Duo boasts from-scratch treats at 9th Street Cafe, Bakery in Highland

By Brittany Blackwell
Reporter • Sabrina Davis and Lauren Koch have found a recipe that blends Highland tradition with their own flair for food as the newest operators of 9th Street Cafe and Bakery.

The familiar atmosphere and classic menu favorites are still present. But the couple has spent the past year and a half revamping the business to make it their own. Now, they’re welcoming both familiar faces and first-time visitors to try one of their most significant transformations — the addition of an in-house bakery.

“There really aren’t many places nearby doing homemade, from-scratch bakery items,” Davis said. “People always say Highland needs a bakery, so we’re trying to get them here. We work very hard to make the sweets here in the bakery.”

Customers can enjoy daily, made-from-scratch mainstays such as cinnamon rolls, donuts, scones, and quiche, which has quickly become a favorite and often sells out. Cookies and cheesecakes are also in rotation, with peach cobbler and apple crisp cheesecakes among the other popular items. 

The couple launched the bakery in January 2025, which has kept them busy. Along with the bakery, Davis and Koch introduced new lunch specials beyond the cafe’s traditional offerings.

Daily specials are posted weekly on the 9th St. Cafe & Bakery Facebook page, where those interested can also find photos of bakery items, holiday hours and other announcements. They said Facebook has also been a valuable tool for reaching new customers.

Specials like chicken on Wednesdays and fish on Fridays are fried in-house and remain popular. The menu has remained unchanged with both breakfast and lunch. On other days, the pair offers at least one entree not on the menu, appealing to regulars as well as a new generation of customers. Recent specials include chorizo breakfast burritos with fruit, chicken fajita pita with chips and queso, and cowboy burgers topped with a thick, hand-battered onion ring, cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce, and a cheddar-jalapeño sweet potato bun.

The pair source ingredients locally whenever possible, such as the cafe’s bread from The Worn Whisk Bakery in New Baden, formerly known as Berkemann’s Baker’s Dozen.

The pair took over the business in December 2024.

“We loved the history of Highland tradition that Barb and Bridget started here,” Davis said of the previous store owners/operators. “We didn’t want to change that. We just wanted to add our own touch.”

That touch includes a growing collection of bakery-themed decor, a free little library and a sleek baked goods display case. New exterior signage is expected to be installed soon to draw attention to the storefront some may not realize is in town.

With community outreach in mind, the cafe recently joined the Highland Chamber of Commerce. Customers can now redeem chamber gift certificates at the cafe. 

Despite the updates, the pair has intentionally preserved many of the cafe’s focus on Highland history. 

Customers still spend time browsing vintage newspaper clippings displayed on the tabletops, while others enjoy paging through decades of Highland High School yearbooks lining the cafe bookshelf. 

“It’s fun watching high school students come in and look up their parents in the yearbooks,” Davis said.

Davis, a Highland native, discovered her love for baking while decorating cakes and cookies as a hobby before studying culinary arts in college. After graduation, she worked at 222 Artisan Bakery in Edwardsville, where she refined her skills and realized baking was more than just a hobby.

“I kind of fell in love with it,” she said. “It’s rewarding to start with simple ingredients and create something people get excited about.”

Originally from Clinton County, Koch has called Highland home for many years. Koch honed prep cook skills in local restaurants for years and currently handles purchasing, curation of specials, and other behind-the-scenes duties to keep the store operational. 

When the opportunity arose to purchase 9th Street Cafe, the duo decided to combine Koch’s experience in restaurant management and Davis’ culinary background to propel the joint venture. 

“She has all these great ideas that I want to support,” Koch said. 

Running a small business hasn’t come without challenges.

Though familiar with customer service, the pair said some ownership responsibilities were initially overwhelming. They eventually settled into a routine and divided tasks based on their strengths. Their skills complement each other, with Koch leading the cafe and Davis leading the bakery.

“I’m the brains, she’s the brawn,” Davis joked, describing how they balance the business partnership.

“There’s no way either of us could have done this without the other.” 

The cafe remains cash- and local-check-only, a decision they say helps keep prices affordable by avoiding credit card processing fees.

Looking ahead, Davis and Koch hope to expand operations to include Sunday hours, though staffing and food prep needs make that a long-term goal. For now, they focus on what they can manage while working six days a week. They employ three waitresses, a main cook, a prep cook, and a dishwasher.

9th Street Cafe and Bakery is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Bakery items may be preordered by calling the cafe, messaging the business on its Facebook page, or visiting the business at 900 Laurel Street in Highland.