A new coffee shop called The Stoop has opened at 784 Washington Blvd. in Pigtown. The retail space has been several different coffee shops over the years and was most recently Zeke’s Coffee before it closed in March.
The Stoop is a new business from Pigtown resident Paige Stamerro. The cafe is still “fueled by Zeke’s,” according to Stamerro, as its coffee drinks still use Zeke’s beans. The shop also sells Zeke’s one-pound bags of beans for customers to take home.
Food at The Stoop is provided by Baltimore’s Bluebird Bakery.
Stamerro, who most recently worked as a commercial real estate broker, has thought about owning a coffee shop since she was a kid. She worked at a Starbucks in college and learned a lot about the business. She later become “obsessed” with small-batch coffee roasters.
When Zeke’s closed earlier this year, Stamerro was bummed Pigtown was losing a coffee shop and said to her husband, “What if instead of finding a replacement, we do it ourselves?”
Stamerro worked with Zeke’s owner Thomas Rhodes to learn more about the business. With her background in commercial real estate helping her out, she learned Zeke’s was a viable business in Pigtown, but the company was more focused on its growing coffee distribution network. Rhodes helped Stamerro transition Zeke’s to The Stoop and she is using his coffee equipment, as well as Zeke’s Coffee, in the new cafe.
The Stoop has standard drip coffees, espressos, lattes, and Zeke’s cold brew in a can. It will also serve creative latte combinations with the help of its customers.
The drink menu also includes fresh-brewed iced tea, matcha, wild kombucha, yerba mate, and a variety of the Stammero’s favorite sodas.
The food menu includes breakfast sandwiches on croissants, bagels, English muffins, and regular bread, as well as house-made chicken salads, quiches, pastries, and sweets. Stamerro plans to launch a lunch menu in the near future featuring BLTs, club sandwiches, and a turkey and smoked gouda sandwich. She will also be adding vegan breakfast sandwiches.
Stamerro made some cosmetic changes to the retail space and is hoping to add outdoor seating in the building’s back patio this fall.
The Stoop is open everyday from 7am to 5pm.
One of the reasons Stamerro wanted to keep the The Stoop open until 5pm, not 3pm like many coffee shops, is so teachers can stop in after the school day to “decompress.” Stamerro is a former teacher and has fond memories of her post-school day coffee shop visits with other teachers.
The Stoop offers a 10 percent discount to first-responders, educators, health professionals, and military.
Stamerro said she is currently hiring additional employees.
Stamerro named it The Stoop as hanging out on her own stoop at home has been a tradition of hers since moving to Pigtown 10 years ago. She said that’s where she met so many of her neighbors and has spent many evenings.
Talking about the strong support The Stoop has received in its first few weeks, Stamerro said, “I beautifully underestimated how Pigtown would show up.”
