through. Because owner Scott Carey show

Quarrelsome Coffee

[African coffees] don’t get the love they deserve,” says Wilson, who bought Northwest in 2012. Coffees at Northwest are roasted at lower temperatures for longer periods of time, which allows sweeter notes to come from the beans. Look for coffee from Ethiopia, Rwanda, or Tanzania on the bar or take a bag home to enjoy. 4251 Laclede Ave nue, NorthwestCoffee.com

cases the finest of coffees from around the world, there’s a diverse selection from their bar. Advice for newbies: ask for the Roaster’s Choice coffee featured that month; it’s a good gateway into the world of Sump. 3700 S. Jefferson Avenue, SumpCoffee.com • Coffee’s story began in Africa, a fact not lost on Jason Wilson, owner of Northwest Coffee in the Central West End. “To me, they

CHARLEVILLE FAMILY, QUARRELSOME COFFEE

48 / MISSOURILIFE.COM