Still Out Here

So, it's been a moment since I last posted. Not that I think you have been holding your breath!

Since I last wrote here, we have simply been swept up even more by everyday life. Balancing two kids, the shop, our house, our relationship, and small amounts of time for ourselves has been a challenge. I feel comforted knowing that we are, by no means, the only ones experiencing these challenges. I also feel extremely lucky that we have all that we have.

Life at One More Cup has been flying by. We just celebrated our two-year birthday at the end of February! Thank you to everyone for helping us make it this far - customers and staff. We appreciate all of the love and support!

Looking ahead, the forecast for One More Cup is quite sunny. There is only one storm cloud that we see for now, but that is only to be expected. So, I'll get the not-so-great news out of the way first. We have been informed that our coffee supplier will be raising their prices very shortly. This is the second price increase we have experienced from them in six months. That seems outrageous, but given the state of coffee in the world I don't blame them. Coffee prices have been skyrocketing globally. This is due to many factors - lots of bad weather conditions for coffee growing, incredible demand that is outpacing supplies, commodity speculation, and more.

So, what does this mean for us? We weighed our options, and unfortunately absorbing the increases with no action is not one of the options. We wish we were large enough to do that, but we are not. We also really don't want to raise our coffee prices at the moment. So, that has led us to where we are. We have decided to eliminate the frequent drink card program. We will continue to stamp cards, and redeem them, through the month of April. After that, we intend to offer up deals through our facebook and twitter accounts more frequently (a few times a month.) Thank you for your support and understanding in this issue.

Now...that is our bad news. What is the sunshine?

More drink options - pour overs, new specialty drinks popping up, localbucha (kombucha) from KC's GetReal Food Company

Working with Lindsay over at Fresher Than Fresh on offering her all-natural, and extremely delicious, ice pops!

Possible extension of Sunday hours. We are very likely moving to a full day on Sundays in the next month or two.

Thinking of creative promotions, events, etc. that we can do. I love planning stuff, and now that Miss Hazel is approaching age one, and we are more used to our juggling act, I have a bit more time to focus on those things...which I love!

And...who knows what else. We will see what pops up through the year. What are your ideas?

Thank you all again for coming in, enjoying the shop, and sharing your stories with us!

It's All Happening!

We are so thrilled to announce that our daughter, Hazel, joined our family on May 6th! She is doing quite well, as are the rest of us. You won't see her in the shop for another few weeks (and you may only catch glimpses of us,) but after that she may be my little companion there while I get some work done.

Also, the bike rack is bolted to the ground in back of the shop by the deck! For real. It has finally been installed. We take forever to do things sometimes.

The shop has also recently started to serve a new organic/Fair Trade coffee from The Roasterie. It is from Peru, and is a delicious, light roast that we are pleased to add to our rotation of coffees.

You have only about a week left to catch the photography work of Joan Calkins. After that...I have no one. I'm just hanging up some favorite Nikki McClure prints for the summer, unless I get some interested artists! If you know anyone who would like a chance to hang some of their work in our shop for a month, send them my way.

That's all for now! Take care.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Hello!

Less than two weeks from the due date of our daughter, so I figured I should get an update in now.

We had a great birthday celebration towards the end of February. Thank you to everyone who made it out, and continues to support us on other days too! We can't believe how quickly this next year is already passing by.

We have some new items added to the menu, some of which are permanent, and others that are seasonal. As far as seasonal goes...hot apple cider is no longer available, but we have lemonade once again. Try a "tee time" (our silly take on an "Arnold Palmer") which is half lemonade and half iced tea. It is quite refreshing. Also available for the spring/summer months are frozen Snickers bars. No, these are not organic, ice cream bars, or anything besides a Snickers bar frozen into delectable, hard chewiness. They simply remind me of summers spent at the pool, and I like them! So, enjoy one for a buck. Root beer floats have also returned - vanilla ice cream and a Lost Trail root beer. Yum. We can also blend one up for you!

Speaking of blending...that is our biggest change. We now have a very small selection of shakes available! Last summer we noticed some demand for frozen, blended drinks. We were resistant for a couple of reasons. One of the primary reasons is that many of the frozen drinks shops offer come from powdered mixes. Some of these mixes are not terrible, but many of them contain some pretty nasty ingredients. You would think creating a blended coffee drink would be as easy as blending espresso, ice, and milk together, but that just doesn't work well. The texture/consistency is all off.

