Vinyl Cafe — Restaurant in Ames

TL;DR - Good coffee & great staff, but horrible vinyl retailer.

The coffee is great, the staff is hospitable and very friendly. The Vinyl Cafe also has helped develop and support the music scene in Ames. They are a blessing to the community in that aspect.

I have no complaints when it comes to The Vinyl Cafe as a coffee shop. I do, however, have an issue with VC as a record store. As an avid record collector, the up marking prices on the albums they sell is horrible and it prays on the naivete of less educated collectors/consumers. While they primarily focus on used albums, most of them are often in FAIR or POOR condition. Torn jackets and scratched up records are usually being sold for $20+ for "well known" artist's like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and other albums/artist considered by new collectors as "must haves". It's pretty rare to see album worth their salt in GOOD or VG condition. I understand having some higher than average pricing, they have to make a living and supporting your local business and all, but 2-5x the average selling point is ludicrous, espically for the condition they are typically sold for. I would rate the place 3 stars because of this, but I can easily skip albums and get them else where if I really wanted to, and the coffee and...

Coffee is awesome. The owner/barista was very nice and friendly to me. Gave me a card for a free drink next time I come in. The vinyl selection sucked...mostly 70's/80's pop and soft rock. At least the part that I saw. I wasn't able to get into the back room because there were a ton of people in there just socializing, not even looking at records. The space is very small and cramped feeling. I overheard the owner telling someone that they just got a huge shipment of records to add to the collection this summer, so hopefully there will be better selections soon. The reviewer who said the owner and his friend were being loud- same thing happened when I was there. They were talking about eating their wives' placentas. Very obnoxious while I was just trying to find some good records. I'll probably come back, but only because I want to see the...

Innamoratissimo! The city’s definitive hole in the wall cafe downtown, under what was the old Bike World / Two Wheel Travel on Kellogg and Main. Great aesthetic, not too big nor too small. NOT wheelchair accessible due to the almost microscopic stairway into the place. Menu features all of the staples of a drinks-only cafe, including unique lattes and dozens of flavors for Italian sodas. The place can be packed one minute and empty the next, so plan accordingly. The staff are great and knowledgeable about...