KC Perky

Financial planners often talk about the “Latte Factor” as an example of how to save a lot of money by cutting just a little thing from your life: your gourmet coffee.  With everybody thinking we’re in a recession, I’m afraid too many people are taking this to heart.  That plus the heat of the summer seems to be taking its toll.  Just yesterday I learned of two more shops that have closed.  River Rock Coffee Co in Parkville and Waldo Coffee Cup.  This makes 6 closings that I heard of in just the last 8 weeks, not counting Starbucks shops!

Are there a bunch of openings I’m missing?  Songbird Cafe is a great new shop, but I can’t help but notice that its the ONLY opening amidst this flurry of closings.

They’re closing some KC Starbucks shops.

Just like they’re doing all over the country.

Meh.

• Elm Street location in Lee’s Summit
• H&R Block Headquarters store on 13th and Main
• 95th & Quivira
• College Blvd. & Pflumm

Sadly, I have to report yet another shop closing.  Rev! Cafe and Gallery.  When they opened 4 months ago,  I had high hopes, but realistic questions.  Mostly: how are they going to get people in the door?  It was a great little shop, don’t get me wrong, and they were fantastic people.  Its just that the location wasn’t condusive to their business.  Close, oh so close, but just out of the way enough.  Plus, I bet there are still some people who think the shop isn’t open yet– the ‘Coming Soon’ sign was there WAY longer than the actual shop.  They tried to do fun things with their space, generate some buzz, but none ever seemed to connect enough.

Alas.

No longer a full coffee shop, Planet Cafe has been downgraded to just a myspace page. They’ve been closed since June 29th. Kudos to AMNewsBoy for the tip.

Anybody need some run-down furniture?

In the productive department, The Broadway Roasting Company’s new location seems to be well underway. They’ve already closed down their east Westport location. This new location will be in the old firehouse just north of Broadway and Westport, near the BP.

Cafe Nouri, the coffee shop with a heart, has closed.  They were a wonderful little shop that not only had good coffee, but gave a portion of their proceeds to needy people in Africa.  Sadly, this wasn’t sustainable.  Perk Up has now opened their second Grand Blvd location in its stead.  We’ll see which kind of Perk Up this becomes:  the good kind or the bad kind.  The owner is still working at this location, so the coffee and service are still good.  Lets see what happens once its flying on its own.

Another top-ten shop bites the dust.

I tip my fedora to you, Nighthawk’s.

Hit up the Top Ten Shops to see the fallout.

The forecast was accurate. Magazines and Coffee is throwing in the tamper. They should have raised the alarm more than three weeks ago if they really wanted us to help.

This sign on their counter says they will be closing on Friday the 2nd.

Maybe I should stop putting good shops in my top 10 list. They keep closing.

Remember 3 weeks ago when I told you all to drink more coffee from the Top Ten Shops? Because the best shops in town keep closing? This is your opportunity to make good on that. Magazines and Coffee (currently #9 on top 10) is in trouble and might close soon.

[Deirdre Hanlon-Jones's] sales are about evenly divided between magazines and food, but her profit is higher on the food. Still, she doesn’t want to give up the magazines and become just another convenience store. She’s beefed up the lunch offerings with such items as vegetable parfait with carrots and sliced cucumbers that can be dipped in hummus or ranch dressing, and hot lunch specials such as red beans and rice, beef cooked in wine for 24 hours, and macaroni with three cheeses.

So help me keep a good shop open, and drink more coffee from MAC. As if my caffeine addiction isn’t bad enough already… Maybe just have more lunches there.

[via]

Even more turnover! Java Time at Union Station is no more. The Bistro at Union Station has picked up its duties in a small way with this little cafe next to their main dining area.  Creative geniuses came up with the name of the new shop… Union Cafe. The coffee is much like the name: so-so, but gets the job done. The cinnamon rolls on the other hand… fabulous.

[map to Union Cafe]

Its official: Broadway Cafe wins.

Previously: Westport’s David