A Morning in Downtown Collinsville
Joss is done with summer camps, so we have a few camp-free weeks before school starts up on Aug. 20. In addition to enjoying some lazy summer days at home, it’s a nice opportunity to do some local exploring! So on July 29, we took a morning jaunt to downtown Collinsville. I was particularly looking forward to visiting a couple places I’ve known about for awhile: Farm Hippie and Enchanted Children’s Bookstore. But a couple days before our trip, I found out about a local coffee roaster, T3 Coffee Roasters. They’re also located off of Main Street, so of course we had to pay a visit!
Farm Hippie
I first heard about Farm Hippie last July, at a 4th of July party out in Collinsville. The hosts had some beautiful bouquets of flowers and explained they’d purchased them from Farm Hippie. They were really singing the praises of this store, so I’ve basically wanted to go for a whole year. In the meantime, Farm Hippie has expanded to Pawhuska, and will soon have a shop in Claremore, too.
Farm Hippie sells a variety of local goods, from food products to beauty products, and even some adorable knitted toys. Potted plants, Farm Hippie merch, and yes, flowers. We ended up with some freeze dried pickles, kombucha, and a couple of dried beef sticks that actually got Joss’s stamp of approval. Always trying to get more protein, and he’s not a big fan of beef sticks that are too greasy or have a casing on them, so it can be hard to find one that works.
Enchanted Children’s Bookstore
I’m fairly sure I’ve known about Enchanted Children’s Bookstore even longer than Farm Hippie, but again, had never been. I was so, so sad when Eleanor’s Bookshop closed, and always happy to visit a new bookstore. Especially a children’s bookstore. They have storytime Tuesday mornings at 10:30, but I think we just missed that. The storytime area is adorable, with a cushy green carpet in front of castle-shaped bookshelves.
They’ve got a great selection of everything from board books to YA to some adult options, too. And Joss was grateful for the cooler, where we grabbed a bottle of water. It is a very inviting store, with plenty of natural light and fun features. Like the painted stone “books” at the entrance!
We’ve been on a mission to collect the Sequoyah books Joss needs to read this year, and found one of the ones we were looking for very easily. Win!
T3 Coffee Roasters
It was really fortuitous that I found out about this place just before our trip. The reason is because they’ve got a Dolly Parton standee where parents can sign up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The Imagination Library or one of our library branches had posted about it. And I was like, “That’s right where we’re going!” After browsing their social media, I saw that they make coffee popsicles, so was doubly determined to make a visit.
T3 is a family-owned shop, and they’ve made it a good place to take kids. In addition to plenty of table seating, there’s a special area under the stairs for kids with beanbags, games, books – and even a TV. The coffee popsicles come in several signature flavors. I tried the Cardinal Delight, which is vanilla/cinnamon/honey. It was caramelly and absolutely delicious. I also couldn’t resist trying a Wooly Hombre specialty drink. Which was lightly sweet and spicy. They also served some tasty-looking lunch through Depot Deli, which we probably should have taken advantage of, but didn’t on this occasion.
Although it was too hot while we were there, they have a nice balcony seating area as well.
And a cozy loft!
Here’s their menu, with all the classics plus some signature items. If I lived closer, I’d definitely be a regular!
Collinsville Library
Continuing my quest to visit more libraries this summer, we walked a little further down the street to the Collinsville Library. The building was small, but charming! And I loved the large window near the children’s area. Here, too, we found one of our Sequoyah books, which was very exciting!
Other Area Businesses
Because we couldn’t spend all day there, we did miss some fun businesses. There were a couple antique malls I’d love to visit sometime. As well as a consignment shop that was having a nice sale; a bakery (that was sadly closed on Tuesdays); and a sports card shop. We picked up a helpful map of downtown Collinsville at Enchanted Children’s Bookstore. And all the business owners seemed happy to make recommendations and give a shout-out to their neighbors.
Also along Main Street, you’ll find the Collinsville City Plaza. The Plaza is hosting monthly summer movie nights (“Charlotte’s Web” is up next, on Aug. 8). And other events are held here as well. Find out about some of them on the City of Collinsville’s calendar.
Well, that wraps up our adventure! Which downtown Collinsville businesses should we be sure to visit next time? Or, what do you recommend doing in Collinsville outside of the downtown area?
