The cafe offers a variety of coffee and pastries. Lonán Mooney | Collegian

St. Joe’s Cafe extended its menu and hours to include a Saturday cafe with fresh pastries and artisan espresso coffee after a successful parents’ weekend pop-up in December, according to barista and Ad Astra owner Jackson Busby.

The expanded hours open the venue for breakfast treats from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., after previously offering only for lunch and dinner. 

“We started out with a Parents Weekend event, me and Josh Mincio. I brought my espresso set, and it was very successful.” Busby said. “From then on, we decided to do it on an event basis before making it an every weekend thing.”

The cafe offers Ad Astra coffee — Hillsdale-founded and locally made artisan espresso — as well as various pastries, including cinnamon orange zest morning buns and pain au chocolat. Ad Astra coffee also operates out of St. Joe’s Cafe during their weekday hours.

“Ad Astra has been serving St. Joe’s since it opened, and from the beginning, it was just the pizzeria and the drip coffee,” Busby said. “But the espresso is all new.”

Busby said he noticed a demand for local coffee roasting and espresso specifically, and made it a priority to enter the market after purchasing Ad Astra. 

“There was really only one coffee roastery around, and that was Ad Astra, and even then, there was no locally roasted espresso,” Busby said. “So that was one of the first things I did was to get espresso out there, and it was part of the St. Joe’s menu.” 

Junior Elizabeth Gaines said St. Joe’s is the perfect spot for students who want a serene environment for studying. 

“I really like the ambience. It’s a very nice space, and it seems like a great place to study or spend time with friends,” Gaines said. 

Busby said he and Mincio, the owner of St. Joe’s, are considering expanding the cafe’s hours beyond Saturday.

“We’re considering making the coffee morning a more frequent thing,” Busby said. “There’s been a lot of interest. I see people come in one week and with all their friends the next week. It’s the best feeling having everyone come in and enjoy the coffee and the space.” 

Junior Norah Vanderwingen said she loves Ad Astra coffee and how it has expanded to espresso drinks with its own showcase at the cafe morning. 

“I’ve been to every coffee shop in Hillsdale,” Vanderwingen said. “And the Ad Astra latte here at St. Joe’s is by far the best I’ve had.”