Our solution? Shakes made with as few ingredients as possible. Healthy? Not quite, but WAY better than powdered mix! There are 3 vanilla ice cream based ones (a surprisingly-few- ingredient vanilla ice cream...hormone-free too!) and one vegan one.

Toddy - vanilla ice cream, toddy concentrate, Shatto milk

Chai - vanilla ice cream, black or green chai

Berry - vanilla ice cream, frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries), Shatto milk

Vegan - frozen banana, frozen berries (same as above), soy milk

They come in one size (16 oz. for $4.25) and are a rich, flavorful treat! We are not a shake or smoothie emporium...no endless choices, but we have created a small, yummy selection that we hope you enjoy. The toddy one is pretty out-of-control! So is the vegan.

Okay, I know that I have been promising this for almost a year, but remember the bike rack we purchased, but never installed? One of our baristas has an incredibly handy father who will be pouring a concrete slab and installing the rack on it within the next couple weeks for sure! It has been a long wait, but will be here this summer. It will be located off the deck that is out in back of the shop.

We have also done some other improvements recently. No more ratty screen door in back! We have a nice, shiny storm door there now. Also, we replaced some of our fridges with a larger, more energy efficient one and a bigger, energy-efficient freezer. There is a glass fronted fridge out front too so you can grab your own bottled drink or sandwich. We feel pretty fancy.

Otherwise, we have to give it up to our wonderful employees. Some have been with us from the start, and have been such a great help and support during a crazy first year. Others are newer, but equally valuable to us. All of them have been so great while we have been getting closer to having a baby. We truly appreciate them all, and we hope that you do too! Sadly we have a barista leaving for Australia next week (happy for her, sad for us!) but we found another great person to step into her shifts. It is hard letting people you like go, but that is the nature of the beast.

That is it for now! Be well, and take care.

In Hibernation

Oh my...I feel like a stranger here. I've been all around town both physically and on the web for the last couple of months, but have neglected this small piece of internet real estate. What can I say other than life gets busy.

The shop rolled it's way through the holidays, weathered some snow at the new year that caused us to close early some days, and wish we were closed others, but we have emerged in 2010 into a sweet spot. We are very excited for the year ahead.

To kick it off, we will be one-year-old on Feb. 26! There will be some sort of minor celebration on Saturday, February 27. We don't have all the details hammered out, but there will likely be drink specials, giveaways (probably through facebook,) and buy a drink get a free cookie! If you have not tried one of our cookies (made in house) this is the perfect opportunity to. Simple and delicious.

Thinking of baked goods, one of the changes over the last couple months has been a switch in our in-house baker. Jolinda left us in December, and we were joined by Rachel. In addition to baking some of the items we had been offering, Rachel has begun making vegan options, muffins, and some interesting new cookies.

The composting efforts have been going really well. The main challenge has been letting customers know about it, and learn how quick and easy it is to separate their trash. We have plenty of signage (I like signs...) and always look for an opportunity to chat with people about it. We have even had some local groups and other businesses take an interest in it, and want to learn more! That is so great!

The eggnog drinks came and went over the holidays, and the last couple weeks have been lower production milk weeks for the cows. Unfortunately that has meant very limited flavored milk. Apparently though, those issues should be over, so we are hoping to get all flavors of milk back in stock soon! We've missed them. As of this post we have chocolate and root beer milk from Shatto, and we always have flavored syrups.

On a personal note, for any of you who haven't spied me at the shop recently, we are expecting a baby girl to join our family this spring! We couldn't be more delighted to add another member to our family. We might not be around much for a month or so around her birth, but we love our staff, and they keep things running very well when we can't be there. Once she's past a month old, I'm sure she will be my tiny companion while I take care of business...just no hot drinks around her!

That's it for now. I will try to keep up on letting everyone know what is happening in our world a little bit better this year. I mainly update our Facebook fan page, because it is such an easy way to get the word out about most things.

Hope you all have been well.

