Nocturnal and The Rusty Cup win most popular coffee shop poll

The Monroe News recently held a poll asking readers where one could find the best cup of coffee in the county.

By the time the vote closed on Saturday, Sept. 28, two shops had tied for the top spot — Nocturnal in Monroe and The Rusty Cup in Ida.

Both shops started with the intent of filling niches in their respective communities. For example, when Hannah Holdwick and her husband, Zach, opened Nocturnal in October 2023, the intent was to provide a spot that appealed to a gothic aesthetic, of which they were both fans. Hannah said that she had adopted the aesthetic since her high school days and wanted to provide somewhere people similar to her could enjoy that atmosphere.

"A lot of people get confused and think it's like a horror aesthetic, which it isn't; it's very much more like romantic and dark," she said.

The shop also, unsurprisingly, gets into the Halloween spirit around spooky season, with gothic reading night every Wednesday during October, games and live music are also part of their special Halloween hours of 8 p.m.-12 a.m.

The Rusty Cup, on the other hand, started by filling a more general niche: a place to hang out. According to owner Jamie Hunter, Ida didn't really have a place to do that before she started the business. Now, Hunter invites people to the shop's "hometown feel."

"I know people when they come in, they say they just feel so welcome, like they feel like they're at home," she said.

After spending time as a stay-at-home mom, Hunter was itching to do something after her kids started not needing her as much. She had already coached at Ida Public School District and was on their board of education, so her desire to help her community was well-established.

"Just being in Ida and serving my community seemed really important," she said.

One thing is clear, both establishments offer some great coffee and atmosphere, and this combination made them the Monroe News reader's choice.

— You can reach Connor Veenstra at [email protected].