To the relief and joy of many people, Theo’s Java Café in downtown Rock Island reopened Monday morning after a total renovation and being closed nearly two years.
Former owner Theo Grevas (who opened and operated the beloved café for 27 years until retiring in early October 2021) was there to congratulate new owner Jamie Anderson, who owns the place with business partner Barry Morris of A1 Morris Heating & Cooling, Davenport. Anderson is the business manager for A1 Morris.
Grevas calls the refreshed café, at 213 17th St., “Theo’s 2.0.”
“It’s clean, it’s a whole new concept. I think it’s great,” he said, pointing out some regular customers who were back for the soft opening.
“We love Rock Island and we knew we wanted to be down here,” Anderson said. His grandfather was a longtime owner of G & S Shoes (1948-1984), formerly next to RIBCO on 2nd Avenue. “I’ve been down here since I was a kid. He had the mayor come in for shoes.”
Anderson grew up in Silvis, but his grandparents were from Rock Island. Among the new Theo’s décor is a wall full of family and historic photos of the area, including that downtown shoe store and an old Rock Island Lines train.
“Barry and I were looking for something to do; he has a condo down here,” he said, noting he’s a big proponent of Rock Island. “Theo’s was available. It’s an institution, a landmark.”
“When you walk in, it’s Theo’s but refreshed,” Anderson said. “We cleaned it up. It’s an old building. The space next door dates to 1896, and they refurbished the white tin ceiling and tile floor. Anderson expanded the corner stage (to host live music) and added a bar. The formerly separate building had hosted the Silver Grill bar about 100 years ago.
Theo’s hopes to host events there, he said. “We want to support music. A lot of people started here or played here ages ago and are already talking about coming back,” Anderson said.
For the time being, they are open 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, with 11 full-and part-time employees.
“We’ve got a great staff; a lot of them are returning,” Anderson said, noting one customer came in early this morning and they remembered his name and order.
“That is our strength – picking up where Theo built it and left it,” he said. Theo’s wasn’t open Sundays previously.
“People asked for it. We’ll manage it,” Anderson said. “With the hotel here, to have that availability will be nice.”
He’s excited to work with the new Rock Island Downtown Alliance and see the ambitious new downtown improvements. Theo’s new owners support the Special Service Area (SSA), which levies an additional tax on downtown property owners.
“I think it will help clean up the city in more ways than one,” Anderson said. “It’s one of the best, most walkable downtowns in the Quad Cities. It’s just left sitting here and there are so many more things we can do. The more people we bring in, the more vibrant it becomes. The more you’ll have that synergy, everything feeding off each other.”
“What we need down here is a different kind of vibe, and a different kind of energy,” he said. “There’s a need for more downtown investment and downtown businesses.”
The Theo’s renovations took longer than expected, starting in March 2023, Anderson said. “It really came out nice.”
For more information, visit the café Facebook page HERE.
