Kate Breidenstein, left, a vice president at Vibrant Credit Union, gives Jesse Codling a tour of the new Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen in Bettendorf on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, during an open house. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Jennie Powless calls the new Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen in Bettendorf a warm, welcoming and relaxing place. “This is the kind of place that makes me want to stay here all day,” said Ms. Powless, the general manager of all three Vibrant Coffeehouse locations in Moline at 6600 44th Ave.; in Des Moines; and its […]
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Jennie Powless calls the new Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen in Bettendorf a warm, welcoming and relaxing place.“This is the kind of place that makes me want to stay here all day,” said Ms. Powless, the general manager of all three Vibrant Coffeehouse locations in Moline at 6600 44th Ave.; in Des Moines; and its newest site at 3230 Ridge Pointe, Bettendorf.
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A group looks around at the Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen in Bettendorf on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The new Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen in Bettendorf can seat about 200 people. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The new Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen in Bettendorf opens on Dec. 19, 2023. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Kate Breidenstein, right, a vice president at Vibrant Credit Union, points out features of the new Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen in Bettendorf on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Jennie Powless
This is a sitting area with a small fireplace at the coffee house.
The business features colorful art. Outside the building is a mural showcasing the school mascots of Bettendorf High School and Pleasant Valley High School.
This is part of the new Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen in Bettendorf
This is the gift shop area of the business.
Ms. Powless and many members of the business community got a look on Thursday, Dec. 14, at the 5,000-square-foot Vibrant Credit Union branch building that has been renovated into a coffeehouse. The latest Vibrant Coffeehouse is located off Middle and Belmont roads across from Lindquist Ford. During Thursday’s open house, Vibrant President and CEO Matt McCombs got to sample some of the coffee and look over the work in building the new business. He liked what he saw and tasted. “It’s fantastic. This is our third one (coffeeshop). We keep learning as we build these,” Mr. McCombs said.The open house was held to give Quad Citians a glimpse of the business before it opens to the public on Tuesday, Dec. 19. (Business hours will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.)“This brings people all together. … It’s a space people can use,” said Kate Breidenstein, a vice president at Vibrant Credit Union, who was giving tours of the new coffeehouse Thursday.
Menu includes drinks, food
Some of the features highlighted Thursday of the coffeehouse/restaurant include:
A wide variety of beverages from house-roasted espressos and hand-mixed energy drinks to hot and iced teas, chai, and smoothies. Drinks also featured energy drinks like the Cherry Bomb, Nature Walk and Cannonball. There are also plenty of different varieties of coffees, teas and espresso drinks.
The menu includes food, such as a California BLT, chicken salad sandwich, cranberry turkey salad and much more.
It serves all-day gourmet breakfast options and a wide array of lunch items with sandwiches, soups, and salads to enjoy.
House-roasted, locally produced coffee beans so customers can experience their favorite brews at home.
A curated collection of one-of-a-kind apparel and gifts from local artisans and suppliers. Some of the gift items on display Thursday included shirts, hats, mittens and candles.
Two meeting rooms and a sitting area featuring a small fireplace.
Vibrant Credit Union members can get a 20% discount on food and drink orders when they pay with a Vibrant debit or credit card.
The business has a seating capacity of 206, and employs about 30 people. (Ms. Powless said the business is looking to hire more employees. For more information on employment opportunities, go here.)
The business features colorful art. Outside the building is a mural showcasing the school mascots of Bettendorf High School and Pleasant Valley High School.
Some additions to come
While many features are in place at the new coffeehouse, the business is still a work in progress and is waiting on several more features. For example, there will be two more murals painted on interior walls near the entrance. Also, an outdoor patio will be available for customers once the weather gets warmer. Customers can also do some banking while they are enjoying coffee, sandwiches and energy drinks at the business. That’s because an ITM (not an ATM) is expected to be placed near the front door. An ITM – Interactive Teller Machine – looks much like an ATM, but with one big difference. Customers can speak with a teller using live video. Ms. Breidenstein said the ITM is expected to be installed within the next few days.The decision to transform a former credit union branch into a coffee shop is an example of Vibrant changing with the times, according to the company.“People used to choose where to bank based largely on which financial institutions had the closest branches — because every time you needed to make a deposit or get cash, you had to visit in person. Now that nearly 80% of Americans prefer to bank online, there’s a lot less need for multiple branch locations in every city. So a few years ago, we started looking at other ways we could maintain a presence in the community that went beyond traditional banking,” according to information from Vibrant.That transformation from traditional banking at the Bettendorf building started in June when renovation work began on the facility. By this week, most of that work was done.The Bettendorf site will probably not be the last Vibrant Coffeehouse and Kitchen. More coffee houses are now in the planning stages.“We’re scheduled to open seven more locations across Iowa and Illinois over the next two to three years,” according to information presented at Thursday’s open house.
