In the midst of the school transition, many new students and current students will be turning for support to their best friend, coffee.

Passionate for coffee, Morning Bell Coffee Roasters combines a diverse community of coffee drinkers with a high-end brewing selection.

“Clean tasting delicious coffees that are very easy to enjoy for a wide variety of consumers, coffee nerds and non-coffee nerds alike,” said Nadav Mer, owner of Morning Bell Coffee Roasters. 

Open since June 2016, Mer has created an environment at Morning Bell with an open floor plan modeled after many big city coffee shops. Mer got this idea from experiences attending coffee conferences and witnessing these layouts.

The design, unlike your typical coffee shop, was based off of specialty coffee norms featuring a large, open space meant to promote conversation and inclusion.

Mer and his wife began Morning Bell as a coffee wholesaler in Florida. They then moved to Arizona and continued wholesaling there. Morning Bell was featured at some farmer’s markets as well.

The couple landed in Ames in June 2016 where they switched to a brick and mortar operation and opened up shop on Main Street.

In todays climate, Mer promotes a diverse atmosphere by being extremely welcoming to his customers.

Mer said that the welcoming feeling is something they put in the DNA of their brand.

From owning the business to roasting the coffee, Mer involves himself in every facet of the business.

Rather than focusing on mass quantity, the Morning Bell owner and employees focus on the individual customer by making an effort to interact with them.

“We’re happy to even hold all the baristas from other shops,” said Mer.

Advertising for Brownicity this past weekend, Mer aims to further the conversation of inclusion and diversity. He does believe that he could do more to further that conversation and insists that this isn’t a one-time show of support.

“We’re hosting three nights of live music for the weekend of Maximum Ames,” said Mer.

Late this September, Morning Bell will be holding three nights of live music for the weekend of Maximum Ames Music Festival. This will be their third hosting of the festival in a row, following last year’s successful round.

As you walk over to pick up some coffee you will find art posted on the wall from a variety of artists. This all adds to the warm and pleasant vibe Mer has captured to couple with his coffee.

You can go grab a cup of joe, or talk to a few Joes at their shop at 111 Main St.