Walking in, the famous orange couch in the corner grabs ones attention and the sweet aroma of coffee beans fills the vibrant colored room. The smiling staff says good morning as people search the menu for the perfect drink to order. Will it be an Orange Couch Mocha or an Iced Chai Latte?

“The coffee is really good, which always helps,” Eureka High School student Megan Clar said. “But I kind of just like the vibe. It’s so colorful in here and a lot less hectic than walking into a Starbucks.”

The coffee house became the talk of the town, especially for its “Friends” theme. The Orange Couch Coffee House is popular among Eureka High School students, some of which work there. In turn making this an honorary hang out spot.

“I just think it’s a really cool place that is special to Eureka,” Clar said.

The owner of The Orange Couch Coffee House, Maggie Schamber, moved to the United States from Poland in 2004. Schamber, her husband and their son then moved to Eureka in 2016 which sparked her long lived dream of opening a coffee house.

“We love this town, this community, the people and I was like ‘oh my gosh, this is the perfect place to open the coffeehouse,” Schamber said. “Especially that there wasn’t any at that time.”

Finally in July of 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, Schamber opened The Orange Couch Coffee House. Opening during a global pandemic came with many challenges, in turn making normal challenges of owning a business harder.

“Challenges are happening all the time, especially now because I opened during the pandemic,” Schamber said. “So the biggest challenge is the pandemic. Sometimes we have shortages of different things and we have to deal with that as much as we can.”

The “Friends” theme is special to Schamber because she is a major fan of the show. The name represents the famous couch from the show. Schamber chose this for the name because it wasn’t trademarked by the Warner Brothers. So, originally the coffee house started out with just the orange couch and “Friends” quotes on the wall. Then when Schamber saw the reactions of the customers, that they loved the theme, she began to add more.

“You have to have something that you love, you’re passionate about,” Schamber said, “So I love ‘Friends’, I love the show. I am happy to see a new generation of young people watching ‘Friends’, knowing ‘Friends’, and loving ‘Friends’.”

The Orange Couch Coffee House is a unique staple of Eureka, MO. Whether someone is a “Friends” fan or not, it is enjoyable to anyone who likes coffee.

“If you’re looking for a cozy, relaxing place with good drinks and kind staff, then we’re here for you,” Schamber said.