On her morning drive to school last year, Emma Pieper, senior, first noticed a small, cream-colored building off of Manchester Rd. As she drove closer, she saw the sign: The Ground.

Pieper discovered that The Ground was a new coffee shop and decided to take a look on a Late Start Monday. She has been hooked since.

“There’s nothing around here that’s similar to it,” Pieper said. “It gives very Kirkwood coffee shops without being in Kirkwood.”

The Ground is a coffee shop and plant house where Pieper brings with her friends Grace Bonczek, Emma DiSalvo, Allie Lappin and Terrina Chambliss when they are home from college. Local coffee shops like The Ground provide a sense of community in addition to simply serving food and drink.

“Everyone who works there is so incredibly nice,” Pieper said. “Chains just don’t really care, and all of these people very much care and it’s very fun.”

Pieper prefers to order an iced latte with raspberry cold foam or a banana latte with banana cold foam and caramel. She said that there are lots of flavors to mix and match, and the prices are similar to what she would pay at Starbucks.

The Ground also has a specialty menu each month. In October, the Moonlight Mocha, a blackberry and dark chocolate drink, and the Golden Gourd, a pumpkin butterscotch latte, were most popular, Shannon Moore, owner, said.

Moore has a background in sales and retail. She said that she had always wanted to be an entrepreneur but wasn’t sure what it would look like, so opening The Ground in June 2024 was a culmination of factors.

“Just kind of good timing and seeing a need in Ballwin to bring some community here,” Moore said.

Now, The Ground has a much bigger following with more regulars. Moore said one of her favorite parts of owning The Ground is meeting people in the community.

One customer, Jen, was in the process of adopting her daughter when Moore first met her. On the day the adoption went through, Jen visited The Ground to tell Moore, and Moore said she is looking forward to seeing how Jen’s daughter grows.

“Those are some of the things I really love about the shop, meeting all these people and seeing how their life changes and them being excited to come in and tell us about big things,” Moore said.

The Ground also partners with local artisans and sells their products such as jewelry and artwork. On Sunday, Dec. 7, The Ground will host a Holiday Market featuring these local vendors.

Moore said small businesses like The Ground make people feel more welcome.

“It’s important for people to see other friendly faces in the community and know that we’re all here together,” Moore said.