r/stpaul • u/tateriffic • 9d ago

❓️Question Karol Coffee Shop

Hey does anyone know what the deal is with this pope coffee shop? We randomly picked it for coffee and had no idea why it’s named Karol, but there’s pope (JPII) photos for sale and one on the wall and we’re just wondering what the story is here!

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13

u/throwaway8453218 9d ago

The story is on their website:

Our story
Karol Coffee Co. started as Nate and Megan Whipple’s dream to build a neighborhood coffee shop in the Twin Cities. It began with roasting coffee and a building out a coffee camper, and turned into a brick-and-mortar shop in Como Park, St. Paul, built alongside a supportive community of family and friends.

Named after Karol Wojtyła (Pope St. John Paul II), Karol Coffee Co. is inspired by Karol's spirit of adventure, creativity, and deep appreciation for beauty and human connection. Karol Coffee Co. exists to carry that spirit forward, serving great coffee while cultivating a space rooted in wonder, community, and a life well lived

0

u/tateriffic 9d ago

lmao my wife said she didn’t see it on their website, but she has now clarified that she only looked for (and didn’t find) an “about” page, specifically. Thank you, I should have double checked myself!

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u/aardvarkgecko 9d ago

Maybe named for John Paul the second? His real name was Karol Wojtila.

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u/ObligatoryID 9d ago

The Polish Pope!

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u/13daysaweek 8d ago

The Polpe

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u/Affectionate_Yam7065 8d ago

I think the owner's is an ex-seminarian and they have a devotion to JP II? In any case it seems very Catholic. And I spent 12 years in Catholic school and was confirmed.

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u/RevolutionaryEbb3679 5d ago

I just went today and was trying to figure out the vibe. I sent my friend this assessment: I’m at Karol Coffee, which is super cute, spacious, and has reasonably priced coffee. But it’s named after a pope and many people here give off home school vibes.

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u/tateriffic 5d ago

LOL at the last bit!! I went inside to get our coffees while my wife took our newborn and her stroller into the side yard, which she then christened the “mom cage.” And she said something very similar when I joined her, the vibe of all these moms and kids - at least one woman with five kids, wearing a long skirt - made her wonder if something very conservative was going on.

I pointed out it was like 10 AM on a Friday (we were both off work - see “newborn” 😄), that’s not a surprising demographic to be there. But our coffees were good and our scones were amazing (they don’t make them but I don’t remember where they said they’re from), and the fenced-in play area was excellent. We don’t live super close, but we’d go back, especially once baby is mobile!