Morgan County Marvels honors Elm City Roastery, Midwest Athletic Center owners

Ben Smith’s Elm City Roastery on South Mauvaisterre Street and John and Rachel Rohn’s Midwest Athletic Center on Hardin Street were the latest Morgan County business owners recognized for changing how Jacksonville feels and functions day to day. The Jacksonville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau added the two businesses to its Morgan County Marvels program during a ceremony that tied local pride to the visitor economy, spotlighting places that bring people downtown and draw athletes, families and tournament traffic into the county.

At 216 South Mauvaisterre Street, Elm City Roastery has become more than a quick coffee stop. The Jacksonville visitors guide describes it as a hand-crafted coffee shop near downtown, serving roasted-in-house coffee alongside snacks, while the business itself highlights coffee, tea, lemonade and in-house roasting. The CVB said Ben Smith has continued to grow the shop into a destination experience, one that helps shape the downtown routine for residents and gives visitors a reason to linger in the city center.

The Rohns’ Midwest Athletic Center tells a different but equally visible story at 409 Hardin Street. The facility now occupies part of the former MacMurray College gym complex, including the Jenkins Education Complex and the Bill Wall Gymnasium area, turning a once-empty campus asset into a busy indoor sports venue. MacMurray College closed in 2020, and its campus was auctioned off that November, leaving a large property that needed a new purpose. John and Rachel Rohn entered the project in March 2023 after their Fitness World leagues and activities outgrew their Walnut Street health club.

Today, the Midwest Athletic Center is used for practices, games and tournaments in several indoor sports, and it can be rented by the hour, day or weekend. It also has meeting space for groups. Rachel Rohn is listed as co-owner, leader of the volleyball program and co-owner-operator of Fitness World Health Club, while John Rohn is the co-owner, facility coordinator and main contact for event bookings. Weekend basketball tournaments at the complex have drawn 50, 60 or 70 teams at a time, with more than 100 teams hosted in the area over the course of a year.

Brittany Henry, executive director of the visitors bureau, said the program exists to recognize local excellence, innovation and community impact. Morgan County Marvels winners receive website and social-media visibility, media exposure and other recognition, but the larger effect is more immediate: the program puts a public spotlight on businesses that help define Jacksonville’s identity. In a county where independent owners often become landmarks, Smith and the Rohns are now part of the story the community tells about itself.