Writers have many methods to keep their brain rolling with ideas. I can attest to the countless hours wasted staring at a blank canvas, running around the house looking for things to keep me occupied as I waste time struggling for inspiration. When times get tough for our noggins to pump out some juice, a trip out of our designated bat caves can sometimes be the perfect pill. In the Twin Cities, there are many nice little nooks for a writer to write their next work and the coffee scene here is quite expansive! Whether you’re a coffee or tea writer, morning, day or night writer, read below for five distinctly unique Twin Cities cafes to tuck into with your favorite writing utensil!
Nina’s Coffee Cafe (165 Western Ave N, St Paul)
Right in the heart of St.Paul’s neighborhood Cathedral Hill, Nina’s Coffee Cafe has an eclectic and classy atmosphere with an old soul with eye-catching architecture. It’s furnished with various styles of chairs, couches, tables, benches, and chandeliers, which leaves endless nooks fit for any writers’ taste inside or outside the cafe. And if you’re an early bird (or just plain lucky), you can score the balcony nook overlooking the busy atmosphere of the customer flow below.
Claddagh Coffee (459 7th St W, St Paul)
Just south of Nina’s in the West Seventh Neighborhood, Claddagh Coffee brings the atmosphere of a 1920’s style Irish cafe to the cities! This rustic coffee shop offers a fabulous array of signature drinks to complement their charming brick-walled interior. Perch by the window to find your next protagonist crossing the street or simply enjoy a comfy spot to chat with a fellow writer or read a book.
The Get Down Coffee Co. (I 1500 N 44th Ave, Minneapolis)
Started by Black entrepreneur Housten White and Dogwood Coffee Co. owner Dan Anderson, The Get Down Coffee Co. brings urban culture into focus. This is the most recently established cafe on this list after opening in 2021, adding some sleek funk into the Twin Cities cafe circuit with a simple layout and bright accents. It’s the perfect place to write your ground-breaking coming of age story while sipping a signature roast out of a house mug.
Cafetto Coffee House (708 W 22nd St, Minneapolis)
Focused on highlighting local artists of all crafts, Cafetto is a radical palace of wonder. Bringing back the 90’s vibe of post-midnight conversations over coffee and cigarettes, they’re open until 1am every day. One could say that these are the perfect conditions for a flourishing midnight writer. The art sale upstairs is worth a look for your next ekphrastic piece—or might be something worth taking home to freak out your next visitor. Need a little break? Play the pinball machines downstairs and get lost in the graffiti!
Cafe Astoria (180 Grand Ave., St.Paul)
Bringing out the inner aesthetic in you, Cafe Astoria is a British tea place. This cafe is so photogenic it’s hard to keep this one off my list! With the most tasteful menu of artful eats, grabbing some snacks whilst you’re here is a must. Take in the wood furnished interior decorated with plants. The smells of soil, earl gray, coffee and flowers feel sweet in your lungs. Sit in the sun-filled dining area and stare at the flower mural before diving into your memoir of your grandmother in the garden picking you your favorite flower.
There are many more places in the Twin Cities that cultivate the perfect atmosphere for authors. Wherever you choose to write your next bestseller, I hope you’ll at least check out a few of these places for inspiration.
Meet the blogger:
AMELIA JOHNSON Johnson is a student at Hamline University in St.Paul, MN. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing in spring of 2023, Amelia hopes to continue her work in poetry alongside her passion for cooking. In her free time, she tends to wade out to the depths of what nature has to offer and eventually returns to the rabbit hole back into society.
