Daydrink Coffee is closing the doors of its downtown location at 125 S. Dubuque St. on March 3.
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The downtown location opened in fall 2020, where co-founders Connor Moellenbeck and Michael Beyne started Daydrink to bring coffee to Iowa City in a way they both saw fit.
The cafe currently has two locations, one downtown and the other at 518 Bowery St. With the downtown location closing, the owners and staff will focus on the Bowery Street location, which will remain open.
“This space opened up in 2020 alongside Basic Goods and we thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase what we’re interested in, in a city that had a void within specialty coffee,” Moellenbeck said.
Moellenbeck said it was also important to him to start Daydrink Coffee during a point in time when everyone needed a greater sense of community, starting with plans of being open on weekends.
“Daydrink got taken too well, so we realized we wanted to dedicate a lot of our time and effort to continue that wave we started off on one weekend and what we translated it to nearly three-and-a-half years later,” Moellenbeck said.
The Bowery Street location opened during the fall of 2023 inside a historic building.
“It’s in a neighborhood and it’s very community-oriented, so we wanted to put time into that,” Moellenbeck said. “We wanted to run both shops, but it came down to us rather wanting one great shop that’s community-oriented than stretching ourselves thin with two really good shops.”
Jonah Terry, co-owner and creative director of Daydrink Coffee who joined two years after the coffee shop’s opening, said he has special memories from the downtown location.
“I had never really been in a space that was so connected until I walked into Daydrink,” Terry said. “I remember having conversations almost every time I came in with people I didn’t even know and you could tell everyone was genuine”
Moellenbeck added he enjoyed seeing Daydrink Coffee blossom and bring people together throughout the years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Bringing everyone together in a time when everyone really needed it through a medium that we’re really proud of was important,” Moellenbeck said.
With the downtown location closing soon, Moellenbeck and Terry said they are excited to fully invest in one location, allowing them to be more intentional with their space and expand the Bowery Street location.
“We weren’t always able to use the downtown space in the way we wanted,” Terry said.
Daydrink Coffee has also brought its community to the Bowery Street location. The cafe hosted its first event since opening in October — a coffee throwdown.
“It was packed out because it was a bit of a small space, but it had that same energy and feeling that draws everyone to Daydrink,” Terry said.
The Bowery Street location plans to host more events, such as coffee classes and after-hour events.
“We plan to continue being a pillar not only in the coffee community but also in our community as a whole,” Moellenbeck said. “We’re individuals who live in and care about this city, so everything we do is for the better of everyone within Daydrink and outside of it as well.”