New Artwork Up

Please come check out paintings by Jenni McSpadden that are hanging for the month of October. Jenni is a librarian for the Kansas City Art Institute, as well as a painter. If you are interested in purchasing any pieces, we can put you in touch with her directly. She has had this particular series of work around for awhile, and said that she is willing to give out some serious deals if anyone is interested!

September!

August escaped me, and now here we are right in the heart of September. That's fine with me as it is nearing my most favorite month, October!

We have been quietly making some small changes at the shop, but will now shout them from our blog.

First off...yesterday was the first day we offered sandwiches from the Nutty Girl! We often had folks ask if we had sandwiches, and we resisted for awhile. I just really did not want to get into making our own for a number of reasons. The Nutty Girl solves that. Delicious sandwiches delivered fresh every morning, Monday through Saturday. The are technically 1/2 sandwiches, but are really the size of sandwich I enjoy the most. Not too big, not too small. We sell them for $3.50, and they come in the following varieties: tuna (in a tasty balsamic dressing,) free-range egg salad, hummus, veggie, turkey (with a really tasty sun-dried tomato cream cheese,) and the nutty girl (cashew butter, apple slices, and cheddar!) They are available each day until they sell out.

We chatted with Missouri Organic last week, and at some point in the next few weeks, they will begin picking up almost all of our waste. I'm kind of geeking out over the fact that they will be able to take our hot cups, cold cups, straws, disposable cutlery (all of those are plant based and compostable,) plus all paper, deli tissue, food waste, coffee grounds, filters, and paper towels! Basically they can take anything except plastic, metal, and styrofoam. All of it will get turned into rich compost that you can purchase for your garden. I've used it in my garden at home, and it is great! They are going to be able to take about 98% of our waste, and much of the rest will be recycled. Really all that we will have left to toss will be food-handling gloves, our hot cup lids, bottle caps, and whatever trash people happen to bring with them from elsewhere!

Our September artist's work was up for about a week, but then some of the pieces fell due to needing better hooks on the back. We felt sad having her take them down, but luckily she is going to re-frame, and hang in November! The wall looks so bare now. I'm taking it as an opportunity to put up a notice that we want more artists to contact us about the possibility of showing their work.

Popsicles went away with Labor Day. They are definitely more of a summer treat. Iced drinks are available year round. I'm pretty sure there are going to be many people who can't give up toddy for the winter months!

We had a really nice piece written about us in the September issue (print edition) of tastebud magazine! The main article was about how great the local coffee scene is, and mentioned Broadway, Latteland, and The Roasterie. We had our own little box with a photo and everything! We feel pretty honored to be mentioned alongside those three, as they are truly some of K.C.'s best. We really love lots of the coffee shops in Kansas City. Each has it's own feel and style. Plus everyone does things a little differently. We are a little partial to our shop, though.

And now for the bike rack. Our beautiful, green, wave rack. We are still at the mercy of our very busy and ambitious friend who is installing it for free. Apparently where we want to put it cannot support it without having concrete poured. He is a very busy fellow, and we really want it installed. We may just have to hire someone handier than us to do it. We'll see.

I think that is about all for now. I'm still meeting lots of new customers, and getting to know regulars better. Thank you all for making my day a little brighter, and bringing me out of the haze of day-to-day operations, bills, fixing things, etc.

artwork for the month of August

                                          image property of Michael Wolfe

For the month of August, we have the photography of Michael "Wolfie" Wolfe.  

"Wolfie's Ru4Real Photography is located in the West Plaza area of Kansas City, MO.  Ru4Real is Fine Art Photography for young people of all ages."

Come in some time during August to check out Wolfie's unique images of Kansas City!  If you find that you would like to own one of his photos, you just need to contact Michael directly through his website or we have some of his cards available in the shop.

happy times

     This week started off with being closed for a day, which is always a little sad, but now we have a new air conditioner/furnace!  I don't think my eyeballs will pop out of my head again at our energy bill like they did last month after summer truly kicked in, and we ran the AC a bunch.  Neal Harris is a really great heating/cooling company.  That's who we have been using at the shop, and who we have always used in our home.  They are nice, thorough, and usually have coupons or discounts running.  

