Half of Paul's Jewelers' showroom floor at 10822 W. National Ave. in West Allis has quietly become a full coffee bar, complete with pour-overs, cortados, lattes and nitro cold brew served a few feet from the diamond cases. The new venture, called 7C's Cafe, is the work of owner Mircea “Mitch” Prejbeanu, who renovated roughly half of the store's retail space to make room for the coffee bar and seating area.
Prejbeanu, who previously worked in restaurants before taking over the jewelry business, acquired Paul's Jewelers in 2022 when former owner Vivian passed the 59-year-old store to him, according to the company's own history. As OnMilwaukee reports, the cafe's name is a nod to the jewelry trade's traditional “four Cs” — cut, color, clarity and carat — stretched to seven by adding coffee, cookies and chocolate.
A Curated, All-Wisconsin Drink Menu
The cafe's beverage list leans heavily on regional suppliers. Coffee comes from Sugar Leaf Coffee Roasterie, a Milwaukee outfit launched in March 2025 by 20-year specialty coffee veteran Steven Kessler, a former roaster for Anodyne Coffee Roasting who now runs a Primo XR15 roaster out of Bay View, according to Daily Coffee News. Dairy comes from Sassy Cow Creamery, a farmstead bottling operation that brothers James and Robert Baerwolf established in 2008 in Columbus, Wisconsin, to process milk from their 1,700-acre family dairy farms, per the creamery's own account. Customers can also order oat milk or pistachio milk alongside the traditional stuff.
Loose-leaf tea options come from Rishi Tea & Botanicals, the Milwaukee brand Joshua Kaiser founded in 1997 that now runs an international direct-trade organic tea headquarters out of the city's Menomonee Valley Industrial Center, as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported. Non-coffee drinkers can also choose hot chocolate, kombucha, lemonade, chai and sparkling water. Chocolate-covered espresso beans, cookies and chocolate bars round out the food case, with the chocolate supplied by Tabal Chocolate, an organic bean-to-bar maker founded in 2012 by former high school administrator Dan Bieser and based at 7515 Harwood Ave. in nearby Wauwatosa, according to Milwaukee Uncut.
Syrups From Port Washington, Cookies From Madison
Sauces and powders for flavored drinks come from Hollander Chocolate Co., which expanded its footprint in late 2025 by opening a new corporate headquarters, innovation lab and public Tulip Cafe in Port Washington, Wisconsin, per the Ozaukee Press. The cafe also sources honey from Jost Apiary in Muskego and cookies from Guerilla Cookies by Elegant Foods in Madison. A Water Doctors filtration system that Prejbeanu invested in is designed to improve the flavor of every cup poured at the bar.
Behind the counter is full-time barista Anisa Garcia, who previously worked as a barista for Caribou Coffee and learned the craft from Robert Sanchez Jr., founder of Ay! Chihuahua Coffee, a Milwaukee pop-up specializing in espresso drinks made with direct-trade beans from Chiapas, Mexico, according to Media Milwaukee. Garcia told OnMilwaukee that people want consistency and the key is giving them the same cup of coffee every time.
Church Pews and a Gold-Wrapped Trailer
The seating area mixes repurposed church pews used as banquettes with live-edge tables, cabinetry and shelving custom-built by Dave M. Arnold Custom Build. Customers get Wi-Fi and outlets for phones and laptops, though they do need to be buzzed in at the front door before browsing the jewelry cases or grabbing a seat.
Outside, a gold-wrapped 7C's coffee trailer serves customers from 7 to 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday, ahead of the indoor cafe's own hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Prejbeanu plans to offer free coffee to first responders and eventually take the trailer directly to area fire stations.
Regulatory Record and Civic Embrace
The cafe underwent a retail food health inspection by the Southwest Suburban Health Department on June 2, where it was officially registered as a simple retail food establishment not serving full meals, according to public health records. West Allis civic leaders have already embraced the space: the city officially hosted a public Coffee with the Mayor community event there on June 30, featuring Mayor Dan Devine along with District 5 Aldermen Kevin Haass and Martin Weigel, per the City of West Allis. Prejbeanu also plans to host gatherings with the Wauwatosa West Allis Chamber of Commerce and other local groups.
Part of a Bigger Retail Shift
The jewelry-store-turned-coffee-bar concept fits a broader pattern identified in a 2025 Forbes retail industry report, which found that brick-and-mortar merchants increasingly fold coffee bars and social spaces into their stores to boost customer dwell time, foot traffic and sales. Whether that translates into more jewelry sales for Paul's Jewelers or simply gives West Allis a new neighborhood coffee spot remains to be seen. The addition also lands amid a wave of new coffee and beverage concepts opening across Milwaukee's western suburbs, including a Vietnamese coffee concept near West Allis and another debut on Wauwatosa's North Avenue.
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