Paul’s Jewelers in West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee, has expanded beyond the four Cs of diamonds with the opening of the 7Cs Cafe. The coffee shop is located inside the jewelry store and features a menu of coffee, chocolate, and cookies. The name references both the diamond categories—cut, color, clarity, and carat—and the cafe’s beverages. This innovative approach allows the store to blend its traditional jewelry offerings with a modern, hospitality-focused experience.
Operations and Design
Service begins at 7 a.m. on weekdays and Saturday mornings from a custom gold-wrapped trailer parked outside. When the jewelry store opens at 11 a.m., the coffee bar moves inside. The cafe offers tea and lemonade, which owners hope will attract younger customers who may return for future engagement ring purchases. This dual-location setup not only increases visibility but also provides a unique customer experience, blending the convenience of early-morning coffee with the luxury of jewelry shopping later in the day.
Mircea “Mitch” Prejbeanu, the current owner, took over about four and a half years ago. Prejbeanu has a background in hospitality and initially planned to open a coffee shop after being laid off from a previous job about 10 years ago. He set this dream aside while partnering with a friend to take over a jewelry trade shop from its retiring owner. After a decade of repairing and manufacturing jewelry, a customer approached him with the opportunity to purchase Paul’s Jewelers and move the trade shop into the same building. This transition allowed Prejbeanu to finally merge his passion for hospitality with his expertise in jewelry.
Sourcing and Values
Prejbeanu selected the name from a story about a jeweler who added a coffee offering, integrating “the fifth C” into the café name. He chose to include chocolate and cookies, saying, “I thought, why can’t we do better than that?” The coffee is roasted locally, about 20 minutes from the shop, and the espresso blend was created with an expert consultant. Cookies come from a bakery in Madison, Wisconsin, and chocolate is sourced from Tabal Chocolate, which invests in small-scale cocoa farms, particularly those managed by women. This commitment to quality and sustainability reflects the store’s broader values, ensuring that every product, from jewelry to refreshments, meets high ethical and craftsmanship standards.
Prejbeanu said he applies the same careful sourcing philosophy to coffee as he does to gold and diamonds. “When we source gold, diamonds, and everything else, we carefully select everything. Then there’s the craftsmanship… it’s the same with making a good cup of coffee,” he said. This attention to detail extends to the cafe’s ambiance, where the security measures, including a buzzer system, create a unique “speakeasy vibe” that enhances the customer experience.
The cafe has already generated business through its marketing strategy. Employees leave free drink coupons at an optical store next door. Two sisters who used the coupons returned to the jewelry store for a $250 ring repair and a $1,600 pair of earrings. This success highlights the effectiveness of the cafe as a marketing tool, drawing in customers who might not have otherwise visited the jewelry store.
Future Plans
Prejbeanu takes pride in the store’s reputation as a “blue-collar jeweler,” emphasizing that all work is done in-house except for lapidary tasks. “They say that, for jewelry, 85 percent of transactions are still done in-store. We like to win one customer at a time,” he said. This hands-on approach, combined with the innovative addition of the 7Cs Cafe, positions Paul’s Jewelers as a unique destination that blends tradition with modern hospitality.
