The Java Cafe in downtown South Bend transforms into an upscale cocktail bar at night

By day, Java Cafe on the ground floor of the Barnes & Thornburg building in downtown South Bend is a brightly lit spot for breakfast and lunch.

Since it opened in November 2021, its main focus has been coffee, pastries and a variety of food options for downtown office workers.

But Danni Smith, who was brought on as managing partner in August, started brainstorming with other partners about whether the chic 2,500-square-foot space at 201 S. Main St. could be even more.

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With about 15 years of experience working at and managing some of downtown’s finest bars ― including Cafe Navarre and then The Exchange Whiskey Bar ― Smith believed there was enough room for another upscale venue in downtown.

Beyond the office workers who might want to stop in after work, Smith was well aware of the population growth in the city’s core and the visitors that come downtown to enjoy a show at the Morris Performing Arts Center and South Bend Civic Theatre or a ballgame at Four Winds Field, among other things.

“Why not take advantage of the space?” Smith remembers thinking. “We were shutting down when there were still a lot of people downtown.”

And the space already had one of the city’s inexpensive riverfront liquor licenses, which allow a full three-way permit for businesses within 3,000 feet of the St. Joseph River.

While a standard license costs about $60,000 to acquire, a riverfront permit can be had for $2,000 a year, of which $1,000 goes to the state and the remainder to Downtown South Bend Inc. for administering the program.

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After working on a new design for the space ― which incorporates ideas that Smith and others picked up during their travels ―the Java Cafe was shut down for about five weeks this winter to allow for new paint, construction of a bar, revamped bathrooms, and the installation of new lighting, thick draperies and other features.

At the end of March, the space was ready to reopen as Java Cafe by day and Sidebar by night ― serving both daytime and evening customers.

At 3 p.m., the Java Cafe becomes a beehive of activity as employees change menus, lower the lights, pull the drapes, change the music, move a pastry case and turn on or light about 40 candles.

“We’ve allotted about an hour for the changeover,” Smith says, adding that customers are still free to come in for a cup of coffee during the process. “But the more we do it, the faster we’re getting it done.”

At 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, the space becomes the Sidebar, a legal term that’s a nod to the lawyers in the building and the nearby courthouse but also describes its spot in the southeast corner of the Barnes & Thornburg building.

At the end of the process, the space has completely transformed.

“I wanted to bring big city vibes to the space,” Smith says. “I wanted it to feel a bit moody, something like you might find in Chicago or Los Angeles.”

The Sidebar offers a nice assortment of beer and wine options, but hand-crafted cocktails that were developed by Smith ― and will likely be changed up periodically to keep things fresh ― are its strength: unique cocktails like the Woodsman, which combines fresh and tart Koval cranberry, house-made cola syrup, forest bitter, Appalachian fernet and high-proof bourbon, or One Alcohol Please, which combines black pepper and red beets with spiced pear, vinegar, egg, citrus and smokey mezcal.

Prices range from $12 to $13, but these are the types of drinks you sip and savor rather than slam.

Those offerings will help separate the Sidebar from other venues, but Smith says bartenders are also willing to make favorite old classics or just about anything customers might want.

Though the Sidebar started with snacks when it first opened, it recently added a chef who will be preparing small plates to go with its menu of cocktails, mocktails, beer and wine. It also has an expansive patio on the south side of the space that Smith intends to make better use of this summer.

Snacks are priced around $7 or $8 and small plates range from $13 to $16.

Hours at Java Cafe are from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Hours at Sidebar are 4 to 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Email Tribune Market Basket columnist Ed Semmler at esemmler@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Downtown South Bend venue offers java by day and cocktails by night