     While we were closed, we took the opportunity to add a couple new things.  One is not too major.  We now offer organic lemonade as a drinking option.  It is seriously just organic lemon juice, organic sugar, and water.  Tasty.  You can get it mixed with iced tea as well...usually known as an "Arnold Palmer," we weren't sure if we could use that name or not, so we went with "Tee Time."  Cheesy, perhaps, but we are like that.  The other change is starting a daily happy hour!  There are some pretty good deals on there.  I think Saturday should be a blast.  Potentially frightening for folks without kids, but maybe not!  Fun!

     Otherwise...

This Friday we will hang new artwork, and begin our journey of switching out which artists are showing every month.  I will definitely post info on each artist here each time we change.  I'm looking forward to it.  

We, and our neighbors, received nice little write-ups on The Ink's website, and in the print edition that hit the news stands today!  Thanks, Sarah.  We certainly appreciate the interest.

Jolinda is back from vacation, and back to baking for us.  I really enjoyed my stint as baker, and wouldn't mind doing it again, but have to say I am thankful for her return.  A lot of my other duties fell to the side while I took over.

That's it for now.  The bike rack will get installed soon...we are waiting for Jo's husband to have some spare moments to do it.  He has many tools, and can drill into asphalt which is what we need!  Have good days...

vacation all i ever wanted, vacation had to get away

Our employees are all taking turns taking vacations.  Alas,no vacation for us.  That is okay.  We love traveling, but having the coffee shop is pretty damn fun!  The last couple weeks have just been extra-hectic, so I have travel on the brain.

I've been having a good time playing baker for the last couple of weeks.  I put out many of the same things, but tried some different variations.  My favorite is the lemon bread that was out today.  There will be another loaf tomorrow.

In the midst of all the baking, schedule juggling, coffee slinging, and life living, we were broken into last weekend.  It certainly was not a pleasant call to receive from the alarm company at 3:30 am, but I would much rather deal with a night time break-in than a daytime hold-up!  We had a window totally smashed into tiny pieces, some stolen money, and a moment of feeling defeated.  Jeremy cleaned up most of the glass in the early morning hours, I came in to open, and it was business as usual Saturday with some tree trimming, and getting the window boarded up added in.  Thank you for every one's well wishes all week, and to The Light Shop for helping to trim up the bushes/tree.  Unfortunately we are not the only ones who this has happened to recently.  Many businesses in Waldo have been broken into over the course of the last few weeks, and I heard that houses in the area are starting to get hit too.  Sigh.  Everyone just check over your property for vulnerable spots, and be aware.  It may not stop it from happening, but it can't hurt.  But...our new window is installed, and we keep going, going, going.

The only other major piece of news I can think of is that we will be closed all day on Monday, July 27th.  Our air conditioner is a 25-year-old, energy-sucking, on-the-verge-of-total-collapse heap.  So, on that day, we are getting a new, energy-efficient unit installed!  They also will be putting vents in the kitchen so that it is not so hot back there. Hooray!  We are sad to close down for a day, and apologize for any inconvenience that might create, but we are terribly excited to replace that system.  We toyed with being open, but there will be no AC, and a good portion of the work they need to do is right in the path we have to walk about five-hundred times a day through the kitchen.  We will just play catch-up that day, and see everyone Tuesday.

and another thing

We have a profile on a new website Kansas City Made.  They are just getting the ball rolling, but I think will be a great resource for finding local business and products in the KC area.  Thank you KC Made!

finally...a moment

I've been hunkering down trying to finish tasks that should have been done ages ago.  That means my online time has been taking a hit.  That's probably not a bad thing, as I can easily get lost in the internet!  Anyway...

I just got our specialty drink menu board put up yesterday.  Definitely have some good drinks up there, and hopefully some unique ones...some are, some aren't.  Here is a brief rundown:

white mocha strawberry (espresso, Shatto strawberry milk, white choc. sauce) 

neapolitan (espresso, Shatto choc. milk, Shatto straw. milk, vanilla syrup) 

root beer chai (chai, Shatto root beer milk)

pomander (chai, Shatto orange milk)

coco loco (espresso, Shatto choc. milk, coconut syrup)

mocah toddy au lait (toddy, Shatto choc. milk)

curious george (espresso, Shatto choc. milk, Shatto banana milk)

We also added root beer floats (Lost Trail root beer and Shatto vanilla ice cream...both local and crazy good,) toddy floats, and simply 3 scoops of ice cream (Shatto chocolate or vanilla.)  We still have popsicles too.  Sorry, no smoothies, shakes, or blended drinks.  That's just not our style.

