Coffee shop. Ice cream parlor. Lunch counter. But that’s the least of it.

My favorite coffee shop these days is Smokey Row just off I-235 at MLKing in Des Moines. 

The thing I love about Smokey Row – beyond the coffee and food and wifi and friendly, accommodating young staff (as if that wouldn’t be enough!) – is that this coffee shop is a true community gathering place. Students from Drake University set up their computers for individual work or study groups. Families gather around big oak tables and play dominoes. Mothers and daughters come for lunch. Children come in after school for an ice cream or plate of Smokey Row chips. Business people come and go. The central location, just off main thoroughfares makes Smokey Row a convenient, easily accessible meeting place.

People come and hang out for hours, and that’s just fine with the staff. The place is always busy, but you can always find a table.

My bible study group gathers at Smokey Row every two weeks. When I tell my husband I’m going to bible study, he’s enthusiastic, ‘So this is a chicken pot pie night!’  A signature dish at Smokey Row, chicken pot pie is always on the menu.

I’ve been to the Smokey Row in Oskaloosaand found the environment to be just the same. I can only assume the company philosophy is, ‘come for the coffee, stay for the community.’

A coffee shop but a whole lot more.