West Village Neighborhood Cafe in St. George, Utah, recently had their grand opening on May 2nd. But for owner Elise West, the grand opening marks a significant return to the coffee business. 

Elise’s coffee venture originally began in 2016 with the opening of a food truck, Affogato West. As business continued to grow, the decision was made to move to a permanent brick-and-mortar location. It wasn’t long before Affogato West became a beloved staple within the St. George community. Unfortunately, Affogato West was among the many small businesses that faced hardships during the 2020 COVID19 pandemic. Due to these hardships, Affogato West officially closed its doors on November 7th, 2020. 

Closed but not forgotten, the idea of reopening a coffee shop had remained in the back of Elise’s mind for years—people would regularly express to Elise how much they missed the community coffee shop. 

When the owner of Gaias Cafe told her that she was considering closing, Elise’s idea of reopening a coffee shop started to materialize; however, financial limitations continued to stand in the way. 

A friend suggested that Elise try crowdfunding through platforms like GoFundMe or Kickstarter, and in a matter of minutes, Elise received her first donation. With the help of community donations, Elise raised about $25,000 within one month of starting the fundraiser. Elise also looked to Mountain West’s Community and Economic Development initiatives for assistance with the additional funding needed to open West Village Cafe. 

West expressed immense gratitude for the community and the opportunity to open another coffee shop centered on her passion for coffee, cooking, and connection. While the cafe reflects her ideas and creativity, she said its purpose is rooted in the people it serves. The community support has extended beyond financial contributions. Volunteers helped install sunshades and lighting, paint the space, and take part in a cleanup effort that brought about 20 people to help prepare the property. Their tagline is ‘built by the community, for the community’, and it is. 

West Village Neighborhood Cafe partners with Quichapa Coffee Roasters to deliver hand-crafted quality coffee. They also offer a wide variety of pastries sourced from local bakers. You can visit West Village Cafe at 695 100 W St in St. George. For details and updates, visit their website at https://westvillagestg.com/ or follow @westvillagestg on Instagram.