We also have started getting ham/cheese and egg/cheese croissants from City Bakery.  They are good for folks who want something a little hardier than sweet pastries.  For vegan folks, or others, there are Larabars.  They are crazy simple  - fruit and raw nuts in various combinations.  They seriously don't have anything else added, and are delicious!

Our bike rack has arrived!!  But, alas, we must wait for our friend with the tools to mount it to return from vacation.  That will be in about two weeks.  We also have a nice, new banner out on the deck, so you know who we are from behind!  It is done in about the same shade of green as the bike rack.

I picked up some new kid's books, and a couple new adult books from Half Price Books to add to the collection beginning at the shop.  I have a fairly serious book addiction, and am trying not to get too carried away at the shop.  I save it for our house.

I am finally trying to get in gear about finding artists to hang their work in the shop.  If you are interested or know someone whose stuff you think is great, please send a message our way at jdneff@onemorecupkc.com  We would like to switch the work out monthly.  All work must be able to be hanged (hung?) off of picture rail.  The spaces available are the following sizes: 23 feet x 3 1/2 feet and then 4 feet x 2 1/2 feet.   

As far as style goes...painting, drawing, photography, mixed media...whatever!  Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate three-dimensional pieces.  Also, just because someone submits work for consideration, does not mean that we will hang your work.  No hard feelings, we all just like different things!  If you have a website of your work, that is the easiest for me to deal with.  Otherwise, we can arrange a time to look over some pieces.  I may not be able to get around to that as quickly.  I am hoping to fill up the months at least through the end of the year.  So far, I believe only October is spoken for.

If you happen to be in this Friday afternoon, you may get to witness a photo shoot!  Two of our customers approached us after we opened about doing some pro-bono advertising work.  Apparently it is not uncommon for advertising folk to do that so that they can stretch their creative legs a bit more than with their paying clients!  Anyway, Laura and Elena got back to us with some excellent ideas, and now our coffee and shop get to be stars in a shoot on Friday.  The end product gets to be used however we see fit...posters, fliers, ads, etc.  We just can't believe how lucky we are to have such different, and talented customers!  

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable 4th of July.  We certainly had fun relaxing with family and friends, and stuffing ourselves silly with grilled meat and summery side dishes!  Mmmm...now I'm hungry just thinking about it all.  See you all later...off to snack!

Forgot!

Also, I picked up a copy of "eat.shop.kansas city." for the store.  I read about it in the Ink, and thought it sounded pretty great, and it is!  It certainly doesn't cover every local business in KC, but it contains a ton of them.  The photos are beautiful, and the writing is charming.  Love it!

Trying to Balance

Just when I think we are starting to find a groove in a particular area of the shop something pops up!  Such is life.  It has been a real struggle to find the right balance in all that we are doing... be at the shop or be home with our son (though thankfully whichever one of us is at the shop, the other one is home with him,) what do we offer as far as drinks and food, what are our policies on every little thing, how to be nice employers while still getting people to do things, ordering correct quantities of items so that you don't come up short, but don't order too much...plus keeping on top of bills (home and shop,) taxes, house keeping, personal health, and spending enough time together as a family.  I know this is not a unique situation to us.  It is everybody's life!

Owning your own business is amazing, but there is sooo much that goes into it.  Sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining too much.  I love what we are doing.  Sometimes it just gets stressful.

Here is some of what has been going on lately (with a focus on the positive!)

I got the planters on the deck fully planted!  My friends Kris and Joanna very helpfully picked up the plants for me, and I had a wonderful afternoon doing one of my favorite activities.  There is a nice mix of herbs and flowers.  One step closer to deck prettiness.

We have a beautiful, light green colored, 5-bike wave rack on order.   We hope it will make it's way to us by the end of the month.  Theresa from Waldo Family Bikes helped pick out the best spot for it.  It will be in back at the end of the deck.

We hosted a party for our employees, because they have been so great in bearing with us during this crazy time, and we really could not do this without them.  It was a blast...grilling, much beer, kids being cute and wild, and good conversation.

The Roasterie gave us access to the Fair Trade organic Mexican coffee!  Previously it was available exclusively to one client (a great organization actually,) but now we can offer it.  Very tasty.

