Eli Jo Coffee Stop & Shop Will Open in Portland

Eli Jo Coffee Stop & Shop front in Portland, Oregon.

A new coffee shop called Eli Jo Coffee Stop & Shop is going to open on NE Broadway, right above and adjacent to the NW Women’s Fitness club. They’ll offer coffee, pastries, smoothies, chai, a boutique, and more.

I stopped by to learn more about Eli Jo from the owner, Elizabeth Kramer. She also owns and operates the NW Women’s Fitness club, and has for about 12 years.

When I first came across some permits for the coffee shop buildout months ago, it mentioned it was going to be in the lobby of the fitness club. I really could not get my head around that, and thought it was going to be a small coffee bar to serve the gym’s members. I’ve since learned that it’s much more than that.

And it’s not in the lobby, per se, but in what was a salon at one point; there will be an entrance to the gym from the coffee shop—in fact, it will be the main entrance where members will check in. Along with coffee and pastries etc, you’ll also be able to buy clothing at a boutique in the space.

The Eli Jo Team

Elizabeth has hired a manager, Athena, for the coffee shop, along with staff. Everyone has been trained in working the espresso machine, making coffee, and serving food. The whole team was taught by Trailhead, the roaster providing their beans.

Eli Jo Coffee Stop and Shop: What’s in a Name?

I asked her why “Stop and Shop”? It made me want to know if she was from the Northeast (Stop & Shop is a popular supermarket chain there). “I am not,” she said. “But I was trying to have something that incorporated the both the boutique and the coffee shop, and I wanted it to have a little bit of a fun vibe.”

And “Eli Jo” is short for “Elizabeth Joyce,” her name. Plus “Jo” and “Joe” for a coffee connection.

Past Hospitality Experience

I asked Elizabeth what her past experience was with food, and it was mainly, in an adjacent way, through her work in the corporate world. She had a long career—25 years—working as an executive. She was in the education space where she oversaw 250 locations for KinderCare, which provided food for the kids.

She also used to own Sky High Sports, a trampoline park, that unfortunately did not survive COVID. They had a full kitchen there, too, where they served pizza, drinks, etc.

Post-COVID Community Yearnings

As you can see, NW Women’s Fitness made it through the pandemic, in part because of the dedication of the community and the landlord to their work. The coffee shop will be an engine to bring even more community flow into the club and hopefully drive some new business to the club.

The Eli Jo Space

As I mentioned earlier, this space used to be a salon. They painted everything when they got the space, as the walls were teal and yellow and green; they wanted something more neutral. They also brought in some wood features, including a big barn door.

Barn door at Eli Jo Coffee Stop & Shop front in Portland, Oregon.

They were also able to recycle some of the shelving left by the salon—cabinets, shelves, hanger racks—and repurposed them for both the boutique and the kitchen.

“We are trying to bring in a refurbished sort of vibe,” Elizabeth explained. “And on the wall on the cafe side, we’re going put some hooks in the big barn door, and put up a shelf with some plants. There’s going to be a green church pew that we bought. Also, the marketplace has green seats in it.”

Their contractor custom made their tables and countertop, too. They’ve had a few local artists reach out to put some local art up, but hasn’t yet decided where it will go exactly. But she would like to incorporate local art at some point.

On the boutique side of things, they will be selling colorful clothes. (“The color will pop with all the clothes and the gift items that we’re bringing in.”) A friend of hers helped merchandise the product table and shelves, too, which you can see below.

The boutique at Eli Jo Coffee Stop and Shop.

Hanging Out at Eli Jo Coffee

Recently, I’ve been having some conversations with various people about how a coffee shop space is viewed: Stay a while, or get out. Elizabeth sees Eli Jo as a welcoming space, where you can hang out with your companions and not be rushed out.

“I do think maybe after COVID, we are looking at more creating spaces people want to stay at for a little while,” she remarked.

