Portland’s Stroopwafel-Loving Cafe Is Opening a Shop in Northwest Industrial

Prince Coffee, the Kenton coffee shop known for its fresh-made, caramel-y stroopwafels, will open its first Northwest Portland location this June. The cafe will take over the former Ristretto space in Schoolhouse Electric, serving Proud Mary espresso and light lunch fare.

Prince opened in Kenton in 2016, but the cafe will lose its space in the North Portland neighborhood soon; owner Katie Prinsen had been looking for spaces in that neighborhood unsuccessfully when Schoolhouse Electric fell into her lap. “I had resolved to go down to one location for a while, and it’s kind of a dream-came-true scenario,” Prinsen says. “They came in at the last second with an offer that I couldn’t resist, and now I get two locations.”

Prince is a multi-roaster coffee shop, so visitors can expect rotating roasts from Coava and Proud Mary, as well as Dutch stroopwafels, her classic treat. For those unfamiliar, stroopwafels are thin, cookie-like pastries sandwiching a layer of caramel. Prinsen is Dutch, and as a kid, her family would visit Holland every year in the summers — every year, she’d pack her suitcase full of stroopwafels, before they were widely available stateside.

But there will be more than stroopwafels at the new location: Prinsen is still deciding how the food menu will look, but it will include a few more substantial lunch and breakfast options. “Because they’re no food really anywhere in that area, we thought it’d be a good idea to make sandwiches,” she says. “But it’s still to be determined.”

Ristretto Roasters closed its Schoolhouse Electric location in the midst of backlash regarding the owner’s wife’s Youtube series #MeNeither, which critiques #MeToo activists and whistleblowers. Because Prince is moving into a coffee shop, the space doesn’t need much in terms of renovations — Prinsen wants to add some white oak tables and touches of the other locations’ aesthetic. If all goes well, Prince Northwest will be open by the second week of June, but she’s still hoping to find a spot in Kenton — her neighborhood — as well. Find the coffee shop on Instagram for more updates.

• Prince Coffee [Official]
• Prince Coffee [Instagram]
• Previous Prince Coffee coverage [EPDX]
• Ristretto Roasters Closes NW Portland Store Amid Controversy [Portland Mercury]
• Ristretto Faces Backlash After Owner’s Wife Starts Questioning #MeToo Allegations [EPDX]