We started our three-part Memphis Coffee Shop Guide in Downtown, which now has the densest collection of shops in the city.

But the modern Memphis coffee shop scene began in Midtown, where Java Cabana and Otherlands opened in the early 1990s to provide a new breed of neighborhood “third space.”

Those beloved shops still serve that purpose but now reside alongside a growing collection of specialty coffee houses.

Memphis Coffee Shop Guide: Downtown

And if the coffee scene in Memphis has expanded, so has the notion of “Midtown,” which once meant west of East Parkway. Most would now include the Broad Avenue Arts District in an … um ... broader definition of Midtown, as we do here. 

These guides are about coffee shops as place, not counting the trucks, carts and kiosks that further expand local coffee offerings. And what makes a coffee shop? What’s the line between a coffee shop and a restaurant with a coffee program? It’s purely a judgment call. 

Next week’s final installment will continue east — and north and south, too — to take on the expanding coffee options in East Memphis, the suburbs and elsewhere. 

But, for now: Midtown. 

This installment was written at the bar at Café Eclectic, with drip coffee and a half order of Pookie’s Pancakes. Tucked away at my favorite seat at Crosstown Concourse (I’ll never tell) with a French Truck “NOLA.” In the cozy back nook at Otherlands, sipping on housemade chai and nibbling cinnamon toast. 

Sound Bites takes a sip with Grind City Coffee Xpo organizer Daniel Lynn

Bluff City Coffee & Bakery 

• The gist: Cooper-Young second location of the South Main shop, in a converted bank branch building right on the intersection.
• Location: 945 Cooper St.
• Hours: 6:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Monday-Saturday., 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Sunday.
• Coffee basics: All coffee drinks are espresso-based. Not a roaster, but they package and sell their own house blends. 
• Specialty drinks: The Haley’s Comet is a latte with Oregon Chai and caramel apple syrup. Also have smoothies and frozen mochaccinos.
• Pastry situation: A deep menu, all baked by the shop, including popular house “pop tarts” (Nutella or raspberry), muffins, mini-loaves, dense cheese danishes and crumbly cookies. Olive oil and strawberry cakes are standards.
• Other menu notes: A sandwich menu for both breakfast and lunch. Biscuit sandwiches at breakfast. 
• Atmosphere: The “bank branch” roots still linger in one of the more antiseptic coffee-shop environments in town. A few seats inside and a pantry-style market section of goods to go.
• Outdoor seating: Some covered backyard patio tables out front offer a prime view of the street life at one of Memphis’ most notable intersections. 
• Web: bluffcitycoffee.com 
• Instagram: @bluffcitycoffee

Recipe Exchange: Alice’s Kahlua Pecan Pie

Café Eclectic 

• The gist: Vollintine-Evergreen’s neighborhood diner.
• Location: 603 N. McLean Blvd., across from Snowden School.
• Hours: 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Saturday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Sunday. 
• Coffee basics: They use the Italian Illy brand blend for drip, cold brew and a full espresso bar.
• Specialty drinks: Longstanding faves include “The Star & Micey,” named after the local rock band, a double espresso with a mix of white and dark chocolate sauces, topped with whipped cream, and the Cinnful Jim, a double espresso with vanilla syrup, cinnamon powder and steamed milk. 
• Pastry situation: A large, rotating cast of options most baked in-house. Cheddar bacon biscuits and brioche cinnamon rolls among the better bets but look for pastry specials.
• Other menu notes: A full, diner-style restaurant, with a particular breakfast emphasis. Try Pookie’s Pancakes, some of Memphis’ best. Good omelettes and biscuits, too.
• Atmosphere: A gathering spot for neighborhood families, Midtown arts-scene types and students from nearby Rhodes College. A real restaurant that also feels like a real coffee shop, probably balancing the two more than any other space in town. You can linger comfortably if it’s not too busy, but maybe don’t try that on weekend mornings (where there’s often a wait for a table) or during busy lunch rushes.
• Outdoor seating: Nice gated sidewalk seats recently bolstered by a new wooden deck, more than doubling the outdoor seating. 
• Web: cafeeclectic.net
• Instagram: @cafeeclectic

Cup after cup: From Otherlands to Comeback to the Anti Gentrification Coffee Club

