Wanderlust Coffee opens second cafe in West Lafayette, grows up gracefully

Wanderlust Coffee’s new West Lafayette cafe marks a clear shift from startup charm to a more polished second-act identity. The 1,800-square-foot shop, open since January near Purdue Research Park and listed at 1020 Gemini Lane, keeps the core menu familiar with drinks, pastries and bagels, while adding a smaller version of the lending library that helped define the original cafe.

That familiar thread matters because Wanderlust’s first location, which opened on New Year’s Day 2024 in downtown Lafayette, was built around a different kind of energy. The roughly 1,400-square-foot space was split into two rooms, and founder Walt Cornelius hand-built much of the interior, including the bar, a large concrete lamp, built-in bench seating and shelving. One side leaned louder, with art, music and espresso gear; the other gave customers a quieter lounge with books, plants, outlets and board-game-friendly seating. The new shop keeps the sense of comfort, but the mood is noticeably more refined.

Cornelius described the West Lafayette cafe as “more grown-up and more refined” without becoming overly serious, and the buildout backs him up. A heavy, concrete-like bar anchors the room, joined by a La Marzocco GB5 with custom carmine-red accents, black steel tables, herringbone wood seating, plants and warm lighting. The look pushes further into a brutalist-inspired aesthetic, but the organic textures keep it from feeling cold. For a coffee company that began as a highly personal expression of its owner, the new shop reads as a deliberate step toward a broader, more durable brand.

The back-of-house story points the same direction. Wanderlust’s roasting operation has moved from a 2-kilogram Buckeye roaster to a Bellwether Series 2, with a Probat P12 set to take over soon. That equipment progression mirrors the cafe expansion: a small local roaster learning how to scale without losing its identity.

Cornelius founded Star City Coffee & Ale in 2013, sold his share in 2016 and started Wanderlust in 2019 after returning from Seattle. Today, the company supports 12 employees, hosts events and does volunteer work in the community, and Cornelius has said the new shop is meant to be a comfortable place for people to spend time together in public without drinking alcohol. A 1975 Winnebago coffee truck is still a work in progress, and a dedicated bakery remains a future goal. For Wanderlust, the West Lafayette cafe is not just a second address. It is the clearest sign yet that the company is growing up on its own terms.