Patrick Clapp, along with his brother Spencer, opened Coffeestamp in Hillman Hall this year. The Grounds for Change shop is the second location of Coffeestamp (Holden Hindes/Student Life).

The delectable empanadas and specially brewed coffees at Coffeestamp in Hillman Hall have won the hearts of students on campus — the line is never-ending during lunch hours, and the empanada supplies always run short.

Coffeestamp at Grounds For Change is a new addition to Washington University’s campus this fall and is one of only a couple of dining options that are not affiliated with WashU Dining. The collaboration was born during Hispanic Heritage Month last year when WashU dining wanted to invite Hispanic-owned food services to campus for a food-tasting event. Coffeestamp’s empanadas were so good that Bon Appetit invited them back for a permanent spot on campus.

Brothers Patrick and Spencer Clapp, the founders of the coffee shop, came to the United States 10 years ago from Honduras and initially worked as carpenters in St. Louis. In 2018, when the Clapps’ childhood friends started producing coffee back in their hometown of Tegucigalpa and wanted to export coffee to the U.S., the Clapps began to formalize the idea of creating a coffee shop.

In 2019, the brothers began their journey. They claimed their business license and sold their coffee at farmers markets. Eventually, they quit their carpenter jobs to focus on the business. The Clapps spent time getting financial loans and selecting equipment months before they started working on the physical space of the shop.

In 2020, the Clapps began the first chapter of relocation and renovation. They found out that the tenants downstairs from where they lived (in a 150-year-old building) were leaving. They decided to move their shop to the vacant apartment. On the same day as the official pandemic lockdown in March, they signed the contract. “Even though we were losing money the whole time, we loved it,” Patrick said. 

Eventually, the brothers were forced to take the next step and start actually selling their product. 

“We were going broke, and there [was] only one way to keep the business going, which [was to open] our shop,” Patrick said. He explained that the refurbishing and lease exhausted most of their money, so on Aug. 13, 2020, they officially opened their storefront right under their apartment in Fox Park.

 “We thought it would be better to take over the whole building and have it to ourselves,” Patrick said. He holds their first customers close to his heart and explains that they immediately gained popularity because they were one of very few shops open that summer, due to pandemic closures.

Their cafe on campus is their second location. Coffeestamp had to adapt to the new layout of Grounds for Change. The small space limits the amount of food they can store and sell, and they found themselves with no room for refrigerators and having to maneuver around the tiny kitchen. 

While Spencer takes care of their shop at Fox Park, Patrick is in charge of the place on campus. “We are a solid team, and even though all the workers here on campus are new, they have done great,” Patrick said. 

Patrick observed differences between the customers back at the storefront and the WashU students. “Students here love the chicken paninis, to my surprise, and it is our bestseller on campus,” he said. The customers at their off-campus shop prefer breakfast and brunch empanadas more. The drip Finca La Alondra, a Honduras coffee, is another favorite. Clapp joked that they will have to switch the menu up soon, “Or else the students will get tired of the chicken paninis.”

The empanadas, crescent-shaped pastries with different fillings, are another highlight and a bestseller on campus. The brothers grew up with a single mother who was constantly busy providing for her children. Their family had empanadas every weekend, and to help their mother, the pair would make the empanada pastelitos. 

“Empanada culture is at every corner [in South America]. It’s like the hamburger of the United States,” Patrick said. The fillings of empanadas are open to creativity, and Patrick, who has a passion for cooking, has already created more than nine flavors of empanadas, six of which are sold on (and often sold-out) on campus.