Family strives to make coffee cafe a one-stop shop

Jean Caspers-Simmet

Date Modified: 01/07/2010 9:46 AM

E-mail article | Print version

Name: 4th Street Coffee Co.

Location: 604 East 4th St., St. Ansgar, Iowa

Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

Known for a wide variety of good food including made-from-scratch pizzas, burgers, soups, salads, paninis and subs. Recently added a value menu of 10 items including hot dogs, corn dogs, cheese quesadillas, chicken nuggets, side salads, French fries, ice cream cones and slushies. Pick two for $3, 3 for $4 or 4 for $5. There is a drive-up window for take-out orders.

Contact them at (641) 736-2100.

ST. ANSGAR, Iowa -- At 4th Street Coffee Co., customers can enjoy a coffee drink, eat a sit-down meal, work on their tan or rent DVDs.

"We're a one-stop shop," said owner Pam Morse.

The cafe was in a leased building in downtown St. Ansgar for 18 months. When the convenience store on the west side of town closed in July 2008, Morse bought the building, and she, her parents, Charlie and Karen Kittleson, her husband, Dan, and some friends gutted the building and totally redid the inside. The walls are painted in rich, warm colors with wooden wainscoting part way up the wall. Charlie built a coffee bar and a center serving island, and Charlie, Dan, and Morse's brother constructed the front porch, which allows for outdoor dining when the weather is nice.

She opened at the new location a year ago.

"Things are going pretty well," Morse said. "The economy has been through some tough times, but I can tell things are picking up. Having the multiple markets of tanning, DVDs, food and coffee has helped us."

Morse employs seven workers, and her three children, Lexi, Anthony and Aurora, all help out.

Morse's mother, Karen Kittleson, recently started baking pies every morning.

"She uses both my grandmothers' recipes as well as her own, and she's always looking for new ones," Morse said. "Everything including the crust is from scratch."

Kittleson makes cinnamon sugar crisps from the leftover pie dough and shares them with morning coffee customers. On a recent day, rhubarb and lemon meringue were on the menu. There is a $3 pie and coffee special available from 2 to 4 p.m. each day.

Morse offers gifts ranging from tea and coffee to mugs thrown by local potter Katie Joy. For the holidays there are made-to-order gift baskets. Gift certificates and ceramic coffee coins that customers can redeem for products are available.

Morse is not new to the food business. She owned G.P. DeMays, a St. Ansgar bar and grill, from 1994 to 1998. When she sold that business, she worked as a mortgage broker in Minneapolis.

4th Street Coffee Co. has a full coffee bar with hot and iced espressos, lattes and mochas. There are fruit smoothies, and ice cream flavors are chocolate, vanilla, twist and eight Flavor Burst choices.

Morse has several male and female coffee groups. A comfortable couch area is popular with high school kids, and the cafe provides free wireless Internet.

Morse offers a big menu with breakfast sandwiches and pizza, scones and muffins in the morning. There is a daily lunch special for $5.99. Favorites are hot beef and pork dinners and lasagna. Tacos are served all day on Tuesdays.

Morse's parents raise potatoes and onions, which she uses in her cafe.

"When we have potatoes, they are made from scratch," Morse said.

She is perfecting her bread-making skills and hopes to bake all the bread for paninis and subs in the future. Other plans call for an outdoor fire pit and gathering place.