One14 Coffee Bar, at 114 N. Wood, in historical downtown Neosho, is so much more than a coffee shop. It’s a local art gallery, a music venue, and heck, they’ll even help you chase your car down the road.

While I was visiting One14 one Thursday, a customer’s emergency brake went out and his little yellow hatchback went rolling down Wood Street. Barista Devon Toland didn’t give a second thought to running outside to help stop the escaping car.  

When the staff members of One14 aren’t busy saving the day, they are busy brewing coffee with beans from Anonymous Coffee Roasters of Springdale, Ark., and they’re preparing menu items with locally grown products. The eggs even come from owners Terry and Kathy Tessmer’s farm.

The front half of the 2,000 square foot building, a former tin factory built in 1904, houses the coffee shop and a conference room that groups can reserve for free. Patio seating is available out front and in back, and there is a drive-through. The AREA 114 venue occupies the back half of the space.

“We have all kinds of different music. We’ve had bluegrass to Americana,” said Kathy Tessmer, citing recent acts Josh Jennings Band and Scale House.   

“A couple weekends ago, we had hardcore music, and the kids that came in here were just ecstatic that we had some place for them to go,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, is the brick going fall off the walls?’” 

After assuring me that the evening went smoothly, she said, “I enjoyed seeing all the young people having a great time, and a lot of them came back and said ‘thank you for having a place like this.’”

Local art covers every wall of the eclectic shop, including wire sculptures by Terry Tessmer.  Artists currently on display are Sandra Conrad in the coffee shop and Dr. John Galey in AREA 114. The shop will be hosting the The John H. Galey Art and Music Festival on May 3. The Tessmers are also supporters of Express Your Visions, an art program for individuals with developmental disabilities. Artists involved in Express Your Visions display and sell their creations there.

College students should take note of One14 Coffee Bar. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the space and there is enough seating to camp out for a few study hours. In fact, during my visit there, an Ozark Christian College student emerged from the back room to tell Tessmer he was running home for dinner and was leaving his stuff. One14 truly has a make-yourself-at-home atmosphere.

“What we’re trying to do for Neosho on the square is we’re trying to bring down more businesses on the square and make it more appealing for people to come down,” said Kathy Tessmer. “You could maybe come here for early music, go over to Sam’s Cellar for late night or go over to Angelica’s for a dinner