If you’re passing through Mineral, stop by DK’s Coffee and Ice Cream to get all your sweet treat needs. The coffee shop opened at the end of 2022 and is already a big hit. Students pile in before school while adults grab their morning coffee on their way to work. 

   The cute coffee drive-through and walk-up store is located between the Marathon gas station and Dollar General. Their wintertime hours are from 6 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday and 6 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays. 

   The entire staff is full of bright and cheery faces. The owner Darrin Welch makes customers feel a personal connection to him as he starts small talk while you wait for your order. 

   They have fresh baked goods from cranberry orange muffins to chocolate mint crinkle cookies. Their signature baked good is an Aussie sausage roll. Each day, they offer a new drink of the day with yesterday being a white chocolate butter pecan latte. 

   “We didn’t want the same thing every day,” Welch said. “We wanted to try different things each day so it doesn’t get boring.”

   Before deciding to take a big leap of faith and going into the coffee industry, Welch worked with concrete and construction. 

   “I always wanted to have a coffee shop,” Welch said. “I’ve been in Louisa for 27 years and when I went to Seattle, my buddy worked in one and I thought it would be a cool thing to have.”

   DK’s means so much more to Welch than just a coffee shop. His idea for the creation was to provide an outlet for everyone.

  “I made this place more for the community,” Welch said. “There isn’t anywhere to hang out around here so you can come here and have a coffee or ice cream and talk to your mates. There is going to be a playground put in so the moms can have somewhere to have coffee and watch their kids.”

   So make sure to stop by early morning to get fresh baked goods. On top of all of the different coffee flavors, they also have smoothies and ice cream.  

   “I like the atmosphere of it because it doesn’t feel as hectic as a Starbucks or other big coffee shops,” senior Andi Macdougall said. “I got a caramel frappuccino when I went and it was really good.”