Locally owned coffee shop, cafe to open in former south Lawrence fast-food spot; timeline update on movie theater upgrades

New reclining chairs are slated to be installed in Lawrence's Regal Cinema Southwind theater as part of planned renovations.

Never underestimate the power of coffee. On a day like today, where the heat index is expected to top the century mark, some of us have ice cream on our minds. (And perhaps in our socks and in any other place that we think may provide some cooling relief.) But there are plenty of you who still will insist on having a cup of coffee, too. For those of you, I have word of a new, locally owned coffeehouse and cafe for south Lawrence.

Z’s Divine Espresso has signed a deal to open a new location along 31st Street in the location that formerly housed Backyard Burger, and, more recently, the El Potro Mexican restaurant before it moved to its new location. This will be the third location of Z’s, but this one is expected to be a bit different, said owner Sherry Bowden.

“This building has a kitchen,” Bowden said. “It gives us an opportunity to do all of our own baked goods and light lunches. It will be a little bit more of a cafe. We’re really excited about the kitchen.”

Bowden said she is still developing a lunch menu, but expects it to focus on sandwiches, salads, soups and other “lite bites.” She said the kitchen also will allow her to add more vegan and gluten-free options to the menu. The south Lawrence location — its actual address is 2351 W. 31st St. — also has a drive-thru that Bowden said the store will put to good use.

View Map

One thing that won’t change, Bowden said, is the coffee. The company will continue to do all of its own coffee roasting at its 23rd and Harper location. In addition to that location, Z’s also operates a coffeehouse in downtown Lawrence.

Bowden said she had been looking for quite some time to get a location in northwest Lawrence but struggled to find a suitable spot. She said she had no problem shifting gears to south Lawrence after seeing the rush of development that has occurred along the south Iowa corridor. That’s included a new Menards store, Dicks Sporting goods, and multiple restaurants including Pie Five, Popeyes, Raising Canes and others.

“There is a lot going on along south Iowa,” Bowden said. “People like the idea of a local brand, and right now there is not a lot of local on south Iowa, and there is not a lot of coffee.”

Bowden hopes to have the new location open sometime in August.

Allison Vance Moore and Kirsten Flory of Lawrence’s Colliers International brokered the deal for the new location.

In other news and notes from around town:

• I reported in April that a $1.5 million renovation project for Lawrence’s Southwind Theater had been approved, and that much of the plans looked to focus on adding reclining, Lazyboy-type seats to all 12 screening rooms.

At the time, though, I wasn’t able to get a lot of information from the theater’s ownership group, Regal, about the upgrades, although they did have the new chairs on display in the theater’s lobby.

Well, I have at least a bit of news to pass along: Regal has sent out a press release saying that the theater renovations are expected to be completed in September. The theater remains open during the renovations, although not all 12 screens are in operation during the time period.