If Pope St. John Paul II could visit Karol Coffee Co., a new venue bearing his Polish baptismal name in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Holy Father who loved young people, the arts and evangelization would likely bless the efforts of owners Nate and Megan Whipple to foster local community and connections through their hospitality and art.

The Pope died in 2005 and was canonized in 2014, but if he could visit the shop, he might order a cappuccino, since he canonized the 17th-century friar credited with inventing the milk and coffee drink in 2003, according to a Register article. On the other hand, he might choose a Coca-Cola, which he reportedly drank often at session breaks of the Second Vatican Council.

The Church’s first Polish Pope has long inspired the couple, who are preparing for the March 29 opening of their shop, which will feature a portrait of him as a young priest painted by Megan, 33.

“There are a lot of times, design-wise or creating social media, when [we’ve thought] ‘What would John Paul II do?’” said Nate, 38. “What would his sort of aesthetic be? For sure, there have been moments of clear Providence, where we’re at a certain point in the project and don’t know where to go, and pray for his intercession.”

Karol Coffee (“Karol” is Polish for Charles) grew out of a dream that the Whipples and their pastor, Father Spencer Howe, shared several years ago to open a coffee shop on the campus of their Minneapolis parish, Holy Cross, as a way to evangelize neighbors, parishioners and other coffee lovers through food and drink and invite them to encounter one another — and maybe God — in a non-religious space.

The multi-campus parish, formed with the merger of four parishes in 2013, tried operating a parish coffee shop in a building that once housed another coffee shop but later decided to direct resources elsewhere.

“We had been dreaming about having a coffee shop on campus as a place to welcome people in, people who might not otherwise step foot in church,” said Nate, who at the time was a parish employee. “Not to cram the Gospel down their throat or anything, but just as a place to meet and encounter people in the neighborhood and to create a kind of ‘third space’ [community space] for people to gather and maybe eventually, get into some conversations about God and how he works in our lives.”

Path to Brewing Beans

The Whipples have been working to make the dream a reality since they started roasting and selling coffee beans in their Minneapolis garage more than three years ago, then sold their coffee at farmers’ markets and catering events out of a vintage camper, and now as they’re preparing to open their new 1,800-square-foot shop in St. Paul about 7 miles east of their parish.

They are also expecting their first child in August and continue to benefit from the help of family, friends and mentors who’ve shared entrepreneurial and business expertise, along with financial backing.

Introduced by a friend, the Whipples married five years ago. Both are coffee lovers and have served with Catholic college ministries. Originally from Connecticut, Nate served as a missionary for FOCUS [AS2] before studying for a time for the priesthood at the St. Paul Seminary. Megan, who is from Minnesota, worked for St. Paul’s Outreach (SPO) campus ministry before training as a classical realist oil painting. Her website shows her work in portraits, still life and landscape.

When Megan received a commission to paint a series of large paintings for a local retreat center, the couple decided to convert their Minneapolis garage into an art studio. Still hoping to open a coffee shop as he did the remodeling himself, Nate found he had room in the garage to start roasting coffee. Doing his own roasting, he learned, would give the couple a revenue stream and increase profit margins by eliminating dependence on suppliers.

“I love learning things on the fly,” he said. “I had never roasted coffee in my life, but I bought a roaster and said, ‘Well, I'll figure it out.’”

Nate began selling a variety of roasted beans online, including by monthly subscription. As the couple continued to get coffee subscriptions, they outgrew their small roaster and now rent a larger roaster shared by other specialty roasters at a co-roasting facility; Nate said that they intend to buy another roaster if they can get city approval to roast out of their new shop location.

Another step toward their dream of a coffee shop was converting a 1963 vintage “canned ham-style” camper into a mobile coffee shop that they take around the St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese.

Holy Cross parishioners have helped with roasting and as baristas, Father Spencer said. “Even though the shop is not in our neighborhood, it really has connected with a lot of our people,” the priest told the Register.

Last August, the Whipples bought their new shop, which has an upstairs apartment where they live. While designing and building the shop, they’ve continued to sell coffee from the camper outside the new location and also from their back office space.

While Nate has done much of the redesign and rebuilding of the space himself, Megan is handling administrative work, including creating a menu of pastries, smoothies and sandwiches, and lining up food suppliers. “Our desire is to have a simple menu, but one that’s fairly clean and mostly organic,” she said.

Megan has also arranged for the shop to display the artwork of a prominent local landscape artist who is one of her mentors.

Connecting Community

The couple plan to provide information about their patron and hope someday to host readings of his work, but they don’t intend for the shop to be primarily “Catholic,” Nate said. “We want it to be a place where everybody feels welcome, where everybody can come and experience connection and beauty.”

Many neighbors have been supportive and even eager to help, though a few have asked why they’ve named the shop after the late pope and saint. In John Paul II, Megan said the couple have found inspiration to engage lovingly in an anti-Christian culture.

Google reviews of their coffee and customer experience include such feedback as: “I received a phenomenal mocha …”; “The coffee was outstanding”; and “the staff is always super friendly. The drinks are very good.”

Among their early customers last fall was St. Paul-Minneapolis Archbishop Bernard Hebda, who came after attending an event at the Minnesota fairgrounds nearby, said Nate, who met the archbishop while he was in the seminary.

Father Spencer has also stopped by his parishioners’ new shop. “I’m thrilled to see the setting and just the lights that they're bringing to their neighborhood on Hamline,” he said.

Although Holy Cross parish decided against opening a permanent parish coffee house, the parish has learned the value and power of coffee to connect people, said Father Spencer, who also commends the couple’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Naming the shop after Pope St. John Paul II resonates with the couple, Father Spencer said. “I know that Nate and Megan have, as a couple, looked to John Paul II in such a strong way because he kind of embodies so many things that they love, the arts and philosophy and the love of the human person.”

During this busy season as the Whipples anticipate the birth of their baby while putting the finishing touches on their shop and getting to know their customers, they sense the Lord’s providence unfolding, Megan said.

According to Nate, “We just want [the shop] to be a place where people are able to encounter other people. A place of connection and community for our neighborhood.”

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KarolCoffeeCo.; soft opening is on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, official opening March 29.