There are a couple new faces working behind the bar.  We like them, and hope that you do too!

We have received some really wonderful compliments lately, and it makes us so happy.  Thank you to everyone who comes in...whether daily, weekly, or just once.  You don't even have to compliment us.  

All of our aluminum cans are now going to Habitat for Humanity.  They turn the cans in for cash, and the cash goes directly to their work.  We found out about this program through one of our fantastic customers!  Thanks Mandy!

New wand tips were put on the machine recently, and the difference is crazy!  The ones before were not terrible by any means, but they frothed the milk very quickly which doesn't lend to the fine micro-bubbles.  The ones now make such a beautiful surface on the drinks, plus make them taste even sweeter.  

And lastly, we just fall more in love with Waldo every day.  We knew we loved the area or we would not have moved here, but being a business owner has allowed us to meet so many more people, and learn so much more about what is going on in the neighborhood.  Thank you for the support Waldo, and the KC area in general.  We hope we are brightening your day just a little bit when you come in.

Updates

We will be closed all day Monday, May 25th, for Memorial Day.  Other than that we will have regular hours throughout the weekend.  Come in and have a cup!

I chatted with Theresa from Waldo Family Bikes the other day about what kind of bike rack would be best for us.  I think it takes a month or so for delivery (they are made to order,) so hopefully we should have one in by mid-July...maybe earlier?!  We are working on it.

Our planters in back (that line the deck) should be planted soon either by me, or our friend Kris.  I have been lax about getting the deck spruced up.  That is definitely my next big project.

So, the dilemma came up recently of what to do in the way of frosty summer treats.  Many coffee shops offer blended drinks or smoothies.  I really wanted to avoid going that route (even though I know they are popular) for a couple of reasons.  Most places use a powdered mix for blended drinks.  They create a smoother beverage than just blending ice, milk, and coffee together.  These mixes contain trans fats, and also we can't use our coffee in them.  That just doesn't fly with us.  Then there is the smoothie factor.  Everyone does smoothies it seems like!  We don't have tons of extra space to work with, plus I like the baristas focusing on espresso drinks versus blending smoothies.  So...I came up a solution that should please all (people in need of frozen-ness and baristas)...at least it pleases me!  

Popsicles!  I've been working on my flavors, and gathering opinions from taste testers.  From Memorial Day through Labor Day we will have the following popsicles available: mocha (espresso, Shatto chocolate milk, Shatto 1/2 & 1/2, and a touch of chocolate syrup,) chai (chai and Shatto milk,) and a juice/berry one (orange juice, chopped berries, and a bit of agave syrup.)  Other flavors may pop up throughout the summer, but those three are the main ones.  I'm not nailed down on pricing yet, but I'm thinking it will be something like 95 cents!  Please come in and try one once they are available.

Otherwise...just enjoying having the doors open most days until it gets too hot to do so, tweaking little aspects of the store, and still having fun meeting lots of new people!  I've even had time at home to finally clean a bunch at home, and plant the garden.  That makes me very happy.

I hope you all have been well.

P.S.  I decided to sign us up for Twitter.  I'm a line straddler with the internet...I love it, and I enjoy a lot of the sites like Facebook and Twitter, but I also feel like people are over-informed about each other too.  I'm trying not to post too many updates, but still having fun with it...whatever!  If you would like to follow us we are @onemorecupkc

Catch up!

You may have noticed our letters out front!  I've discovered that the space in which they are hanging has become a real inspiration for me.  I'm currently thinking of different displays I can do in those areas.  I think that I may change it out every few months.  In the meantime, they will stay as they are.

We have just been plugging away at the store!  Business is picking up more and more, which is fantastic.  We've been having to adjust our ordering accordingly.  It is tricky to find the right balance, especially as things are bound to change every month or so, but it is generally working out fine!  

The baked goods have been a success!  The coffee cakes, quick breads (especially zucchini!), and cookies have been the most popular.  Though the cupcakes and biscuits aren't slackers for sure.  Either way, I know I have been raiding the cookie jars a little too much.

Otherwise...we are looking into getting a bike rack installed sometime soon, getting ready to plant all of the planters out along the deck, and working on some new ideas for frosty treats just for summer (sorry, no smoothies here...much more interesting!)

