Quad Cities couple opens energy-focused cloud kitchen in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Quad Cities couple has opened the first of three planned food establishments in Cedar Rapids.

Double Up Coffee, for now a beverage and breakfast-focused concept offering a light lunch menu, opened up May 5 in the Rapid Foods cloud kitchen, with an eye for “on the go” customers, via carryout or delivery.

Soon, co-owners Bresa Chaudhry and Kamden Shelton hope to add dinner service with extended hours and open Double Up Wings for chicken, in the same building.

The couple has staked out their first restaurant in the Cedar Rapids cloud kitchen to tap into the concept itself — not yet available in the Quad Cities — as well as an untapped market for energy drinks in the city.

“(With cloud kitchens), Cedar Rapids is a couple steps ahead,” Shelton said. “We noticed Cedar Rapids didn’t have any energy drink places. The Quad Cities has seven different places.”

At Double Up Coffee, energy is their motto.

Top of the menu for energy are the Monster Energy and Redbull infusions, with popping boba and syrups that can be combined for flavor options like Tropical Seas, Tangy Peaches and Summer Paradise.

Lotus Energy drinks offer another plant-based alternative, and pea protein shakes are available in novel flavors to support muscle health.

But if traditional coffee and espresso flavors are your way of waking up in the morning, check out the Death Wish espresso shots with more than 600 milligrams of caffeine — 10 times more than a typical espresso shot. Death Wish, known for its strong coffee, provides the beans for the rest of Double Up’s coffee-based drinks, such as the Frozos frozen blended drinks with espresso.

“We have the strongest coffee. Once you try it one time, you want it,” Shelton said. “It gives you that kick start.”

Customer favorites include the Spanish Latte, their number one seller made with sweetened condensed milk, espresso and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The salted caramel latte also is popular year-round.

If you’re hungry in the morning or early afternoon, an assortment of breakfast and lunch options can start your day with a different kind of energy.

An ample selection of breakfast bowls, quesadillas and burritos with a penchant for chorizo and signature Mexican flavor profiles adorn the menu alongside bagels, breakfast sandwiches and pancakes for breakfast. Breakfast bowls are made with fried and seasoned potatoes, and the XL 3-meat burrito is a customer favorite.

The sides menu offers seven starchy ways to get your potatoes in with hash browns, tater tots, diced potatoes and fries offered in several cheese- and meat-covered options, including nacho cheese.

Chaudhry, 40, started the new venture with no formal restaurant experience, but brings 17 years of cooking for children as a homemaker. Her children, now 20, 18, and 16, help her run the kitchen.

Shelton, 31, has some hospitality experience helping in a family soul food restaurant and managing a nightclub. He hopes to put that to use with restaurant openings in short order, including plans for a pizzeria in the Quad Cities down the road.

“Everybody has loved her cooking for years,” Shelton said. “They said, ‘Hey, you should have a restaurant,’ and finally it made sense.”

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