A Latte of Love

Editor’s Note: On November 29, 2025, Latte Lounge celebrated the grand opening of its newest location at 3131 Olive Street.

In true St. Louis fashion, the story of Latte Lounge’s founding reads like an odds-defying longshot. To go from one coffee shop location to three in less than four years is a remarkable feat on its own, but the story is sprinkled with even more surprises. 

To start, the coffee chain’s founder and owner, Nyshaun Harvey, didn’t know anything about making coffee before opening the shop. She was a regular coffee drinker, but she had no experience as a barista. The very first Latte Lounge location also ended up opening during the 2020 global health crisis, in November of that year, on the heels of a wave of small business closures throughout the country. Supply and construction delays subsequently stretched Harvey’s six-month timeline into 14 months of waiting on materials and permits. And she was just 23-years-old at the time — a 23-year-old who already owned another small business, Kingdom Kids Learning Center, a faith-based childcare facility she opened when she was just 19.

Born and raised in Florissant, Missouri, Harvey chose to open the first brick-and-mortar Latte Lounge location in the community she knew best: her own. She took barista courses and learned as much as she could about the art of coffee making. Early on, she found it difficult to make inroads in the local coffee scene, but Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co. was an enthusiastic partner and was happy to provide beans for the coffee shop newcomer.

“Their roasting company has been absolutely phenomenal,” Harvey says. “I got a tremendous amount of support from them. They were even here with me on my opening day helping me serve the customers.”

After opening a second location in Downtown St. Louis in November 2021, Harvey returned to North County to open her third location, this time selecting a space in Ferguson. It’s notable that two of the three shops are located on St. Louis’ north side. The St. Louis metro boasts a variety of nationally recognized roasters and talented baristas, but they’re largely concentrated in the city’s central and south sides, thinning out considerably the further north you travel. 

“There were no local coffee shops near me,” says Harvey, now 26. “I grew up in the Florissant area, (and) I noticed that there was a lack. So that was a dream of mine. I wrote it down: I want to open up a coffee shop, and hopefully provide a safe place for people that may have not encountered exactly what I went through, but a similar experience. We like to say, ‘We don’t just serve a cup of coffee, we serve a cup of hope.’”

Coffee became something between a regular comfort and a daily necessity for Harvey following the “very, very traumatic experience” of losing her father when she was 14. Amid the grieving process, she developed severe migraines that made her unable to manage loud noise, bright lights, or attend school. She ordered a caramel macchiato with an extra shot at Starbucks one day and discovered the caffeine content considerably eased her chronic migraines. With few other options nearby, the corporate chain became a frequent stop. But she wanted an alternative. Nearly a decade later, opening Latte Lounge gave Harvey a chance to create a cozy, community-oriented space to serve her neighbors and provide some relief and respite for those who might need it, all while enriching her community’s small business footprint.

“We want to bring you something nice,” Harvey says. “Something that you can enjoy where you don’t have to travel far away just to have this ambience or to have this vibe or aesthetic. We lack that in North County. We lack nice grocery stores. We lack nice shopping malls. We lack those things. But if I have control over something, which (is) Latte Lounge or the childcare facility, I definitely will bring that to the community because they deserve it as well.”

With multiple brick-and-mortar businesses under her belt, Harvey proudly views entrepreneurship as an opportunity to serve, provide, and nurture community, especially for parts of the St. Louis region that may need investment. Valuable neighborhoods like Downtown St. Louis and Ferguson, Harvey says, have entered a “rebuilding phase,” relying on community partners, local leaders, and small business owners to support revitalization efforts. The city’s center, especially, is bustling with welcoming energy, with new developments like the St. Louis CITY SC CITYPARK soccer stadium and the St. Louis Aquarium complemented by fresh green spaces and permanent art sculptures and installations. Latte Lounge’s Downtown location shapes a hopeful present and future for the area. “Being able to now be in those communities and provide a family-like environment for families to come and have a great time,” is something Harvey continues to champion. 

Both of Harvey’s parents owned businesses growing up, and she and her sister were both raised to believe in themselves and their ambitions. Though her mother encouraged them to get college degrees, both Harvey and her sister chose to leave college early in order to begin building on their family’s entrepreneurial drive. 

Today, Harvey’s sister owns My Studio Salon, a hair salon in Ferguson. And Harvey’s stepfather, Larry Green, who always wanted to own his own restaurant, partnered with Harvey on Latte Lounge’s massive location in Downtown St. Louis. The two-story café features a number of firsts for Latte Lounge: HG Eatery, serving a full-service breakfast and brunch menu; an outdoor patio space; and even a members-only upper level for regular patrons. Harvey’s Kingdom Kids Learning Center (KKLC) emerged from the same entrepreneurial spirit, following in the footsteps of the daycare facility her mother owned and operated when Harvey was little. 

KKLC will celebrate seven years of operation in 2024, with a completely at-capacity roster of kids. The center welcomes children from 6 weeks to 6 years old, separated into three age-defined classes. According to their website, KKLC’s program introduces children to “foreign languages, creative art, science, and math.” Harvey says that KKLC’s faith-based approach and emphasis on self-esteem, combined with the relative shortage of childcare programs for parents today, keeps KKLC in high demand. She says the center’s waiting list is around three years out. 

“We do a lot of empowerment inside of the facility,” she explains, adding that they make it a point to foster a positive and affirming environment for each child. “We talk about dreams. We talk about entrepreneurship. And just to hear, you know, the minds of 2, 3, 4-year-olds and all that they dream to do — (we are able) to nurture that and affirm that they can do what it is they set out to do.”

In 2017, the same year KKLC opened, Harvey published a children’s book, titled, “I Am,” and a complementary line of dolls dedicated to fostering self-worth in kids. The children’s book is filled with positive affirmations, and the dolls feature positive sayings as well. Both are available for purchase at KKLC, Latte Lounge locations, and online.

“The problem with childcare today is (people) are overworked and underpaid,” Harvey says. “And we all know that. But when you sign up for a job like this, it has to be done from your heart. You can’t come to work just for a paycheck. Overseeing little people is a huge responsibility. And it’s not easy. It’s not for the weak.”

A revamped and expanded location might be in KKLC’s future in the next few years, Harvey says, noting that more space would allow the team to welcome more students. In the meantime, she says, additional Latte Lounge locations are definitely part of her vision for the future, as well as expanding cafes in other states. And just like the existing three locations, she plans on giving each new brick-and-mortar its own unique vibe and interior design. 

And of course, Harvey plans to continue building out the coffee shop’s signature drinks and offerings. Their latte flights — a mini selection of five different coffee flavors — and split cups — one cup, halved in the middle to support two separate coffee drinks in one container — remain exceedingly popular. 

It’s exactly those sorts of thoughtful, customer-inspired features — the dedicated smiles, the big-hearted service, the indoor swings at the Downtown St. Louis location — that keep customers coming back. Every new location opening has been “nerve-wracking,” Harvey says, but there’s a reason the Downtown location opening had a line of customers down the street. As it turns out, building community is worth the risk — and the wait.