It is shaping up to be a busy and very fun summer!!!

Lots of Little Tidbits

I meant to post this sooner, but time has a way of escaping me.

Starting today, we are instituting Bus Pass Mondays and Double Punch Tuesdays!  Bring in a KC Metro bus pass on any Monday and receive 25 cents off of any non-bottled drink (which means most drinks.)  We love public transportation, and want to reward you for supporting it.  Also, any time you come in on a Tuesday, if you give us your drink card we will give it two punches instead of one.  If I were you, I would definitely come in tomorrow to receive your double punches, plus to sample the first of our store-baked treats!!

That is correct...Jolinda has switched from being a barista to baking for us!  She will be rolling out cookies, quick breads, biscuits, coffee cakes, and cupcakes.  I think for tomorrow there will be some sort of cookie, coffee cake, and carrot/raisin/pineapple bread.  Don't quote me for sure on that, but I think I am correct.  There may be more...I'm currently not at the shop, so I don't know.  We will still be bringing in croissants of different kinds, cinnamon rolls, and turnovers from City Bakery in addition to Jolinda's goods.

We are also celebrating Earth Day for the whole week (Monday through Friday.)  Our travel mugs are on sale for $8.95.  Any time you bring our 16 oz. mug in to have your drink made in it, we will only charge you for the 12 oz. price!  It is a pretty good deal, especially if you drink a lot of coffee.  Plus, you will save a bunch of cups from being trashed.  This week our bring-your-own-mug from home discount is 25 cents off instead of the usual 15 cents.  Besides the deals, we have a lot of information posted around the store about some of the environmentally friendly products we have chosen to use.  There are also various pamphlets available from our friend Gerould at Elements of Green.  We purchased our flooring and counter tops from him, and really dig his store!  We are hoping to receive some info from The Roasterie to have out too.  Pick up a little pack of Midwestern Wildflower Mix seeds free from us to you as well (while they last.)  

One last thing for now...this upcoming Sunday, April 26, is the 21st Annual Sabates Eye Centers Trolley Run!  This run benefits the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired.  You still have time to sign up if you want to participate (registration closes on April 22 at 11:59 p.m.,) or you can come be a spectator.  Either way, we will be open at 6:30 a.m. to help you warm up or cool down with some coffee.  75th and Wornall is the starting spot for the run, so we are a prime spectating spot!  Please note that Wornall will be closed down where we are.  There still should be access to the parking lot in back, but it may fill up quickly.  If you can, ride a bike over, walk, or take the bus.  It will likely be easier than driving.  Come visit us and enjoy the events!

I think that is it for now...

Monday, April 13th, we will only be open from 6:30am - 9:30am.  So, come in early to get your coffee!  We are finally, finally getting our grease trap installed...the city has approved the plans, the permit is pulled, the plumber is ready to go.  Jolinda is ready to start baking later on next week!!  

Besides all of that...things have just been chugging on.  I got to sit and have coffee with a bunch of moms from Mom2MomKC a week ago.  It was really nice to meet them all, and a great start to my Friday.  Yesterday I hung out with a woman from a coffee meet-up group.  There were supposed to be a couple more meeting us, but they didn't show.  Ah well.  We had a fun time just the two of us!  

There are lots and lots of familiar faces now at the shop.  Some people we see daily, and others a couple times a week.  No matter the frequency, it's just fun to find out about so many different people.

The days just seem to be flying by!  Jeremy and I have been splitting time more evenly at the store.  It has been really fun.  We both get time with our son, but we also both get time to attend to the shop, and talk with folks!  What a great job!

I really love the customers that come in.  Of course, some people just want in and out with their coffee, which is fine.  My favorite though is when people want to chat.  It has been great!

As far as other stuff...we are (ugh) still dealing with the grease trap issue.  It was supposed to happen this upcoming Monday (and there is a slim chance it may still be on for then) but issues in securing the permit have come up.  If only it were straightforward!  Once it does happen though...oh the treats!  Jo has been coming up with a great, simple, delicious list of things to bake.  In addition to the pastries we already carry, it should be quite a selection!  

