About us
Wanderlust is a small, family-run cafe. Two shops, a full espresso bar, an oven, and a crew that has been doing this in this town for a long time.
Walt Cornelius introduced craft coffee to his home town Main Street in 2012, and sold that first shop four years later. He kept working at it quietly — wholesale accounts, farmers markets, and a long stretch of figuring out what the next cafe should be.
In February 2024 that answer opened its doors at 835 Main St: a two-room shop, one room built for conversation and one built for getting work done. Two years later we opened a second shop on the west side of the river, closer to campus.
We are still the same operation we started as — a small crew, a full espresso bar, and a stubborn belief that a college town deserves better than a drive-thru cup.
Coffee. Community. Culture.
Three words we've had on the wall since day one.
2012
Walt introduces craft coffee to his home town Main St.
2016
The cafe changed hands, but the work kept going behind the scenes.
2024
A grand opening in February brings a full cafe back downtown, with hand-crafted drinks, breakfast sandwiches, and homemade waffles.
2026
A second shop across the river, minutes from Purdue, serving the same menu.
What we make
Lattes, cortados, cappuccinos, americanos and macchiatos made properly. Alongside them, a rotating specials board our crew dreams up — plus matcha, chai, nitro cold brew, and an oven turning out breakfast sandwiches all morning.
On the board right now
This is the full menu at both shops. Specials rotate, so current prices and everything available today are on the order page.
Downtown Lafayette and West Lafayette, open seven days a week.