Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_1

On paper, it may seem that proprietors Jeremy and Casey Miller run a single business, The Mud House, in St Louis, Missouri. Mr. Miller dismisses that feeling.

“We run three businesses out of this place,” he says. “We do a small bakery. We do a coffee house and a cafe. I guess the umbrella term would be a cafe, but you can count on usย that all those things are going to be at the top of their game”

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_13

The Millers, former part-time antique dealers, took over the space formerly known as The Mississippi Mud House in 2008. The original owners wanted out of the restaurant industry, and sold their renovated cafรฉ and coffee connection, Mississippi Mud Roasters, to the Millers.

According to Jeremy, they learned about the shop through Caseyโ€™s mother, an antiques dealer, and loved the area due to the architecture and vibe of the street.

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_14

Their cafe sits along Cherokee, a formerly sleepy street in the city filled with antique shops. In its heyday, the Lemp Brewery anchored one end of the street in the mid 1800โ€™s and still stands today mere blocks from the Mud House. During recent years, the street has slowly been evolving and boasts numerous restaurants and establishments.

advert but first coffee cookbook now available

 

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_10

Many artists also make Cherokee Street their home, as well as their canvas. The artistic flair is evident in many businesses, including the Mud House. A large canvas of nurses stares over the pastry case, coffee bar and main dining area. The side room has a menagerie of fun pieces, as well as a bookcase with books for sale next to an old orange couch. Sunlight from large windows is broadcast over taxidermy heads, wood grains and exposed bricks.

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_5

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_7

Mud House’sย gradual shift towards premium coffee selections originated duringย several trips to San Francisco in 2009. The Millers experienced theย Ritual, Sightglass, Four Barrel, and Blue Bottleย locations during their visits. They enjoyed the pour-over coffee so much they bought โ€œall the Hario stuff,โ€ but waited to unveil the gearย at their cafรฉ until there were more like-minded shops in the marketplace. Miller credits shops such as Sump Coffee, Blueprint Coffee, Kaldiโ€™s Coffee, and Comet Coffee for pushing coffee forward in St. Louis.

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_6

The last 2.5 years have been focused on slowly improving the coffee program, including a new espresso machine and renovated brew bar, with coffee director and front of house manager Aaron Stovall steering the ship for the last year and a half.

The Mud House features Kansas Cityโ€™s Broadway Roasting Company for house drips. The rotating guest roaster list can be brewed in a variety of methods and include fellow St. Louisans Blueprint Coffee, Counter Culture (Durham, NC) MadCap Coffee (Grand Rapids, MI), and to come full circle, San Franciscoโ€™s Sightglass Coffee.

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_19

โ€œItโ€™s really neat to see what all of these people are doing around the country..to see how each different roaster’s handling the evolution,โ€ says Stovall. โ€œBecause a lot of times, Iโ€™ll get the same lots, the same origins from different roasters, but theyโ€™re roasted just a little differently. The changes are so subtle, and itโ€™s just helped further our education more than anything and allows people to try stuff from across the country that they wouldnโ€™t normally get to.โ€

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_27

To go along with their coffee selection, the Mud Houseโ€™s food and pastries are all home made in accordance with the cafรฉโ€™s original vision. The Millers spent a lot of time building out the kitchen, focusing on relationships with local farmers for their product. Breakfast and lunch menus are served all day long and include a breakfast burrito and a pork confit sandwich. Vegetarian dishes are prominent on both menus, such as the Breslin: curried lentils, two poached eggs, tomatoes, greek yogurt and toast.

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_26

Both Miller and Stovall are excited to keep the Mud House up to date with the growing coffee culture in St. Louis.

โ€œA lot of that’s due to the customer base that we have that’s loyal and trusts us to do good things,โ€ Miller says. โ€œWe’re not going to put out a product that’s mediocre. We’re going to try it and test it before we put it out. They come back. It’s great.โ€

Sprudge_MudHouse_EJ_2

The Mud House, 2101 Cherokee St. St Louis, MO 63118, open 7:00AMโ€“5:30PM Monโ€“Fri and 8:00AMโ€“5:30PM weekends.

This is Evan C. Jones’ first feature for Sprudge.

New Rules of Coffee banner advertising an illustrated guide to the essential rules for enjoying coffee