Also, our friend Kris who owns/runs Evolving Landscapes installed our planter boxes out front!  They are filled with pretty angel moss and pansies!  He is going to change them out, and plant the ones in back in a month when the chance of frost is gone.  Thank you Kris!

Nothing else too major to report.  Just dealing with whatever comes up and trying to keep it fun!

I'm looking forward to spending more time outside and drinking iced drinks!

thank you!

Thank you to all who made it out last Saturday for our grand opening celebration!  We had a lot of fun.  Thank you to everyone who shows up on regular days too!

We are settling into the store quite nicely.  We've better organized our kitchen, are preparing to - any day now -  get our grease trap installed, and have been working out all the kinks that pop up!  We are super-excited to get the grease trap installed as it is necessary, and that it is required for us to do our own baking!!  We will still offer all the pastries we currently carry (except possibly the coffee cake) but will start making our own cookies, pound cakes, cupcakes, and whatever else we can think of.  We will also be making more vegan options available...we are even tinkering with the idea of making our own vegan "cream cheese."  

Otherwise...we have bags of our One More Cup blend beans available for purchase.  They are sitting pretty on the counter just waiting for you to take them home and enjoy.  They are whole bean, but we are happy to grind them for you if you do not have a grinder at home.

 

Toddies, fake mustaches, and flavored milk, oh my!

Here are some little bits of news...

We brewed our first batch of cold brew coffee this week (a.k.a. toddy!)  It is the preferred method for making iced coffee.  Basically you submerge the grounds in cool/room temperature water for 8-12 hours (or maybe it's longer...I didn't do it, so I'm not sure.)  **Update: Found out we brew it for 18 hours.** Then you strain it, and are left with a delicious coffee concentrate!  You either mix it with water over ice or have it "au lait" with milk instead of water.  It tastes super smooth, and I will admit that I add cream and sugar to coffee (I don't mind coffee black, but I have a sweet tooth), but I found the toddy needed no additions!  For people who can't handle acidic things as easily, it is a lower acid alternative to regular coffee.  

As a nice move into the next topic, I was in the store this morning adding the toddy prices to our menu, and met a couple nice folks from the neighborhood, who happen to be toddy lovers, and who are members of what is perhaps one of the most interesting social groups in Kansas City that I have seen yet!... The Kansas City Fake Mustache Club

All you have to do to become a member is submit a photo of yourself rockin' a fake 'stache, and there you are!  They also have a calendar of events so that you can go out and about town with your mustache.  Perhaps you should have your photo taken enjoying a cold glass of Shatto Milk, or a smooth toddy at One More Cup!  We'll let you know if you have anything in your 'stache for sure.

Otherwise... sometime next week is when we will likely have our grease trap installed.  We still don't know the exact date yet, of course.  Unfortunately, that means closing down for a day or half-day, but on the flip side, once that happens we can begin to make the transition into doing some of our own baking!  We will still carry many of the pastries we currently do (croissants, coffee cakes, cinnamon raisin buns, bagels, etc.) but will be able to add on our own cookies, pound cakes, and...? perhaps baklava? We shall see.  Either way, we are excited to keep changing and growing in these upcoming weeks, months, and hopefully years!

We, as you are probably getting sick of me saying, really appreciate all of the support.  We have gotten many compliments on the drinks which just thrills us.  We love them, but it is always nice to know customers do too!  We have really enjoyed the variety of people who come in. It is shaping up to be exactly as we envisioned it!  But, there is always room for change of course.

Well... looks like the weekend should provide a little bit warmer weather, so come have a drink with us, sit outside if it is nice (swinging chairs out front, and a large deck in back.)  Have a nice weekend!

P.S.  I forgot to mention, that in addition to Shatto chocolate milk, we also currently have Banana, Strawberry, and Orange!  They are all delicious alone, or mixed in with your favorite drink! 

P.P.S.  I keep forgetting things!  We received our first shipment from Olivia's Oven on Thursday.  For those who don't know, they are a local, dedicated facility that creates delicious gluten/nut/and dairy free baked goods.  We have donut holes, vanilla cupcakes, chocoate cupcakes, brownies (which are vegan too,) snickerdoodle cookies, and banana muffins.  You won't see them out as they have a short shelf life, so we have to freeze them.  Don't worry, they defrost beautifully.  They are listed up on the menu board, though, so just ask for one!