Coffee & Treats in Springfield

Guests line up at the self-serve machines that stretch across Top City Frozen Yogurt Cafe’s lime-green wall, clutching their spoon in anticipation as they wait to fill their cups with swirls of YoCream frozen yogurt. After choosing from 12 rotating flavors—including no-sugar-added and sorbet options—they head over to the topping bar in the center of the room and cap their creations with crunchy cereal or candy.

Over at the serving counter, blenders whirr as they mix whole berries, peaches, and pineapples with yogurt or sorbet in smoothies. Frappes bring the buzz as they sub out the smoothie’s fruit for freshly roasted brews from Sisters Coffee Company. Guests can enjoy their frozen treats while sitting on a plush leather couch or taking advantage of free WiFi to search phrases such as “where does yogurt come from?” and “will brain freeze kill me?”.

Beau Mollinary and Jennifer Petersen know that kolache aren’t just a great dessert—when ornamented with a dollop of jalapeño cream cheese or a blend of turkey and brie, the Czech pastries become a savory, hunger-sating morsel. At the couple’s bakery and coffee shop, Chaos Kolaches, pastries contain not just sweet fillings, such as peach and banana nutella, but also meaty helpings such as pulled pork and chicken broccoli. The café also wakes up taste buds with gluten-free muffins, housemade oatmeal, and, on Saturdays, aebelskivers, a popover-style pancake. Starting as early as 6 a.m., diners can lounge on the patio and browse free WiFi, or simply admire the café’s red, black, and white interior for five hours straight. Guests can wash down their treats with Cafeto coffee and espresso drinks until the doors close, which happens when the clock ticks to 1 p.m. or a nationwide fire drill takes place.