Rock Island Won’t Be The Same Without Theo’s Java Club
There have not been many constants that have stood the test of time in downtown Rock Island, through the passing of several eras, over the last three decades.
Theo’s Java Club has been one of the few.
The unique, quirky, fantastic java and performance space at 213 17th St. has been a haven for local creatives and characters, blending with area lawyers and courthouse types, business folks, and tourists popping over from the hotel across the street. Theo’s has long been a magnet for the Quad-Cities, drawing a broad range of people because it was a singular destination. Sure, you could get your coffee elsewhere, and, as time went on from the birth of coffee house culture in the mid-’90s, a lot of elsewheres popped up, but there was only one Theo’s.
And that one Theo’s will be very likely pouring its last cup o’ joe Saturday, Oct. 2.
As previously reported on QuadCities.com, barring a last-minute change, that will be the last day the spot will be open in its current incarnation, owner Theo Grevas told me this week, over coffee, of course, as we sat outside his shop, chatted, and watched the traffic go by in downtown Rock Island.
It was considerably less traffic than there had been the first time he and I sat outside that space and talked.
In 1994, before it even opened, I wrote the first ever media story on Theo’s Java Club, for the long-departed Rock Island Argus.
I was working in downtown Rock Island, at the Argus building, which closed in 2008, and it was right at the onset of an explosion of coffee shops and culture spurred by the coming-of-age of people like me, in our late teens and early twenties, Gen X. At the time, downtown Rock Island was a bustling, robust hub — it was The District, and it was definitely the place to be.
Downtown Davenport and Moline were ghost towns, the Village of East Davenport was just a couple bars and little else. East Moline and 
Bettendorf had a few spots but no overarching plan.
Downtown Rock Island, on the other hand, had a much different vibe. RIBCO and 2nd Ave. were the spots to be on the weekend, and there were no shortage of other bars and clubs along the same strip to pop in and out of. Some of them changed names as quickly as different musical and clothing styles flipped, but they remained hot. Copia, Blue Cat, Huckleberry’s, and others offered great food and upscale beverages.
And then there was Theo’s — the place EVERYONE went for their daily caffeine, for meetings, for lunch, to hangout, or just to chill.
And regardless of what happens going forward, once owner and founder Theo Grevas is no longer involved with the spot, it’s just not going to be the same. He knows that, and he’s actually in a pretty good mood about the whole thing.
“I think we’re going to set a date Oct. 2, that’s a Saturday night, I think that would be a good time to say that’s it for Theo’s, I think that’s the date when we shall close,” Theo said with a smile. “Changes are constant, they’re just going to happen, I hope someone can step up to the plate and take over this shop or have something similar that people can go to like they’ve been going to Theo’s the last 27 years. I hope so. We’ll see.”
Theo’s Java Hut opened first in 1993 in downtown Davenport, but it was the Java Club, which opened in 1994 in downtown Rock Island that ended up creating his legacy. And now, he says, it’s time to move on, look back with a smile, but then turn around and go on to new things.
“I’m excited about it, I have a lot of things planned, my wife has a lot of things planned,” Theo says. “I don’t want to sound selfish about it, we’ve had a great 27 years, but I think we’re in a great position to say it’s time to step aside, look back on a great 27 years, and let someone else take things over and hopefully keep things going.”
There are plenty of memories he’ll take with him, and he’s talking about writing them down in a book. One of them involving a certain screen legend who Theo says is probably the most famous person he’s ever had come into his spot.
“Someone asked me before who was the most famous person who came in here, and I have to say it was Mickey Rooney,” Theo said. “He came in here, he was doing a Circa show in the early 2000s, and he was in here eating breakfast with his wife, and I had this picture of him that I’d had here at the coffee shop and I got him to sign it. He was a great guy!”
Over the years, I’ve interviewed and met up by chance with various other celebrities in Theo’s. I interviewed members of Vampire Weekend there. Hung out with members of Smashing Pumpkins there. I ran into Olympic ice skater Scott Hamilton in line. I took members of Veruca Salt there when they asked me to take them to the best coffee shop in the Quad-Cities. And many others.
“Yeah, between Circa, and RIBCO, and The Mark, or, well TaxSlayer Center, there’s been a lot of famous people to come through here,” Theo 
said. “When Daytrotter was downtown we’d get bands coming through here all the time.”
Some of those stories might end up in Theo’s book. Others will just be fond memories, he says.
But regardless, he’s ready to close the chapter on his current business, and hopes that someone else steps up to keep it going in some form.
“We’ll see what happens here,” Theo said. “I’d sure like to see coffee here, it’s been a wonderful spot, location, get a lot of people in, a lot of regulars, it’s just a great spot, and I’m really happy we found this back in 94 and were able to continue with what we did. I’d like to see someone else come in and keep it here, but we’ll see what happens.
“There are a couple people who are really interested in making this happen before Oct. 2, and if that happens, we’ll stay open during the transition, but if nothing is finalized before then, we’re looking at closing that Oct. 2, but it is fluid, something could change, you never know.
“I’ve got a train ticket Oct. 7, I’m going to the coast to relax on the beach,” he said with a laugh, “so I’ve got to get going before then!”
And at that point, he finished his coffee, thanked me for the time, smiled, and said, “Well, I should probably get back inside and get back to work!”
We shook hands, said our goodbyes, and he walked back in, through the same doors he did after we first spoke 27 years ago, although with a much different mindset, and towards a much different path.
A path, a future, without Theo’s, at least not in its current incarnation.
I hope whatever comes next is worthy of the space, of the legacy, of the memories, it will replace.
But regardless of what does arrive, there will never be another Theo’s, and Rock Island will never quite be the same without it.
