More coffee in downtown? Why Rockford Art Deli launched a pop-up coffee club

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The latest addition to downtown’s coffee scene is a new blend: One that combines retail shopping with a pop-up cafe.

Rockford Art Deli, the retailer known for its 815-themed clothing and other merchandise celebrating local pride, has launched RAD Coffee Club inside the store at 402 E. State St. in downtown.

It’s a pop-up shop that will operate during special events — such as its live print day Friday and Fall ArtScene this weekend — and other evenings. There aren’t set hours for the pop-up cart, but the plan is that it opens after the nearby coffee shops Inzombia and Wired are closed for the night.

“The goal was to create a space inside Rockford Art Deli where people can come shop late, hang out and have like a third spot,” said Jarrod Hennis, owner of Rockford Art Deli. “Then, complement the coffee scene that we already have but not be competition.”

Third spots, or third places, is a term for public or commercial sites where people gather to socialize outside of home or work. Hennis wants to foster that feel with RAD Coffee Club, of which everyone is already a member.

The club also provides the retailer another way to create its own foot traffic in downtown. Hennis and his team are constantly conceiving ideas to spur people to shop, from the limited edition live prints to block parties and now the coffee cart.

“You don’t see coffee in spaces like this very often. So it’s a lot of fun, it brings a different dynamic to the industry,” said Derrick Wessels, coffee roaster for Madison, Wisconsin-based Grace Coffee Co., which supplies to RAD Coffee Club. “It’s good to do cross-industry things. It’s good to mix up what you do, explore new fields and see what else is out there. … I really like that it makes coffee feel very approachable.”

Grace Coffee Co., which has been in business since 2019, has nine Madison-area locations. It’s also a wholesaler and provides roasted beans for the mobile Vintage Goose Cafe and Woodfire locally. On Friday, Wessels was serving up drinks from the coffee cart, which includes creations such as the RADventure Latte, which is made with salted brown sugar, Prosser Farm honey and cinnamon.

“It’s a great concept,” said Christa Magnuson, who stopped by RAD on Friday and tried out the Campfire Maple Latte, a salted maple mallow latte with sweet cold foam. “I personally love coffee, so I think if you add coffee to anything it’s going to make it better.”

Downtown is already home to four coffee shops, including two that are a short walk from RAD. Inzombia, 306 E. State St., regularly closes at 3 p.m. and Wired, 414 E. State St., closes at 2:30 p.m. Hennis said that RAD Coffee Club’s hours would often start after 3 p.m. to avoid crossover and competition with its neighboring shops.

“Honestly, not really sure what to make of it. But seeing new things pop up downtown is always exciting,” said Pete DuFoe, owner of Inzombia. “We’ve been brainstorming our own ‘coffee club’ and possible late night hours for a while now, so it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.

“Jarrod is smart and intentional with a lot of what he does, and we want nothing but success for Rockford Art Deli. Meanwhile, we’ll keep doing what we do best. Serving up fun and delicious pop-cultured inspired themed coffee.”

Across the Rock River, there is Rockford Roasting Co., 416 S. Main St. — open until 5 p.m. — and Starbucks, 211 W. State St., which is open until 8 p.m. on weekdays and 7 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays.

Hennis sees room in downtown’s scene for RAD Coffee Club, and he thinks it gives the storefront another way to build its community of customers.

“Coffee culture is a really strong one. We already have a really good community with T-shirts, so I think adding coffee complements it really well,” Hennis said. “We just want to have fun and make good coffee.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas