The Wakery, a late-night coffee shop and dry bar, is in the works for downtown Springfield.
“Everything to do downtown after 5 p.m. is a restaurant or bar,” said Elizabeth Wake, who envisions offering the downtown community other options. “We want to provide a positive nightlife atmosphere and build up an inclusive, non-alcoholic community.”
While she declined to disclose the location of The Wakery since she is still finalizing details of the lease, Wake said it will definitely be downtown. She intends to be open from 4 p.m.-11 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
“I’m targeting both people who don’t drink, or people who are done drinking. Sometimes you want to stay out, but you don’t want to keep drinking alcohol,” she said, noting that she hopes to attract people leaving the downtown bars, or those who want to go out with friends but aren’t into the bar scene.
“You want a place to go where you can get more than just a soda or seltzer water; that’s not exciting or fun,” Wake said. “We’ll have really delicious drinks that are full of flavor and more than you would create at home. We’ll have cocktails, but they will be all non-alcoholic liquors, plus craft lemonade.”
Wake said she’s already been in contact with other area businesses about potential partnerships and plans to work with Whimsy Tea and Custom Cup Coffee, in addition to sourcing honey from a local apiary.
Wake said she’s working on finalizing her financing and renovations plans and hopes to open in spring 2023. In the meantime, she will have pop-ups at the Old Capitol Farmers Market starting this month.
