In & Around South Bend, Indiana: 6 Cool + Creative Cafés

Whether you’re local to South Bend or just cruising through, here are some of the best coffee spots to explore within and around the city.

BY MEGAN LEE
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Photos courtesy of Megan Lee unless otherwise noted

South Bend, Indiana, may be best known as the home of the University of Notre Dame or the onetime political stage of former mayor Pete Buttigieg, but in recent years, it’s also become a jumping-off point for some of the Third Coast’s most exciting specialty-coffee destinations. 

Whether you’re sticking close to town or venturing between Chicago and Southwest Michigan for the weekend, “Michiana” offers a host of cafes that blend hospitality, thoughtful sourcing, and creative drinks.

Here are six standout spots that showcase the best coffee culture around the South Bend area.

Cloud Walking Coffee

In South Bend proper, Cloud Walking is the café to visit when you’re looking for atmosphere. The space is equal parts coffeehouse and lounge, with plush seating, warm lighting, and a relaxed, eclectic vibe.

The café focuses on locally roasted coffees and seasonal specialty drinks, often with creative twists. Think floral lattes and chai blends. (I still think about the iced basil latte I ordered on my first visit).

But Cloud Walking is as much about the space as the drinks. With live music, open mic nights, and community gatherings, the café positions itself as the perfect “third place” for South Bend’s creatives and professionals alike.

Smalltown Coffee Co.

Drive west toward Crown Point and you’ll land at Smalltown Coffee, a café and roastery that embodies the “slow down and savor” approach.

General manager Jacob Roberge explains that the café’s name isn’t just about geography: “The idea of ‘Smalltown’ is about all the micro-communities in our lives—clubs, schools, churches, workplaces—and how coffee can bring people together within any of them,” he says.

The café itself opened in 2020, after years of roasting in borrowed spaces (including a brewery with a very cute cat). Today, customers can watch beans being roasted right inside the shop, eight pounds at a time.

Jacob emphasizes that their choices hinge on two principles: ethics and organics. “We always want to pay reasonable prices so the people involved in the growing and harvesting of the coffee can live with a decent standard,” he says. “When you buy commodity-priced coffee from mass producers, you might be horrified to see how the people live who do all the hard work that we consume with a quick cup of coffee and move on with our lives.”

That philosophy carries through to the drinks menu. Seasonal creations like the Orange Dreamsicle draft latte, made with freshly zested and juiced oranges, also showcase the café’s commitment to house-made ingredients.

Infusco Coffee

Just over the Michigan border in the Lake Michigan beach town of Sawyer, Infusco Coffee has become a community hub for both locals and vacationers. And the best part? It’s bringing color back to coffee shop culture. Step inside and you’ll find a bright, open café with reclaimed wood, natural light, and an easygoing energy. (And be sure to add a line item to your budget for its adorable merch.)

Pourover enthusiasts can choose from a rotating menu of seasonal origins, while espresso-based drinks are consistently dialed in. Pastries and snacks from nearby Bit of Swiss round out the experience (don’t sleep on the bran muffin), making it an ideal stop before a day at nearby Warren Dunes State Park or before hitting the wineries around Berrien Count.

Signature drink recommendation: Nothing hits like one of their blueberry drink specials in the summertime, like the Rambo 4.7, made with blueberry and earl grey syrup, FeverTree tonic, and a shot of espresso.

Ixxa Coffee Roasters

Though younger than some of the other shops on this list, Ixxa Coffee Roasters has already built a reputation for precision roasting and bold flavors. Their café is modern and minimalist, and spotlights the coffee itself above all else—plus, it’s full of plants!

The menu features carefully selected single origins roasted in-house, often highlighting bright, fruit-forward profiles. For adventurous drinkers, Ixxa’s rotating pourovers and limited seasonal offerings showcase just how expressive coffee can be. Espresso drinks lean toward the lighter-roast, contemporary style, with clarity and balance at the forefront.

Rising Kites Coffee

If you’re traveling with kids, Rising Kites Coffee in downtown Bridgman might be the single most family-friendly café in the region. The shop offers both an indoor playroom and an outdoor, fenced-in area stocked with interactive toys. 

Bright and welcoming, the café feels every bit as joyful as its name suggests.

But Rising Kites isn’t just a coffee shop; it’s also a program of Rising Kites, a non-profit dedicated to celebrating the gift of Down syndrome. Coffee sales support their Rising Kites Bag Program, which provides encouragement, education, and resources to families newly navigating a Down syndrome diagnosis. The café also creates employment and job-training opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

The menu balances carefully prepared classics with fun seasonal drinks (I enjoyed my rhubarb maple latte immensely, and my husband didn’t leave a drop of cortado behind). 

Its mix of thoughtful coffee, inclusive culture, and community-centered energy makes Rising Kites more than just a place to grab a drink the next time you’re spending a weekend in Michiana.

Dagger Mountain Roasters

For many in Northwest Indiana, Dagger Mountain is synonymous with coffee done right. The roastery-café started when two partners, frustrated with the long drives to Chicago to get specialty coffee, decided to create their own destination.

What began as a tiny garage setup has grown into a bustling café and roastery, now housed in a bright, spacious shop. Along the way, the team committed to a fully vegan menu and developed a culture that prioritizes both excellent coffee and employee well-being. 

“We currently have seven employees, and our goal is to keep them happy and comfortable while supporting them in whatever other endeavor they are passionate about,” says co-founder Ashton Whitley. “Everyone gets a say, and I like to think we’ve built a workplace that’s genuinely safe. Honestly, if a business can’t do that, what’s the point?”

Dagger roasts in-house, choosing single-origin coffees they’ve personally sampled and approved. They’re best known for their black coffee program, but signature drinks also shine.

Signature drink recommendation: The Miel, made with espresso, oat milk, agave, and cinnamon, has a loyal following. Try the Salted Maple Latte if you want a sweet-smoky balance that showcases Dagger’s creativity without overwhelming the coffee. “Even though those are the crowd favorites, we’re genuinely proud of our entire menu,” Ashton adds.

A Regional Coffee Culture Worth Exploring

What ties these cafés together is a commitment to doing more than just serving drinks. From Dagger Mountain’s focus on employee well-being to Small Town’s devotion to ethics and transparency, and from Infusco’s laid-back beach-town roasting to Cloud Walking’s creative community events, each shop offers its own interpretation of what coffee culture can be.

South Bend may be the hub, but the coffee culture surrounding it stretches across borders and weaves communities together along the Indiana-Michigan corridor. 

Whether you’re in search of an expertly dialed-in espresso, a house-made seasonal latte, or simply a place to slow down, these six spots prove there’s more brewing in the Midwest than you might expect.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Megan Lee unsuccessfully tried to dig her way to China from her sandbox when she was 6. Since then, she has traveled, lived, and taught on five continents, and is in constant pursuit of spicy food, fussy coffee, hiking and mountain bike trails, and conversations with strangers (later friends). Her online writing covers coffee, the outdoors, travel gear, and personal finance. You can usually find her planning her next trip, walking the nearby trail with her toddler and husband, or drinking cortados (it’s research for her coffee blog, Low Key Coffee Snobs, she swears).

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