High Ground Cafe converts to Coffee Emporium and will soon serve coffee cocktails in IC

High Ground Cafe in Iowa City is now Coffee Emporium, serving breakfast sandwiches and soon, java with alcohol.

The coffee shop announced the change in ownership on social media last weekend. The Northside coffee shop temporarily closed for a minor remodel and reopened earlier this week.

Abby Ochs, owner of Coffee Emporium, told the Press-Citizen that staff and managers from High Ground Cafe remain. Wesley Ward, owner of High Ground Cafe, and Ochs began discussing the idea of a change in ownership last fall. Ochs said Ward had considered selling and was waiting for the “right transitional owner to pass on the baton to.”

“The coffee and quality in the space are the same,” she said.

What is Coffee Emporium?

The coffee shop began in Cedar Rapids more than two decades ago before Ochs became the new owner. The Cedar Rapids location has closed, though according to Ochs, the space will become a coffee shop from a different owner.

Coffee Emporium is known for its breakfast sandwiches, Ochs said, though there are veggie sandwiches, bagels and a BLT grilled cheese, among other dishes on the menu. Iowa City’s menu is the same as the Coralville location, though expect an expanded pastry menu in addition to seasonal drinks and coffee cocktails pending a liquor license, Ochs said.

High Ground Cafe opened in Iowa City in 2013, according to Press-Citizen archives.

Ochs hopes the Iowa City Coffee Emporium becomes a place for professionals and students to do everything from study to go on first dates.

“We want to be that spot that people get to choose and know that every time they're there, they're going to get the same quality as if they went to the Coralville location as well,” she said.

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Is this Iowa City Coffee Emporium the same as the Coffee Emporium in the Iowa River Landing?

Yes.

Coffee Emporium has one location in the Iowa River Landing, one to open in Tiffin at 1100 Anderson Place, Unit 500, later this year, and another coming to North Liberty, though Ochs declined to say the location. The North Liberty Coffee Emporium has a tentative opening date of Oct. 15, Ochs said.

Coffee Emporium

Location: 301 E. Market St.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

Website: https://www.coffeeemporiumia.com/

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: High Ground Cafe in Iowa City is now Coffee Emporium with breakfast