Sleepy Day @ Coffee Wonk
I haven’t been very proactive in reviewing coffee shops in the last many months, but today’s coffee shop experience was just too good to not post about. But before we get to that…
Eljays closed. Sad, truly. But good news: a new shop K City is moving in and opening in December! This coffee shop is not to be confused with the comic strip by Bruno, http://www.brunopieroni.com/kcity/.
Savvy closed. Sad, truly. But they’re reopening. There’s new furniture in there and they have new signs n whatnot. Yaaay!
Back to this morning’s awesomeness.
A ‘new’ shop opened in what used to be Planet Cafe on Broadway. They call themselves Coffee Wonk.
As you can see from this picture of their front door, there’s a tiny little sign in the middle of the cup. Briefly it says, “This house is a safe space. Actions or language that perpetuate sexist, racist, homophobic … will NOT be tolerated.” So, you can tell this coffee shop is very much a continuation of the previous Planet Cafe, shooting for a similar vibe. Just inside the front door is a chalkboard that seemed to indicate to me that they are open 24 hours a day for 4 days of the week (similar to YJ’s). The new Coffee Wonk also looks very similar inside to Planet Cafe:
Of note, however are the two gentlemen’s knees you see here. At first I presumed they were homeless who the staff allowed to spend the night in the shop, seeing as they were open 24 hours. Very thoughtful of the proprietors, I thought. Fits with their message of acceptance.
But then, nobody came out of the back room to serve me coffee. It was just me and two sleeping dudes. I quietly poked around the back of the shop to see if anybody was there. Nope! Just me and two sleeping dudes. Occasional light bouts of snoring came from them. The man in the foreground, I assume, was the barista. The man in the background had a bunch of papers in front of him, apparently a UMKC project half-finished.
Doesn’t say much about the coffee if everybody in the shop is asleep. No self-respecting bean-head drinks decaf.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Yes, that is indeed the barista. The other gentleman you can usually find sleeping there is the owner. They don’t have apartments, and because the Wonk has no shower, I have stopped making purchases there. Better ask them to wash their hands if you can wake one up long enough to be served a cup.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:32 am
You described this business to a T. I have had to walk out of there twice because I wasn’t getting any service. The inside of this place has the ambiance of a dope house not a coffee shop. It would not suprise me at all if I walked in there one morning and see a needle sticking out of sombody’s arm while they lay passed out in that same chair. Further, the coffee isn’t that great either. Nor is it worth the 10 minute wait - LET ALONE THE FACT THAT I GET IT LUKE WARM!
Today I finally broke down and decided that it would be much more beneficial and safer if I just walked down the street and got a pound of the Broadway Cafe’s coffee and knock the dust off my expresso machine in my apartment.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:40 am
The Wonk does offer an open music scene where almost anyone can play. It coincides well with their underage BYOB drinking policy. I don’t know how they make any money off of it but possibly that is the only way these two sleepyheads can scare up a date.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
The dude in the foreground is me and the dude in the background is indeed a homeless man.He is one of several homeless people in the community that we try to assist.At our shop,you don’t have to buy something in order to use the bathroom.If you are thirsty,we will give you a glass of water.And if you don’t have a laptop,you can use our desktop.We are a worker-run coffee shop that’s open 24/7 and operated by a staff of three while maintaining other jobs and obligations.Naturally,this can be quite hectic at times.The day that you happened to stop by,I was at the tail end of a 48 hour shift brought on by my co-worker coming down with the flu.I would like to aplologize but everybody knows that if you catch us sleeping,you get a free cup of coffee.
P.S. It’s not about a vibe-it’s about respect for individuals.
November 21st, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Wow. And just got 5 mean-spirited comments on here from a Scott Dunigan (sadunigan@hotmail.com, http://www.linkedin.com/pub/scott-dugan/4/668/411) directed at Mike and Brian. Trolling’s not allowed here, so I’ll edit down his 5 posts to 2 sentences:
1. The YMCA has showers if they need them.
2. Some people might like that ambiance even if you don’t.
-Scott C, Site Admin.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:44 am
Between Brian Biggerstaff and You
Coffee Wonk November 18 at 7:40pm
In regards to your post.I make all of our coffee fresh.If somebody is in a hurry,I make Americano and charge them the regular price.If you have received bad service in the past,then I am sorry.We have recently brought on a new barrista that might not workout.I will be making a comment on that blogpost but am waiting for Micah so that we can do it collectively.I will say that your allusions to heroin use were way out of line.I do not do drugs and do not allow drug use by customers.Drugs are a disease that is eating away at this city and this neighborhood.I thought we were on the same page about that but apparently not.I normally don’t make a habit out of putting other people’s business out in the street but since Mike attacked us,I’m gonna go ahead and do it.Mike was kicked out of our shop for calling our friend a faggot and telling him to stick to his own kind(I assume he meant black people).Then the next night he came in and threatened to kill three people and then tried to break our window with a chair.We called the police and they did nothing.If this is someone you want to assoiciate with,by all means,go ahead.As for me,I’ll be trying to turn this business and neighborhood back into a nice place to live and visit.
Sincerely,Paul.
I don’t want this comment posted.I just wanted to show an example of what we deal with on a daily basis.It’s funny that you’ll post slanderous comments but then choose to censor others.At the very least you could forward Mr. Dunigan’s comments to me,so that I might have some idea what kind of “mean-spirited comments” were made.
Sincerely,Paul.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:45 am
I would have to strongly disagree with many of the negative comments here. I think this coffee shop is cool. I’m a dire coffee lover as is my truelove Donna.
We KNOW good coffee from bad. Sure the Broadway cafe has good coffee too, but unlike “the wonk” down the street it just feels too cramped to me. I should also note for those who read my Proud to be Catholic blog, yes, this is where most of it is typed up these days. If the place was dirty or the servers mean, do you honestly think I’d come? I come because I feel that Coffee Wonk is a REAL coffee shop. Keep in mind my blog was in existence long before the wonk opened, so I know my other options. As long as they keep up their hard work I will continue to cater to this independent local business, besides, they’re within walking distance of my home!
November 27th, 2009 at 9:00 am
This coffee shop is a great place to come with friend at any hour of the day. I have made close friendships with the baristas who have given me a place to hang out whether I have money or not. They are also helping to break down the stereotypes that one might have about homosexuals and the homeless in kansas city. By treating them as people, not as freaks or wierdos like the one horse town minded people of the midwest seem to think of them as. They also give musicians and writers a place to hone thier craft free of judgement. I have nothing, but good things to say about this shop that is making Kansas City a better place to live one cup at a time twenty four hours a day.
December 22nd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
kind of a seedy looking place. doesn’t have the warmth of the Planet.
the owner experiments with coffee mixes; even mixed black tea in the coffee beans. (not particulary good)
January 8th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
I’ve visited Coffee Wonk around 3-4 times and on all occasions my experience was great. The cofee was awsome, and the k2 inscent was quality. A must try stop for the cofee drinker and/or inscent lover.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:53 am
I would whole-heartedly agree that it is a seedy place but then again so was the Planet when they first opened up.It takes time to build.As for warmth-there is no way that we could replace the Planet.It was not just a coffee shop but a safe space for the gay and lesbian community in the metro and more importantly it’s surrounding suburbs.I was introduced to it by a closeted friend and supported them for that very reason.Most of the time I got great service but occasionally I was greeted with outright contempt.Having worked in the service industry,I have empathy for anyone in that field and generally let it slide.And being a straight,white,male,I figure being treated poorly every once in awhile by those that are routinely and systematically oppressed on a daily basis is nothing to complain about.I know this has nothing to do with coffee but that’s not why I’m here and that’s not why I went to the Planet.I can however say that thanks to youtube,I now make a pretty good cup of java.And the owner no longer experiments with black tea but I think that’s just because we ran out.
February 17th, 2010 at 11:34 am
I love, Love, LOVED the Planet and I am very sorry that it is gone. I was excited to see Coffee Wonk open in its place, but it will take some hard work and time for it to reach the level of greatness that the Planet was at one time (under Nicole’s ownership).
I admit that I too have walked in to Coffee Wonk in the morning and caught the barista sleeping — I just walked out and decided I would have to get coffee later. Micah is super friendly and treats me well when I go there. I used to drink fancy lattes and espresso drinks at the Planet, but at Coffee Wonk I only go for brewed coffee or an Americano. The brewed coffee has always been quite good. If you don’t like something about it and you tell Micah, he will fix it for you or change the brew - no big deal.
I’d love to have the warmth, charm, and level of business that the Planet brought back again… I’m waiting. Coffee Wonk is not an everyday stop for me, but in the middle of the day when I really need a coffee fix, they are close by and the brew is good. Not giving up on them yet.