Well coffee lovers I’m back at our next stop on our Java Journey. It’s a quiet little place called Atomic coffee. Atomic coffee sprung into existence as of January 29, 2016. It’s located at 4707 Brady Street Davenport and is a small drive-thru with big flavor. The newest location that opened April 24 is located just inside the entrance of Ora at 6701 Northwest Boulevard Davenport. Brady Street is open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and the newest one is open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. The owner Peter tells me the name Atomic coffee came after sifting through 50 other... Read More

Gingerly, delicately, with the utmost care and precision, Andrew Huot is running a surgical scalpel over ancient pages that smell of dust and adhesive and are stained brown as gingerbread. He is dismantling connections made decades prior, which have succumbed to the rigors of time, in order to save the precious materials within. “Sometimes you need to tear something apart to put it back together,” Huot says. “In order to make it stronger and reinforce it, so that it can last a lot longer than it ever would have.” Huot’s careful hand is reinvigorating a cook book from 1946, its pages golden... Read More

The Java Journey goes back to Moline. I hesitate to admit at first.. I couldn’t find the place very easily . Well I would have asked directions… wait a minute isn’t that a man’s line? haha. (But I digress ) Dead Poets Expresso LTD 1525 32nd Avenue A Moline. “Et tu Brutus?” Being a poetry lover myself, Sir William Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe being  two of my most favorite I had to include Dead Poets espresso LTD (not to be confused with Dead Poets Society that was a good movie however.) After I had finished driving in circles yes about 3 times (stop laughing),... Read More

People enter jewelry stores in love, in pride, looking to celebrate their relationships and the vibrant times in their lives, and Neckers Jewelers makes sure that their glow remains as vibrant as one of their diamonds while patrons are within their doors. That emphasis on service, price, quality and selection at its locations at 721 6th Ave. in DeWitt and 4007 E. 53rd St., Davenport, helped Neckers become one of the top businesses in the area in its specialty. “It feels good to do so much to help customers throughout the year but also great to see that come back,” said Abby Rock, director of... Read More

Today the Java Journey takes us to Iowa. Nestled inside the Green Thumbers flower shop on Brady Street, is a lovely place where you can have a coffee and enjoy the sight and smell of true natural beauty. The coffee shop has been a part of the beautiful floral Nursery for  slightly over a year. But in that one year Aroma Coffee has gained quite a following. Not just those with green thumbs( that right there leaves me out) stop in.  But people driving up Brady Street and( we know how busy Brady Street gets.) Many business people and they have quite a group of Palmer students come in for a coffee... Read More

Onward on our journey through the Java world. Although their name is Dunn Brothers They’ve only just begun. Gina and Paula Bertini. The owners of Dunn Brothers Coffee. Gina tells me they open the Bettendorf shop in February 2011 and the Davenport May of 2016 . They are franchise out of Minnesota. Two brothers Ed and Dan Dunn started with their first coffee shop in St Paul Minnesota. They began franchising out in 1987.  (now get this eat your hearts out Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts) currently there are approximately 60 shops! Well I am impressed! Good for you guys! These are in the Midwest... Read More

The next stop on our Java Journey is a very cool little coffee shop called  Cool Beanz. “Many changes have been made since our opening in August of 2009,” says owner operator Annette of her shop located in the hilltop area of Rock Island on the corner of 14th Avenue and 30th Street. She goes on to tell me Cool Beanz actually got its name from her father. “Back in the seventies the word cool beans was a very popular slang expression not unlike far out groovy,” she said. “That’s a perfect name for a coffee shop. It represents the laid-back atmosphere I wanted to create.” When... Read More

Hello my fellow coffee lovers, time for another trek on the java journey. Now let’s travel down by the Riverside Down by the Riverside, the mighty Mississippi River Side to Milltown coffee 3800 River Drive #2  Moline. I spoke with a nice young man Ben, the general manager of Milltown coffee, and he told me Milltown coffee has been there for two and a half years. It gets its name from” City of Mills on the river. It’s a place to open your mind up to creativity, escape from the stress of work and enjoy the view of the river. The large windows and spacious area make it possible and... Read More

Put down that newspaper grab a Cup a Joe and follow my series, the Java Journey. Our latest stop is Caribou Coffee, located at the John Deere Road and 7th Street Moline HyVee. I walked up to this little coffee stand and asked for a decaf mocha with dark chocolate chips. It was delicious! It  tasted like homemade! Caribou coffee, located inside the Moline HyVee, which is usually bustling with customers, is a cozy  little nook with a comfy leather couch and plenty of seating in a little enclave. I learned it was a whole separate world from the store itself. As I spoke with Kathy, the bubbly friendly... Read More

Getting tired of the same old scene? Looking for a new place to hang out, whether by yourself or a group of friends? Well then you are in luck, because the District of Rock Island has added a new Arcade/Sports Bar that can fulfill your recreational desires. The Black Sheep is located at 1730 2nd Avenue Rock Island, right outside of the Plaza in The District of Rock Island. The owner, Shawn Cirlos, is an entrepreneur that has expanded his vision across the Mississippi River. Shawn also owns Spartans Pub, located on Hickory Grove Rd in Davenport. When he came across an opportunity to open another... Read More