Midnight Coffee wants to be your local caffeine dealer. The coffee shop with locations in Eastern Iowa takes over St. Kilda Café & Bakery in Clive on Aug. 1.
Co-owner Alex Nelson said he plans to rebrand St. Kilda to Midnight Coffee, following his rebranding of Coffee Emporium in the Iowa City area earlier this year.
“I’ve always lived in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area my whole life,” Nelson, who has family in the Des Moines metro, said. “We’ve always wanted to have a business over there.”
Nelson plans to close down the location for a few days and then reopen. “We’ll operate as St Kilda for about a week or so, and then we’ll rebrand it over to Midnight Coffee,” he said.
What is Midnight Coffee?
Nelson and his wife, Jordan, opened The Midnight Gem, a special events venue in Swisher, in 2022, and Little Gems Baby Boutique in North Liberty before purchasing Coffee Emporium in 2024 and revamping those four locations in Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, and Tiffin into Midnight Coffee last March.
He said Midnight Coffee stands out for its interiors with plenty of room for seating. “A lot of the other kinds of coffee chains or shops, like the ultra drive-thru ones, are going toward that model of being super compact and with no seating,” he said. “We want to have nice, inviting spaces, kind of for everyone, whether it’s business meetings or just meeting with friends.”
He also said the coffee shop is known for its straight approach to coffee, roasted by Capanna Coffee Roasters in North Liberty.
“We do have a lot of the fun drinks and things like that,” Nelson said. “But some of the chains are getting carried away with their signature drinks and kind of sugary drinks. We really want to kind of stick to our roots of just really, really great coffee and more of a craft coffee.”
Midnight Coffee also offers matcha, chai, and energy coolers.
What’s on the menu at Midnight Coffee?
Midnight Coffee will keep the same menu as St. Kilda, retaining the café vibe. “They’ve done a really nice job with their food menu. So we’ll kind of just be building on top of that, versus really changing a whole lot there,” Nelson said.
As they settle into the new location, Nelson said he plans to source his pastries and milk locally. In the four shops in the Iowa City area, Nelson partners with local bakeries, The Eat Shop, and Andy’s Bakery, which supply vegan and gluten-free pastries. Dan and Debbie’s Creamery, based in Ely, supplies milk for the drinks at Midnight Coffee.
Nelson also plans to serve coffee cocktails, already available in the Iowa City location. He did apply for a liquor license in Clive.
The shop will initially keep St Kilda’s hours, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., potentially expanding hours in the future.
Where can you find St. Kilda locations?
St. Kilda opened this location in 2022, taking over the former Table 128 space. In December, owners Alexander and Whitney Hall announced that the location south of downtown Des Moines closed, becoming The Rook Room. The couple still has a St. Kilda in Valley Junction at 333 Fifth St., West Des Moines.
The couple also has Franka Pizzeria at 12695 University Ave. in Clive.
Where to find Midnight Coffee in Iowa
Clive: 12695 University Ave., Suite 140, Clive
Iowa City: 301 E. Market St., Iowa City
Coralville: 925 E. Second Ave., Coralville
North Liberty: 710 Pacha Pkwy. #6, North Liberty
Tiffin: 1100 Andersen Place, Tiffin
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Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: St. Kilda closes one of its locations to make way for an Iowa City-based coffee shop
Reporting by Susan Stapleton, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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