The Scoop: Picasso's Coffee opens second St. Charles location

  Picasso’s Coffee hosts the grand opening for its second location at 1650 Beale St., in The Streets of St. Charles today, Nov. 24. The new location is only five minutes from the original shop in historic downtown St. Charles, but it offers a new opportunity for owner Chris Schulte. “I started Picasso’s first store 13 years ago,” said Schulte. “The coffee industry is so dynamic and changing that this was an opportunity for me to open up Picasso’s a decade later with newer technology and explore the latest trends in the coffee industry.” The menu is largely the same as the original location with a few updates. Since the new space boasts an oven, the staff is busy creating original pastries like a bread pudding muffin with cranberries. The 40-seat restaurant also allows for a 50-bottle wine selection including 10 available by the glass. Beer and specialty cocktails are also served. A breakfast menu features a bagel and lox, as well as a veggie scramble with eggs, spinach, feta and sundried tomatoes. Other offerings include pastries baked both in house and brought in from La Bonne Bouchee. Grilled paninis like turkey and Swiss with pesto and red peppers and small plates like house-made bruschetta are available for lunch and dinner. "We’re a coffee shop first and foremost and the quality of the coffee is important to us,” Schulte said. “We do a lot of things, but we try to do them all well.” He also stressed the shop’s community roots and emphasis on local sourcing, such as its coffee that comes from Goshen Coffee and Chauvin.