Jules Karagiannis and Tracy Calabro, otherwise known by their maiden name as “The Fox Sisters”, had a dream of opening a coffee shop for many years. Their dream is to provide a friendly, inviting and comfortable environment for anyone seeking a place to grab a cup on their way to work each day, sit and relax with a good friend or book, or even hold a business meeting. Their goal is to serve each an every customer with the friendliness of your best friend!

Jules Karagiannis

Chief Happiness Junkie #1

Hello! I’m Julie. Or Jules. Or JuJu. It depends on how long you have known me what you call me, or what time of the day or my mood what name I call myself, but I answer to them all.

My family, my friends, my pets and my coffee, not always in the same order, are literally the most important things to me. Some days I know all too well that I should always have a cup of coffee (or two) before ever even thinking of a conversation with any of the rest of those favorite things. My husband Dino and daughters Mary and Eleni are the center of my world (sadly only one takes after me and enjoys the all wonders that a cup of coffee has to offer the universe.) Together, along with my wonderful son in law Nick, successfully operate one of the oldest steak houses in St. Louis, The Tenderloin Room. I am very proud, inspired and in awe of them daily.

I am blessed with some of the most wonderful friends on.the.planet. I am happiest when I am surrounded by friends…old and new… which is one of the underlying reasons for my desire to open a coffee shop. A place where friends can gather and enjoy just being together for a while.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a family member as a best friend, or best friend as a family member, but I am. Tracy is my sister, my business partner (and partner in crime), my confidant…the Rachel to my Phoebe, the laces to my sneakers. She is always right, and I am left of center. She centers me and for that I am grateful beyond my wildest dreams.

My pets are the best. Your pets are the best. Our pets are unconditional love, and that is simply the best. I have been having a love affair with coffee for years. Similar to progressing from Boone’s Farm Tickle Pink to a beautiful full bodied Cabernet, my love for good coffee has matured as well. I love learning about all things coffee and I still have a lot of learning to do… what better way to learn than spending my days surrounded by friends and family in a welcoming environment like Espresso Yourself Coffee and Café!

Tracy Calabro

Chief Happiness Junkie #2

Like Jules, I answer to a number of names as well…. Tracy, Trace, Mom, Queen Bee….and several others that are just not appropriate to state here.

I haven’t always appreciated great coffee. Like many, I started drinking coffee when I was in college and needed it for those late night cramming sessions. I continued drinking coffee as a police wife waiting for my PO to come home after a late shift and as a sleep deprived mother. When I look back now, I was really drinking creamer with a smidge of coffee. I eventually cut out the creamer but replaced it with loads of sweetener. It wasn’t until just a few years ago that Jules introduced me to what REALLY good coffee tastes like….and I’ll even drink it straight up black!

My husband, Joe, and I have 4 amazing children. They truly are my inspiration! They are the reason I wake up in the morning and the reason I live and breathe every day. They have been such wonderful support through this process of making dream become a reality.

Jules….my sis….my best friend….my partner. There are no two siblings closer than we are! We really are the perfect combination of business partners! She’s the creative one and I’m the logical one. She’s butterfly and I’m the bee (feel free to ask either one of us to explain that one!)

Jules and I talked about opening a coffee shop for several years. In early 2018 we decided it was time to make it happen! I won’t say it was an easy process, but the way that everything seemed to just fallen into place told us that it was meant to be! We are just so very excited we were able to make this dream become reality. We welcome family, friends…and strangers who will become friends….to our little piece of heaven at the corner of Devonshire & Macklind.

Our values are grounded in HAPPINESS!

HONESTY
We want to build a relationship with our guests and the key to all relationships is honesty!

ATTITUDE We believe that a positive attitude makes for a positive environment!

PLANET We care about the planet we live on and want to leave it a better place for the next generation!

PASSION We want to share our passion for happiness….and great coffee!

IMPROVEMENT We always have something we can strive to improve on!

NEIGHBORHOOD We love our neighborhood and our neighbors!

EQUALITY We welcome all!

SUCCESS We can’t succeed without the love and support of our friends and family!

SINCERITY We mean it when we say “Thanks for coming, and we look forward to seeing you next time!”

On a caffeine high about our team

SHANNON STEINHOUSE
Barista/shift lead

2+ years on the team
Proud crazy cat lady, fluent in sarcasm, is a Master behind the Espresso Machine and she is head over heels for the new #goodvibesonly house blend!

OLIVIA DUNCAN
Barista/Shift Lead

2+ years on the team!
Olivia is one of our OG baristas.Her go to is the Happy Go Lucky. When she is not greeting our guests with her enthusiastic hello and a smile, she likes to hang out with her family and play games. Like all of us, she is a pet lover and would love to tell you all about Tigger, Mittens, Tyson, Jupiter and Buddy.

Checkout our local suppliers

Greek cookies & Seasonal Bread

Artisan NY Style Bagels

Artisan Teas

Hand Crafted Potato Chips

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough & Signature Smile Sugar Cookie

Peru Cafe Femenino (Brewed), Brazillian (Espresso) & Redeye (Cold Brew)

Kombucha

Quiche & Scones

Custom House Blend, #GoodVibesOnly

Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake