For many people, a coffee and sweet treat is the perfect pick-me-up. Rosha Brister, founder and owner of Style Pop Café at 934 S 5th St, Milwaukee, is no stranger to the power of a good cup of coffee to start your day. 

Brister has always been an avid coffee drinker and coffee shop lover. In her free time, her favorite activity is exploring different coffee shops and cafés, experiencing each space, and trying their specialty drinks. Although unlike most people who frequent local coffee shops, Brister turned her passion into a brand, blending coffee and community through Style Pop Café.

Style Pop Café opened a brick-and-mortar location on April 5, but the brand just celebrated its fifth birthday. Before Brister sold specialty lattes out of her colorful space in Walker’s Point, she sold drinks, egg rolls and sweet snacks out of a pink trailer. And before the pink trailer, she hosted pop-ups out of a pink tent.

Brister first started Style Pop when the pandemic hit, and she was no longer able to connect with her community through coffee spaces. Inspired by the conditions of the pandemic, Brister started a coffee brand with the goal of bringing the coffee shop feel into people’s homes. 

Her lifestyle brand started online, where she used Shopify to slowly build her business and following. But when the world slowly began to open up, she took her coffee brand to local pop-ups and events. Despite growing opportunities for connection, Brister noticed the people around her were still experiencing “mental anguish” as a result of the isolation of the pandemic. This drove her to push Style Pop beyond a typical coffee company—she created a “self-positivity brand.” 

Every coffee creamer she makes is brought to life with its own personality trait name. “Confident Caramel,” “Charisma Vanilla,” and “Fab Honey” are a few of the house-made creamers Brister carries. “Coffee is one of those first drinks you have in the morning,” she says. Her hope is that the unique products will “encourage people to be a little bit more positive and self-aware.” 

When she turned her brand mobile, selling coffee out of the pink tent and then trailer, she often encouraged new customers to “pick a coffee creamer based on how they wanted to feel for the day.” 

The café manager, Dye Mora, was drawn to Style Pop because of its unique mission. She wanted to spread joy to more people in her community, and couldn’t think of a better place to do so than a café that celebrates self-love. “You can be yourself here,” Mora told Our Lives. “No matter what you look like, no matter where you come from in the world…you’re welcome here.” 

When taking her brand to a brick-and-mortar location, Brister had to work from the ground up to bring her vision to life—literally. The space was nothing but gravel floors when she first bought it around a year and half before the grand opening. 

“I had a vision to create co-working spaces and bring all of the different experiences that I had in other coffee shops into one space,” Brister tells Our Lives. “My goal was to ensure that this was a communal space where people felt safe, where people felt inspired, and where they were able to tap into their creativity.” 

Colorful and full of light, the space reflects all of Brister’s goals. There are coworking spaces available, but there are also cozy areas to sip and socialize. Outside, there is a sprawling patio space full of plants. Through June, local queer artists had their art covering the walls. Brister says it’s not uncommon to hear customers oohing and ahhing, saying “Oh my god, this place is so cute! It reminds me of home!” 

Brister’s commitment to community extends through all aspects of her work, as she hosts a myriad of different events and leases out her one-of-a-kind space to various groups to host their own events. Style Pop Café has seen everything from bridal showers to a fashion show to live podcasting events. There is something for everybody—the LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce hosted a meeting there, and they have a fitness series on the patio. For Pride month, Style Pop was booked and busy with drag bingo, happy hour, and colorful Pride-themed drinks all of June. “It’s open for all types of things,” she says. 

In turning the brand to something much bigger than just coffee, Brister hasn’t forgotten what started it all. Style Pop’s coffee is from a fair-trade coffee roaster in California, and it has notes of milk chocolate, citrus, and cream. The creamer, which is Style Pop’s claim to fame, is made in house and is all organic. The cafe offers specialty coffee flights, rotating seasonal drinks and decadent speciality lattés. They’re particularly known for their brown sugar banana latté. When talking with Our Lives, Brister took a quick break to help a new customer, who excitedly took Brister’s recommendation and tried the signature iced latté. 

“A lot of people are becoming more social over coffee and not alcoholic drinks,” Brister says. “I found that we needed a space where people can be social and communal in that regard.” 

Beyond providing a unique space to socialize, Mora says the café is a safe space for anyone who needs it, especially at a point in time where the world often feels so unsafe. “You don’t have to put on a front like you might have to outside of this space,” she says.

As a queer business owner, Brister says she’s had a lot of support for both the LGBTQ+ community and from family and friends. “A huge goal of mine is to create a comfortable and safe space for folks in the LGBTQ+ community,” she says. “I hope with our marketing and presence they eventually find their space here.”

Whether someone is looking for a cup of coffee or community, Style Pop Café has it. “You do have people out there that support you, that love you, and that will welcome you if you ever feel like the world is shutting you out,” Mora says.