Bear Grounds Coffee

The owner roasts the beans, her grandson helps, and your drink takes a minute because it is being made one cup at a time. That is the deal at Bear Grounds Coffee in Maryville, and it is the right deal for what this place is: a small mom-and-pop drive-through with a walk-up window, a few indoor stools and a table, and picnic tables outside on East Broadway. Reviewers keep using the word cute, which is fine. What they mean is that the room reads like one person's project, because it is. The local-vibe feel is the whole product. The cold brew is made from scratch in-house, which is rarer at this size than the menu lets on. The apple cider donuts and cinnamon sugar donut cakes are the pastry case standouts that get named over and over. There is a breakfast panini and a breakfast sandwich for anyone driving through hungry, and a cinnamon roll for anyone with five extra minutes. The Goldie and the Sunset are the named house coffees worth trying first, both built around the in-house roast. The homemade iced coffee is a safer order in summer than the seasonal S'mores iced latte, which leans heavily sweet and is not for everyone. The whole-bean side is available for anyone who wants to take the roast home. Wait times can stretch when the line builds, and patience is the entry fee at a one-woman operation that does not cut corners on freshness. No one mentions Wi-Fi or laptops, because no one comes here for that. For Maryville regulars and travelers who want a fresh drink from a small owner-operated roaster and a picnic table to drink it at, this is the spot. The walk-up window matters more than it sounds: it is the only way to order on foot without going through the drive lane. For a quick grab on a tight schedule, lower your expectations on speed.