Coffee Emporium takes over local Iowa City cafe, sells Cedar Rapids location

IOWA CITY — The former High Ground Cafe space at 301 E. Market St. has been taken over by Coffee Emporium.

After starting in Coralville last summer, the new Iowa City location is the third opening. Coffee Emporium started serving there April 4.

“We’ve wanted a space (in Iowa City) for quite some time,” owner Abby Ochs said. “(Before,) there was already High Ground and Tru Coffee. Adding another separate name to the mix didn’t make sense.”

Ochs approached High Ground owner Wesley Ward last fall before working out the arrangement. Coffee Emporium purchased High Ground’s equipment and assumed the space’s lease, but did not purchase the business itself.

The new menu, matching the Coralville location, offers breakfast items not served by High Ground Cafe. Coffee Emporium will temporarily continue to use High Ground’s roasters, supplementing coffee with Capanna Coffee Roasters in North Liberty.

The entire staff from High Ground has been hired by Coffee Emporium.

The Iowa City location comes as Coffee Emporium makes good on a broader vision for several cafes across Johnson County. As it opened its third location, it sold its original location in Cedar Rapids.

The Coffee Emporium at 220 Third Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids has reopened as Coffee Republic by owner Cathy Hill.

“I wanted to be more than a one-location local brand. I wanted consistency throughout the Corridor,” said Ochs, a Cedar Rapids native. “It was hard to keep the consistencies between Cedar Rapids and Coralville. Our culture aligns more with Coralville and Iowa City.”

The stark difference in the operating hours between the two locations was one incongruence, she said. Cedar Rapids closed by early afternoon, while Coralville stays open into the evening with cocktail offerings.

Coffee Emporium has scrapped plans for an Uptown Marion location, but plans to open its newly-built Tiffin location in early May. The new Park Place development at 1100 Andersen Place, Unit 500, will give the local brand its first drive-thru.

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