She continued, “One of the things that we’re doing has to do with the church pew. They have the little slits down on the bottom where the hymnals would go. We’re putting power strips down there so people can plug their computers in. So we do want to create a place where people can do some work.”

“We do want to this to be a place where people could feel comfortable sitting with their girlfriend and having coffee for a couple of hours,” she added.

It will also be nice for the club’s members, who when they finish a class together and want to continue the vibe and hang out for a little while over coffee, this is where they can easily do that. Or they can invite their husbands to come here because their husbands are like, ‘Where is this place you go?'”

“The concept is just a nice place to come and be and have some coffee.”

The Opportunity

It is clear that on top of this being a nice place to get a cup of coffee, it can satisfy the curiosity of folks wondering about the club. As I mentioned earlier, the front desk will be right there, so members will be coming through and checking in and going into the club.

“So if you’re sitting here having your coffee, you will see members coming in and out,” she said. “So it will naturally be happening in front of you. And they’ll hear the staff on the phone talking to members and all that. ” And, they do will tours of the club on the spot.

FYI, and this detail blew me away: The club opened in 1945 and became women-only in 1947. Much longer than I expected!

Food and Drink at Eli Jo

There will be a variety of things to eat and drink at the coffee shop.

What To Drink

They’ll be using Trailhead Coffee beans, MAHSA Chai, and True Tea.

Trailhead is based right here in Portland and supports women farmers. From their website: ‘We source from, and proudly support, Café Femenino, a cooperative of women coffee farmers and workers who have come together to build strong, independent communities fighting gender inequality and social injustice across growing regions in Central and South America.”

MAHSA Chai was founded by Persian-born Mahsa Darabi. Her chai is made of rooibos, organic spices and “boosted with functional feel-good adaptogens.”

True Tea provides their tea, and is a woman-owned and operated company founded by Katherine Harris. More on True Tea later.

Eli Jo will offer classic espresso drinks, some signature drinks, drip coffee, a steamer, and a few other things that are still in process of making it onto the menu. Iced options will be available. They will have decaf coffee and espresso, and will grind the coffees on different grinders. They’ll also have decaf tea, as well.

Look for smoothies made mostly with fruit, but spinach will be one of the vegetables they’ll use. Boosts will be available, too—protein powder (whey and vegan), maca, and the like.

What To Eat

Bake Shop will supply their pastries. “I’m excited about Bake Shop!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “I think their products are high quality and they use high quality ingredients. And they present really beautifully.” She has a lot of respect for the company.

Along with their breakfast pastries, she is thrilled about being able to offer Bake Shop’s quiche. “I am a quiche lover, and so I’m excited about having their quiches,” she said. We also agreed that their tomato croissant is fantastic.

Along with that, they’ll offer bars, oatmeals, and seasonal fruit.

“I’m super excited about the quality of products that we have chosen, and our vendors that we’ve chosen,” said Elizabeth.

A Matcha Conversion

As I mentioned, they chose True Tea as their tea vendor. “They’re great,” said Elizabeth. “They’re lovely.” And they offer matcha. But historically, Elizabeth was not a matcha drinker.

She continued, “And, Katherine, who’s the owner there, is this young, incredibly entrepreneurial woman who has been to Japan. She builds these relationships with small farmers and is so knowledgeable. Just beautiful presentation—a great quality product.”

“And then she wanted to do a matcha tasting, and I was like, ‘Oh I’m not really a big fan of matcha.’ She said, ‘Just do it.'”

“I tell you what—now I crave it!” said Elizabeth.

And since having their matcha, she’s been drinking more matcha elsewhere and it has just not been the same for her. So, she’s really excited about carrying True Tea matcha and hopes others will learn to appreciate it like she did.

Opening

They plan to open Sunday, June 1, and their hours will be from 9am to 3pm that day. And there will be some specials, including 10% off of everything. Here’s also what’s planned for that opening day celebration: