FeelLove Coffee set to open second St. George location

First-time FeelLove Coffee patrons St. George resident Shawn Bennett (left) and local landowner and Phoenix resident Kendra Webb say they enjoyed the "great" coffee, "great" service and "wonderful" food at the coffee shop, St. George, Utah, Oct. 18, 2019 | Photo by David Louis St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Walk into FeelLove Coffee shop in St. George at just about any time of day and the one thing you will notice is just how popular it is with residents and out-of-town visitors.

The coffee shop on East Riverside Drive is so popular, the owners, Jasher and Lisa Feellove, are planning to open a second location in Ancestor Square. The grand opening is scheduled for Nov. 21.

“We are needing to grow,” Jasher Feellove said. “We are over capacity at our current location, and we wanted to be in the heart of the city and become the heart of the city.”

Downtown St. George is an ideal spot to expand, Feellove added.

“Downtown is kind of the Wall Street of our area where a lot of deals are happening, a lot of real estate is happening,” he said. “I feel like we have the infrastructure for a space that’s based more upon just eating. It’s a place where people can go and sit, and gather, and be. It’s somewhere that’s an eclectic space where people can feel good and be inspired. We couldn’t have found a better spot for a new cafe.”

Patrons of FeelLove Coffee can’t get enough of the coffees, pastries, food and specialty drinks, St. George, Utah, Oct. 18, 2019 | Photo courtesy of FeelLove Coffee, St. George News

Feellove is bringing the feel of European cafes to Southern Utah.

After living in England and traveling extensively throughout Europe, he said a lightbulb moment happened — open a coffee shop in St. George.

“I’ve always wanted to have the European experience in this area, but it never came about until this year,” Feellove said. “I had the visceral experience being in Europe and going to cafes in Italy, France and England. We are kind of a coffee desert here on Riverside Drive, so when our first location in the Rio Plaza, next to Be Hot Yoga, became available, I thought about it and said ‘let’s just do it; let’s open there.'”

Prior to his first opening, it was a whirlwind of activity.

After returning from England on Jan. 3, Feellove signed the lease at 558 E. Riverside Dr. 12 days later. He received his building permit on Jan. 25 and opened March 23.

“It was amazing to open in 58 days, and that included a complete buildout, floor to ceiling,” Feellove said. “We gutted everything and focused on a craftsman style buildout. You have to put in the extra care and extra attention to detail to be successful.”

Patrons at the new location will also notice the attention to the little things when they walk through the door.

“I’m not afraid to work 100 hours a week, but it has to be something I love to do as well,” he said.

Feellove’s passion for coffee started at 15 years old.

Menu boards give an air of European elegance to FeelLove Coffee, St. George, Utah, Oct. 18, 2019 | Photo by David Louis, St. George News

“I remember the experience like it was yesterday,” he said. “It was at about 8 p.m., and I was at a Starbucks … I didn’t know what to do, so I ordered a coffee. I grew up in Los Angeles, and I tried everything at a young age. The first adult thing I remember was having that cup of coffee studying for my finals at school.”

In the early 2000s, Feellove found himself managing a Starbucks. This provided a “great” set of job skills that have translated well into his own business.

“Working at Starbucks, I knew the numbers and we would literally have a line of people all day long, so my expectation here was set to that standard,” he said. “I knew if we could make the absolute best coffee I could make and did not cut a single corner, we were going to be popular.”

Pair a good cup of Joe with signature teas and specialty drinks, lattes, espressos, a third-generation French pastry chef, two in-house chefs who serve up a variety of food including a vegetarian frittata, breakfast sandwich and burrito, Caprese salad and Croque Monsieur, and you have a recipe for success, Feellove explained.

The new coffee shop slated to open next month is located at 2 West St. George Boulevard, Suite 38.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!