May 26—You soon will be able to get a good cup of coffee with your cookie at Coley's Cookie Co., 901 S. Main St.

Nicole Porter, owner of the cookie company, is teaming up with Jeff Jones and Donna Divine of Neosho to introduce The Clay Cup to the Joplin market.

The Clay Cup — A Coffee Pottery started about 5 1/2 years ago when Jones and Divine took over a coffee bar at 114 N. Wood St. in Neosho.

The shop, which offers specialty coffees and teas, sandwiches, wraps, and soups and salads, is located near Neosho's square and has been part of the continuing revitalization there. Jones, an accomplished artist and potter, added a small art gallery and pottery studio to the mix. Jones teaches pottery classes.

The Clay Cup will occupy a small space in the cookie company to serve coffee. Divine said The Clay Cup has a relationship with the Onyx Coffee Lab in Bentonville, Arkansas. Onyx is an award-winning coffee roaster. There will be a space for pottery retail in the cookie company.

Jones and Divine said they recognize the potential for growth that exists in the 900 block of South Main Street and that teaming up with Coley's was a natural fit since The Clay Cup is a place where you can find Coley's cookies in Neosho.

Jones said the revitalization that is happening in downtown Joplin, and in other communities in the region, is because the businesses are providing "personal service and unique products. That's why these brick and mortar storefronts are making a comeback."

Coley's started three years ago as a cookie shop. It now offers sandwiches and has become a hotspot for trivia players on the third Friday of the month.

The opening of The Clay Cup in Coley's Cookie Co. is about two weeks away. Details to come.

More on pizza

After recently trying out the pizza buffet and salad bar at the new Gambino's Pizza in Airport Drive, I was reminded by a reader that there is a relatively new pizza shop in the former Kitchen Bypass restaurant at 1208 S. Main St.

Palace Pizza offers a lunch and a dinner buffet. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The lunch buffet on Sunday starts an hour later at noon. You can place an order online at palacepizzaco.com.

For $14.99, you get the pizza buffet, the salad bar and a drink.

Kids eat free on Wednesday nights with the purchase of an adult buffet.

In addition to several specialty pizzas on crispy thin crusts, the restaurant offers cheesy bread and a variety of chicken wings. Palace Pizza is known for its crab rangoon pizza and pickle pizza. I tried both during a recent visit to the restaurant. They're quite tasty, especially the crab rangoon. Make sure to get a piece of the Oreo cheesecake pizza for dessert.

You are likely to encounter one-of-a-kind pizzas there. A recent creation was a taco pizza that was inspired with cheese dip from Joplin's Casa Montez restaurant. As one Facebook reviewer put it: "Foodies run the place." It shows.

ArtWalk resumes

The ArtWalk in downtown Joplin will take place from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 1. Several venues will feature receptions where the public can meet the artists.

ArtWalk painters Misty White and Diane Simonds will show their work in the lobby of the Cornell Complex, 212 W. Seventh St.

A new exhibit, "Flash Points: Material, Intent, Fused," is in the main gallery of the Spiva Center for the Arts.

Photographer Mike Ritzman will be featured at the Joplin Avenue Coffee Co., 506 S. Joplin Ave. The backroom artists are Rose Thornhill, Brent Edwards, Annie Huett, Marc Daczewitz, Neva Rowland, Al Gritten, Olevia Opel, Ashley Williams and Shawn Riley.

Ron Erwin and Thao Nguyen will show their international photography at 412 S. Main St. At Fullbore Studio, 413 S. Main St., will be paintings by Debbie Judy and Lego wall art installations by Joshua Judy.

The Urban Art Gallery, 511 S. Main St., will host painter Deana Markus of Aurora with her works from "Forms, Farms and Fancifuls." Also showing will be Linda Teeter, Stacy Heydt and other gallery artists. Music will be by Tough Luck Chuck.

Plant Parenthood, 528 S. Main St., presents artists Marta Churchwell, Merlen White, Connie Miller and Brent Skinner. Next door at Beast & Barrel, 530 S. Main St., paintings by Carthage artist Cheryl Church will be shown. At Club 609, 609 S. Main St., Carthage nature photographer Koral Martin, with "Look Deep Into Nature," will be featured.

Contact Wally Kennedy at wkennedy@joplinglobe.com.