Oh how I love a good coffee shop. We have many good chain coffee shops where I live — in fact Starbucks is kind of the underdog here in Minnesota, where Caribou Coffee and Dunn Brothers rule. But in my heart of hearts, I love to be in a funky little coffee house with interesting décor and a flavor all its own.
We had a drizzly weekend, so on Sunday I grabbed my laptop and went to my favorite little hangout — Monkabeans. Is that the cutest name or what? The funny thing is, I had no idea the whole name was "Monkabeans Sunshine Cafe" until I looked at this photo. How did I miss that? Since coffee is liquid sunshine, it's so perfect!
Monkabeans is very small. I'm going to say maybe 30 people would be the absolute maximum it could seat if every single chair and countertop space was full. I didn't get a photo of the entire dining area because I didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable. It's a very intimate space.
This picture of the service counter makes it look much more grand than it is. I think a total of three employees can fit back there at once, and they are bumping into one another the whole time. But they're always cheerful!
They definitely have a sense of humor, if this sign is any indication.
Next up, the pastry case. Monkabeans caters to the natural foods crowd, but no coffee shop is complete without its muffins and goodies, now is it?
By default, you get your coffee in a paper cup at Monkabeans. But one of the whole points of going to a quaint, privately owned coffee shop is to get your coffee in a nice mug. So they were happy to accommodate me.
The décor is an eclectic mix of 50's retro, kitsch, plants, and local art.
I shared a close-up of this foot lamp as my feature photo. Here's the whole thing. It gives me the giggles.
I really like the fact that they showcase the work of local artists. It's got to be tough to make a living with art. The more exposure from hopping little businesses like Monkabeans, the better.
They also have some racks of charming little impulse buy items. Great socks never go out of style, and they make an awesome little last minute thoughtful gift any time of the year.
Even the bathroom is charming. I always love the silly hand painted mirror border.
Well, that's it for this post. Big thanks and hugs to the Cinnamon Cup Coffee admins for hosting these great prompts. You can read the inspiration from this post here. Hurry if you want to join! The next one comes out Thursday.
Photo credits: All of the photos in this post were taken by me with my iphone and belong to me, unless otherwise noted.
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