Arrowroot Coffee Opens Downtown Springfield Shop Targeting Local Specialty Market

Arrowroot Coffee Co. has opened its first brick-and-mortar at 625 E. Adams St. in downtown Springfield, occupying an 1,800-square-foot storefront that combines a retail lounge in front with the roastery tucked into the back half of the building. The space, long home to Recycled Records until that shop closed in 2023, was extensively renovated over more than a year to create a lounge-style cafe with seating designed for lingering, meetings, and remote work.

Inside, a tall white brick wall displays the Arrowroot plant logo beside a lounge area furnished with leather chairs and a rug under warm wicker pendants. The espresso bar features green paneling and a powder-coated green La Marzocco Linea PB espresso machine; dual Mahlkönig E65W Grind by Sync grinders handle espresso dosing while a Mazzer ZM is dedicated to batch and pourover filter coffees. Retail bags on the shelf use botanical, textbook-style line drawings and circles of color to communicate flavor profiles, and collaborative artwork by local artist Allison Penrod appears in the dining area.

Owner Jacob Dinardo (name sometimes spelled DiNardo in other mentions) said the cafe grows out of seven years of roasting at home, farmers market stalls and a mobile espresso trailer. The roastery side will continue small-batch production and wholesale to grocery stores and area businesses while retail bags and fresh roasts fill hoppers in the shop. Dinardo said, “I’m excited to grow and train with my staff to be able to offer even greater quality here. We’re also planning to do coffee education days and brewing classes to help teach the community about specialty coffee. Mostly we’re just working to serve great coffee every day and help build a space for community-building in downtown Springfield.”

The menu leans coffee-first with signature flavored lattes such as Lavender Dream Latte, Cinnamon Roll Latte and a Campfire S’mores Latte, plus single-origin adventurous roasts including a peach-and-vanilla co-fermented Colombian. Oat milk is the default dairy-free option, chosen in part because it avoids dairy, soy, gluten, nuts and other major food allergens. The food program opens with house-baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, a rotating selection of muffins and fresh bagels, with plans to add breakfast sandwiches and creative cream cheeses like chili crisp and dill pickle.

Operations include a continued presence at the Old Capitol Farmers Market and occasional events, while six staff members have been hired and are in training. Posted hours vary across listings; one set shows Wednesday–Friday 7 a.m.–2 p.m. and Saturday–Sunday 8 a.m.–3 p.m., while another lists Wednesday–Sunday 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Plans remain to tackle upper-story renovations later and to expand partnerships with local farmers and food producers as the roastery-cafe settles into downtown Springfield.