Frederiksted

Polly's at the Pier featured in the Des Moines Register. Lynn Hicks and David Elbert for the Des Moines Register wrote this article:

Steven Schawl, a former Des Moines designer, has opened a "coffee shop/Internet cafe/art gallery/design center" called Polly's at the Pier in Frederiksted, St. Croix. And he's ordering coffee beans from Zanzibar's Coffee Adventure in Des Moines.

Schawl used to visit Zanzibar's frequently and had trouble finding a comparable cup of joe when he moved to St. Croix two years ago. He has been ordering about 80 pounds a month but plans to increase his orders.

A story last month in the St. Croix Source said the cafe was attracting locals as well as tourists and crew members from Royal Caribbean cruise ships, which dock in Frederiksted.

"The people on St. Croix have responded so positively to the high-quality beans that Zanzibar's (and now Polly's) offers," Schawl said. Schawl lived in Des Moines for more than 20 years, where he was the designer for Terrace Hill Christmas and manager of Wagschal Furniture, among other jobs.

Julie McGuire, owner of Zanzibar's Coffee Adventure, said she supplies beans to a few cafes and restaurants in central Iowa, but "St. Croix is by far the greatest distance we send anything of any weight."

"We ship it the day we roast it, so it's very fresh," she said. And, she noted, she uses the U.S. Postal Service.