Logan • Nestled in a cozy spot downtown, a vibrant community hub for night owls is taking shape.
This month, Taylor Wilson opened the doors to his passion project — Moody’s Art Cafe — at 53 E. 100 North, giving visitors a place to express their creativity and catch a different kind of buzz in what will be one of the city’s few late-night hangouts.
Named after Wilson’s DJ stage name, Moody’s will host arts and crafts events, open mic nights, holiday activities and vendors, and sell Caffe Ibis coffee and offer mind-altering nonalcoholic drinks. In a city where most businesses close by 10 p.m., Moody’s will keep the lights on until 1 a.m. when it fully opens in April.
“The idea is kind of a late-night art community hangout space,” Wilson said. “A place that really fosters a lot of community.”
The cafe’s name is painted on a large, multi-pane window that frames an ornately decorated interior. Inside the cafe, much of the exposed brick is covered in colorful, collage-style artwork. Dozens of shelves are stacked with books, while potted plants are clustered in every corner.
Wilson is used to being in Logan’s counterculture mix. The venue he co-owns, Whysound, has been at the heart of the city’s music scene for years, hosting weekly concerts and providing Cache Valley musicians with professional recording equipment and studio space.
(Naomi Cragun | The Salt Lake Tribune) Moody's Art Cafe in Logan on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.
Now, he wants to do with Moody’s what his venue has done for musicians — become a magnet for creative types.
“I like the idea of people going to a Whysound show, and then coming over here,” Wilson said. “They’ll get a buzz from whatever kind of drink, or if they’re not having a great day, they can come over here and get a drink and it’ll calm down.”
Ava Jane, the cafe’s team leader, said a food and booze-free drink menu is in the works, with an array of botanical beverages.
(Naomi Cragun | The Salt Lake Tribune) Moody's Art Cafe team leader Ava Jane tends to the cafe's coffee station in Logan on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.
“Our goal for the most part is to do some mushroom elixirs with lion’s mane,” she said. “We’ll use some ashwagandha, turkey tail – just a bunch of brain-healthy, heart-healthy stuff, which I’m really excited about. And then kava, cacao — just some heart-openers — get everybody feeling vulnerable and artistic.”
Kava is a legal psychoactive drink that produces mild euphoria, muscle relaxation and sedation.
On top of those concoctions, the cafe will offer kava and blue lotus (another legal, mind-altering plant extract) tinctures to help get the late-night, social energy flowing.
Spencer Felix, who visited the cafe during its soft opening this month, said it’s refreshing to see Logan have a late-night spot for the college kids who aren’t old enough for bars.
“Logan has such a sick college community,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of space for people to be outdoors … and then we’ve got a lot of space for music, but we haven’t really had a space for people to just, like, slow down and converse and make art and meet each other. So I’m really stoked that there’s a place now that will foster so many different relationships without the pressure of performance.”
While visitors sip kava, they’ll be able to browse Wilson’s extensive book collection that spills across the cafe. The business will also feature several area vendors selling items like beaded jewelry, and will be a place for yesteryear’s art supplies to find a new home.
(Naomi Cragun | The Salt Lake Tribune) Art supplies for sale at Moody's Art Cafe in Logan on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025.
The back corner of the cafe has a table full of pencils, markers, and other tools for sale. Wilson said he plans on reaching out to the community to ask about the boxes of abandoned art supplies that many households have stored away and forgotten.
“Let’s gather some of that and reorganize it,” he said, “and then package it in a cute little way, and then just sell it for really cheap.”
And while a cafe focused on crafts, herbal cocktails and connecting creative types may be funky enough, staff here made it clear that the real value of this space is that nothing is set in stone. Wilson is abuzz with ideas, from a summer street market to art contests and more.
“I’m kind of purposely leaving it a little open,” he said.
For now, the cafe will be open until 11 p.m. on nights when Whysound has events.
