Thressa Nichols opened the cafe she wished this town had. Recess sits at 208 South Ashley St, in the old Downtown Home & Garden annex, and she built it with her husband Zac Hodgkin so families would have a downtown spot to land. Nichols says young families put down roots, back the schools, and hold a community together, and she wanted a place that helps them do that here.
Here is how it works. Kids kick off their shoes at the door and take over a mostly wooden play area in back. There is a twisty tube slide, a pizza oven you crank by hand, a dollhouse, a honeycomb structure with a giant steering wheel, and a marble run where wooden balls roll through PVC pipes. Parents watch from leather couches and church pews, so everyone stays in view of each other.
The grown-up menu holds up too. The espresso bar pours Hyperion coffee, so order a cortado or a chai, and grab a CRUST chocolate chip cookie that shows up with sea salt and fills a whole plate. Wine and beer wait for the late afternoon, and there is wifi, a laptop bar, and a phone booth you can book for free.
You can grab a coffee without going in at all. Recess runs a walk-up window on the sidewalk, so you scan a QR code and pick up a drink on your morning stroll or your walk with the dog. It is the kind of small touch that makes the block feel like a neighborhood.
You will find Recess at 208 South Ashley St, a block west of Main and steps from Downtown Home & Garden. It opens at 9 every day, until 6 Sunday through Thursday and until 7 on Friday and Saturday. Play runs on a pass, ten dollars for an hour or fifteen for two, and babies under one get in free. Park free on the street on Sundays.
Recess is part cafe, part community hub, and that is the whole point. Go this week, order a cortado, and see how the room starts to feel like your people.
