Bite into sweetness at Beans & Beignets in Earlham

If you're staying in town for spring break, make your "staycation" a little sweeter with a visit to Beans & Beignets in Earlham — just 30 minutes west of the Des Moines metro.

Why it matters: There's a simple goodness to beignets — warm, poofy bread topped with a magical heap of messy, powdered sugar.

State of play: Nina Lorimor-Easley opened Beans & Beignets in the town of 1,200 people back in April 2021.

• Lorimor-Easley always enjoyed making them with her late husband, Jeff. After he died from cancer in 2020, she decided to open a cafe in his memory.

Details: Beans & Beignets fries the dough fresh-to-order, and charges around $1 per beignet.

• You can also order coffee, and other lunch and dinner foods.

The bottom line: Expect to get a little messy.

• "I always joke that the powdered sugar is kind of like when you go to Texas Roadhouse and there's the peanut shells on the floor," said Mikayla Klisaris, a manager at the store.

Visit: 105 S. Chestnut Ave., Earlham. Open 6am-8pm, Tues-Thurs; 6am-9pm, Fri-Sat.