July 17th, 2020 marks the seventh year that Press Coffee has been open in North Coralville. Last year we highlighted our beginnings and what has changed since then, but somehow another year has seemed to have gone by. The last four months have been interesting, and a little scary to say the least, but with the patience and generosity of our community, we managed to adapt during these trying times. We can’t thank our guests and partnering businesses enough for helping us weather this pandemic storm.

Last year in May, we had to find a new donut source since Daylight Donuts had to close their previous location, putting us into a delicious partnership with Donutland in Cedar Rapids. Immediately, it was evident that it was a favorable switch with many people nostalgically drooling at the thought of their cherry or blueberry cake donuts. We were sad to lose Daylight, and their pinecones, but are happy to see them open again on the Eastside, complete with a drive-up window!

At the end of July, Lisa biked across the state with RAGBRAI and wrote about what she experienced there, including the various #IowaCoffee options along the route. Then, to kick-off the 2019 school year, we held a little patio party with music by The Good Quiet, featuring our multi-talented photographers at CTW Photography, and food provided by Tacos Don Diego, an endeavor our own Victor is a part of. The sun showed strong and bright that day for the party, but it was a fun afternoon to kick back and enjoy live music and delicious tacos. 

We also continued to offer up our walls to local artists, switching them out every five weeks and getting a nice mix of styles and mediums. Our first real 3-D artist came in the form of metal and Cara Briggs Farmer. For the shop, she put together innovative pieces to hang on the walls, but her portfolio includes large, colorful pieces for homes and gardens as well as impressive public art structures. After that, we featured gorgeous travel photographs by Jen Madigan Photography, fine art paintings and drawings by Don Hetzel, illustrations by budding artist Lauren Schuchard, colorful abstracts by Rachel Elisabeth Paintings, and breath-taking nature and equine photographs by Be Free Photography. Kicking off 2020 was Nicki Maurus and her Necklaces for Neely, an endeavor that benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and carrying us into spring break and the pandemic slow down was Angela Otts’s drawings and paintings. We are currently featuring projects done by our own staff but look forward to resuming our rotating gallery when it makes sense to do so again. 

Another change in our menu came early this year when we started getting sandwiches and wraps from Nodo in Iowa City. We worked out a great selection of grab and go cold items as well as two fantastic hot breakfast items: an egg sandwich and breakfast burrito. We had to stop carrying Nodo once the pandemic hit, but you can have their food delivered through Chomp or by visiting their downtown or Northside locations. 

In January our holiday party was graciously hosted by Nicki Maurus, who provided a great space to get all of the Press Coffee staff and loved ones together in one place comfortably. With the help of many generous partnerships, we were able to shower the staff with gifts by local businesses, as well as grotesquely hot glued trophies specific for each person, made by Katie and Lisa. 

The familiar faces behind the bar have been pared down to just four in recent months, but to start the year we lost Ally to Chicago and Marda to Los Angeles as they pursued their individual passions. Jacob snuck out of town during the spring, moving to the Des Moines area, and just this past weekend we had to say goodbye to Diane when she moved to Maryland for her big kid job after finishing the dissertation she spent many hours working on at Press. Kellie brought experience and ideas from her time working coffee out East, but our seventh-anniversary actual marks her last day. She found an opportunity to work closer to home and we wish her the best of luck with that and her wedding planning! 

As Press Coffee has grown and evolved, so has our own knowledge of the product we make. With great insight from our roasters Capanna Coffee, Wonderstate Coffee (formerly Kickapoo Coffee Roasters), and Cafe Del Sol Roasting, we learned about different kinds of roasting, fair trade practices, and more about the origins of the coffee we sell. We passed along information to you by writing about how coffee is processed and how it’s roasted and served. We explained the common terms associated with coffee, the differences between espresso drinks, and why we think French Press is one of the best ways to make coffee. 

Lastly, Press Coffee’s partnership with the Jump Coffee app right as the pandemic hit the area was our saving grace. Jump helped streamline our process so that guests could easily pre-order and pay and have a contactless pick up at the front door. Since Jump moved to the area, more independent coffee shops around the corridor have been added to their app, and they support other cafes in Madison and Minneapolis. Get the app today so next time you can skip the line.

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