Studio Cafe serves up coffee with a side of creativity.

The downtown Duluth coffee shop opened in early September, and owner Pete Pascente said he is a creative person at heart.

“So really, the objective is to create a space here that cultivates that sense, to encourage creativity, to make it easy to try fun and creative things, and really just to have a warm and welcoming atmosphere to hang out and enjoy delicious craft coffee drinks and maybe try making something new,” he said.

You can’t miss the artwork hanging on every wall in the cafe.

“They’re all local artists,” Pascente said. “Some of them are for sale. Some of them are just up for display.”

And he hopes people will create art right on site.

“We also have a ton of tiny little canvases here where people have just sat at these tables and made and stuck on the wall,” he said.

A piano sits close to the door. Sometimes, there is scheduled music. But Pascente said the piano policy is simple: “Play the piano.”

His staff also loves being creative with the coffee drinks themselves. Manager Samantha Linder whipped up a Basil Miel with milk, espresso, honey, basil syrup, and cinnamon.

Studio Cafe is open seven days a week and recently started having evening hours on Thursdays and Fridays.