# The Gathering Grounds: A Kirksville café built around conversation Audra Jackson opened The Gathering Grounds in 2025 with a community gathering purpose. Explore its coffee, café offerings and current visit details. 2026-04-19 :: Switchboard Tech Services ![The Gathering Grounds: A Kirksville café built around conversation](https://switchboardtechservices.com/static/images/defaults/articles.webp) The Gathering Grounds began with a specific idea: give people in Kirksville a place to sit together and talk. Founder Audra Jackson described that motivation in [March 2025 coverage of the café's ribbon-cutting](https://cdn5.creativecirclemedia.com/kirksville/files/20250304-133002-17b-KDE%202025-03-05.pdf). Time spent talking with her daughter in coffee shops helped inspire the business at **2121 North Baltimore Street**. [Truman's March 2026 entrepreneurship coverage](https://newsletter.truman.edu/issue.asp?id=4912) identifies Jackson as founder and owner and places the opening in 2025. The café is a local business venture with a gathering-place purpose, rather than simply a name attached to a coffee menu. ## Coffee and something to eat The [Gathering Grounds website](https://www.the-gathering-grounds.com/) lists drinks and café food, including house-made chai, smoothies, scones and salted caramel banana bread. Those choices give a visit several possible forms: coffee with a friend, a baked item to take away or a non-coffee drink. Jackson's opening-era interview described groups meeting around a back table. That helps explain the space she intended to create. It does not establish a current reservation policy or guarantee a quiet workspace. If you need seating for a club or a longer meeting, ask about arrangements ahead of time. The business's contribution to Kirksville is grounded in that combination of food, drinks and a place to meet. The founder's stated purpose is community connection; no attendance or economic-impact claim is needed to describe it. ## Use the current schedule The café's website currently lists **Tuesday–Friday, 6 a.m.–5 p.m., and Saturday, 7 a.m.–3 p.m.**, with Sunday and Monday closed. Older opening coverage included Monday, so use the current business site when planning a visit. The listed phone is **660-216-3868**, and the contact email is **theggcoffeehouse@gmail.com**. Check [The Gathering Grounds online](https://www.the-gathering-grounds.com/) for its latest menu and hours. For a separate downtown sweets stop, see [To Die For Bakery](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/kirksville-business-to-die-for-bakery/). For a downtown space now focused on special events, see [SIP Downtown](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/kirksville-business-sip-downtown/). *Information checked September 27, 2026.* - Categories: [Local](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/categories/local/) - Tags: [#kirksville](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/tags/kirksville/), [#local economy](https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/tags/local-economy/) [Articles RSS](https://switchboardtechservices.com/feeds/articles.xml "Subscribe using an RSS reader") --- Canonical URL: https://switchboardtechservices.com/articles/kirksville-business-the-gathering-grounds/ Language: en-us Content type: article Author: Switchboard Tech Services Published: 2026-04-19T17:00:00+00:00