Mo’s Cloud Cafe

A short walk from Peacock Hall and Belk Library, Mo’s Cloud Cafe is like a gas station without the gas, selling convenience store-style snacks, drinks and tobacco products. 

The owner, Mohamed “Mo” Abdelfattah, opened his first store in 2023 called Mo’s Sweets, which serves a variety of handcrafted crepes and waffles. Abdelfattah wrote in an email he wanted to go a different direction with the newest shop.

“I always felt King Street needed a true convenience store that caters to students,” Abdelfattah wrote. “After a lot of brainstorming, we came up with the idea of a hybrid concept—part convenience store, part vape shop, with ice cream, pastries, and coffee.” 

Abdelfattah said the idea came from his experience as an App State student taking classes in Peacock Hall. 

“As a former App State student myself, this business is very personal to me,” Abdelfattah wrote. “Our goal is to make life easier for students by providing what they need without them having to drive to a gas station or big-box store.” 

Mo’s Cloud Cafe is located at 494 W. King St.

The Wafflery

Charlotte natives might recognize the gridded logo of Boone’s newest brunch restaurant — The Wafflery, a family business with a twist on traditional breakfast. 

“What I think we’re known for is the build-your-own stuff,” owner Matt King said. “You see that in pizza, you see that in sandwiches, but when it comes to waffles, you don’t really go to many places where you can just build your own waffles and biscuit and grit bowl creations.”

King said the menu features a lot of personal recipes, like his grandfather’s pot roast and his best friend’s grits. 

“It’s just good down-home cooking, there’s nothing fancy about it,” King said. “It’s really good and really consistent. And everything is fresh.” 

King said he hoped to create a welcoming environment where people could feel comfortable hanging out, even if they just buy a coffee. 

The Wafflery is located at 776 Blowing Rock Road and free retail parking is available in the building’s parking deck.

The Speckled Trout Outfitters

A new location of a familiar fly fishing shop has found its way onto Depot Street above the Magic Cycles bike store. The Speckled Trout Outfitters, which also has a location in Blowing Rock, is about more than just fly fishing, Store Manager Joseph Lynch said. 

“We’re definitely very fly fishing centric and have all that stuff, but we like to carry things so that everyone can find something in here, and it’s more of an outdoor and lifestyle space,” Lynch said.

A bar sits at the heart of the store, selling craft beers and nonalcoholic beverages, with 5% of drink sales supporting various local nonprofits, according to an email from Roger Capote, director of marketing. 

Lynch said the store has been receiving steady traffic and positive feedback so far, and he’s hoping to get more students into the store. 

“All home games we’ll do tailgates, so we’ll have a tent or two set up, we’ll do hot dogs, we have $4 beers that we can sell. And we do give a 10% off to all App students if you show your ID,” Lynch said. 

The company also does guided trips including wade fishing, boating, hiking and destination travel, Lynch said. The trips vary in length and location, with some being in the High Country and others being as far as the Yucatán Peninsula. 

Specked Trout Outfitters is located on the second floor of 140 Depot St.

Level Up Latte

For those who wish to relive the peak of arcade gaming in the 1980s, a new “retrocade” coffee and dessert shop has opened in Boone Mall from the owners of Eleven80 Eatery, Craig and Marlo Jennings. 

The store has a variety of games like Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga and Street Fighter that each cost 25 cents to play, Craig Jennings wrote in an email.

He wrote that he and his wife saw a need for a certain type of business. 

“The mall was lacking a coffee and ice cream option, we wanted to provide that, as well as a space where families and friends of all ages could come and play some retro video games, watch some 80s music videos and get some great coffee and ice cream,” Craig Jennings wrote. 

The owners hope to expand and add more games and pinball options. As of time of publication, the store is rotating its machines to keep the selection of games fresh. 

Level Up Latte is located in Boone Mall at 1180 Blowing Rock Road.