City & State 

• The gist: Combo specialty coffee/gift shop was an early arrival and catalyst for the reborn Broad Avenue Arts District since its 2014 opening. 
• Location: 2625 Broad Ave.
• Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday.; 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Sunday.
• Coffee basics: Pour-overs, cold brew and full espresso bar using coffee from Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee and Pennsylvania-based Passenger Coffee. 
• Specialty drinks: A staple favorite is the smoky salted caramel latte. There’s also a house coffee soda. Recent seasonal specials have included a lumberjack latte (maple, cinnamon, pecan) and the raven (a latte with spiced rosemary syrup and activated charcoal). 
• Pastry situation: Excellent chocolate chip cookies, muffins, croissants and more come from their down-the-street sibling restaurant the Liquor Store. 
• Other menu notes: Pastries only. 
• Atmosphere: Airy, attractive space full of natural light and plants. Furnishings are stylish but on the austere side, with all seats rounded, backless stools. Great for a quick meeting, or some quick work with a good drink, but less so for lingering. Gift shop specializing in “maker”-oriented jewelry, cards, self-care and food-oriented goods offers browsing before or after your coffee. Attractive new mural outside from a recent Paint Memphis event in the neighborhood. 
• Outdoor seating: Dog-friendly covered patio offers more comfortable seating and is better for extended stays when the weather’s right. 
• Web: cityandstate.us
• Instagram: @cityandstate

A night in the kitchen at Dory

French Truck Coffee 

• The gist: New Orleans-rooted coffee bar that merged with the local Relevant Roasters. This location serves the main atrium at Crosstown Concourse.
• Location: 1350 Concourse Ave.
• Hours: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday-Sunday.
• Coffee basics: Beans roasted behind glass visible from the main atrium. No drip, but pour over option includes a “high end’ Grand Cru Pour Over with multiple options. Full espresso bar. 
• Specialty drinks: Even if you don’t usually go for sweetened iced coffee, you might want to try the New Orleans Iced Coffee (or “NOLA”), a coffee and chicory cold brew shaken over ice with milk and simple syrup. Fitting the New Orleans roots, there’s also cafe au lait (minus the beignets). The Oji iced coffee is a Japanese-style slow brew. Also lots of specialty teas, iced and hot. 
• Pastry situation: Small selection of croissants, cookies and donuts. 
• Other menu notes: Small breakfast and lunch menus, including biscuit sandwiches, waffles, toasts and other sandwiches and salads. It’s also easy to pair coffee from French Truck with food or goodies from other Concourse businesses.
• Atmosphere: The large, open main atrium at Crosstown Concourse has become something of the grand lobby of contemporary Midtown Memphis; there’s no telling who you might run into. There’s an eclectic mix of hard-top tables and cushy seating immediately surrounding the French Truck bar, but it really serves the whole building, full of all kinds of seating possibilities throughout seven publicly accessible floors. Music pop-ups and other events happen periodically in the atrium. Music on the regular from the DJs at community station WYXR, who broadcast from behind glass across from French Truck.
• Outdoor seating: None specific to French Truck, but plentiful gated seating along the front of the building and a public back patio on the second floor. 
• Web: frenchtruckcoffee.com 
• Instagram: @frenchtruck 

$10 deal: Large menu offers inspiration in Binghampton

Inspire Community Café

• The gist: Small, homey cafe/shop serving the Binghampton neighborhood. 
• Location: 510 Tillman St., in a shopping center at Tillman and Sam Cooper. 
• Hours: 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Tuesday-Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday.
• Coffee basics: Drip coffee and espresso bar using locally roasted beans from French Truck.
• Specialty drinks: Their honey bourbon spiced pecan milk latte won an Edible Memphis iced coffee contest this past summer. New for fall is a toasted s’mores latte, with toasted marshmallow syrup and graham cracker crumbles. Iced hibiscus tea. Milkshakes. Smoothies include the Greenline (mango, banana, kale, spinach, apple juice) and Binghampton Berry-Licious. 
• Pastry situation: Not much, but try the Nutella banana chia toast, on La Baguette bread. 
• Other menu notes: A breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, including scrambles and whole-grain pancakes for breakfast. Quinoa bowls, quesadillas and salads for lunch/dinner. 
• Atmosphere: A tight but cozy space with a few two- and four-top tables, a cushy-chair nook and a meeting room in the back. 
• Outdoor seating: A front patio with picnic tables and solo chairs. 
• Web: inspirecafememphis.com
• Instagram: @inspirecommunitycafe 

At Kinfolk breakfast, big biscuits are only the beginning

Java Cabana 

• The gist: Cooper-Young’s living room, in a converted bungalow a block off the intersection. The oldest existing coffee shop in Memphis, opened in 1992 by Tommy Foster, it’s kept on following the 2019 passing of longtime owner Mary Burns.
• Location: 2170 Young Ave.
• Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday. 
• Coffee basics: “Fair trade coffee” with a full espresso bar, drip and iced coffee. 
• Specialty drinks: Mostly whipped-cream-topped regular menu specialty drinks (the “Lisa Marie” is a raspberry hot chocolate), except for the “Jerry Lee” (RIP), which is dark roast with espresso. “Strong drink!” Look for changing “barista specials,” recently including “The Golden Hour,” a hot peach tea sweetened with brown sugar cinnamon syrup and honey, with steamed milk, and “Purple Moon,” an iced blueberry tea with pomegranate syrup and sparkling water. Milkshakes available, with and without coffee. 
• Pastry situation: Minimal, with some muffins and bars wrapped at the counter. 
• Other menu notes: Pastries only. 
• Atmosphere: Comfortable couches and formica breakfast-room tables in what actually used to be the living and dining room of the house, with the barista station in the house’s old kitchen. A cozy space, walls and windows adorned with original art and gig flyers. An upright piano in the corner, though “please don’t play without permission.” Chess boards abound, with occasional chess tournaments and a Thursday night open mic. A little thrift-shop-style nook in the back with clothes and shoes for sale. The Wi-Fi password fits the welcoming vibe: “loveandlight.”
• Outdoor seating: A couple of sidewalk seats and bench out front. 
• Web: None
• Instagram: @javacabanacafe 

Merger with Memphis group takes regional coffee company public

Otherlands Coffee Bar 

• The gist: Midtown’s living room — and sunroom and reading nook and back porch — since the mid-1990s. 
• Location: 641 Cooper St.
• Hours: 7 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Tuesday; 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday.
• Coffee basics: Full espresso bar with drip coffee and cold brew.
• Specialty drinks: “Otherdrinks” include a chai tea made in-house with a mix of cardamom, coriander, cloves and more. Lemonade-oriented drinks include a ginger lemonade zinger and Heather’s Ale, which mixes lemonade and orange juice over ice. 
• Pastry situation: Assorted homey muffins and bars at the register, from a local baking partner.
• Other menu notes: Labeled “Otherfoods.” Spicy cheese grits and the “Best Cinnamon Toast in the South” (I dunno about the claim, but it’s pretty good and a classic comfort food you don’t find on many menus) are notable on a breakfast menu that also has waffles, oatmeal and more. Slightly gussied-up peanut butter sandwiches and melts on the lunch menu. Lots of vegetarian and vegan options generally. 
• Atmosphere: The bric-a-brac vibe of a good vintage/thrift shop, with seating spread among three separate rooms with slightly different atmospheres. The large, open main room is a cluster of breakfast-room-style tables and chairs. Cushy chairs are mixed in for the two smaller rooms, one a popular sun-dappled study spot, the other a darker nook adorned with fish tanks and a wall of mirrors. Laptops, chess players and extended off-site work meet-ups abound. Eclectic clientele ranges from high-schoolers to retirees. Wall art from noted local artist Alex Warble, with a giant “I Am the Cosmos” mural outside, presumably inspired by the song from late Big Star founder Chris Bell. Large events board full of flyers and another section — “Here Are Some Places Otherlanders Love” — where customers can recommend other places and things around Midtown and the wider city, including other coffee shops. A little gift shop tucked into the center where owner Karen Lebovitz sells candles and other items. 
• Outdoor seating: A lovably shambling, slightly covered back porch with a larger area of patio-style seating below. 
• Web: otherlandscoffeebar.com 
• Instagram: @otherlandscoffeebar 

Merger with Memphis group takes regional coffee company public

Society Memphis Skatepark and Coffee 

• The gist: The coffee house shares space with a skate shop, both fronting the indoor park on an industrial stretch just off Broad Avenue. 
• Location: 583 Scott St.
• Hours: 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday-Saturday; noon-10 p.m., Sunday.
• Coffee basics: Drip, pour over, cold brew and full espresso bar using local roasts from Ethnos Coffee Roasters and Dr. Bean’s. 
• Specialty drinks: Nothing of note on a recent visit. 
• Pastry situation: Cheddar-bacon biscuits, big Rice Krispie bars, brownies, cookies, muffins and loaves, all made in-house daily, and perhaps cooling in a pan alongside the coffee bar. 
• Other menu notes: Pastries, breads and snacks only.
• Atmosphere: There’s a glassed-in upstairs lounge if you want to try to see some kickflips or ollies while sipping on a latte. In the main coffee area, there are four bar seats at the window, a few tables, a split-log conference table and couch area in a bright, casual space. 
• Outdoor seating: A couple of parking lot picnic tables. 
• Web: societymemphis.com 
• Instagram: @societymemphis