Crows to open third coffee shop in Red Bridge

Zach Moores announced he will open Crows Coffee at the Red Bridge Shopping Center.

Crows Coffee lands at Red Bridge Shopping Center

By Jill Draper

Red Bridge Shopping Center will once again have a coffee shop in the space that held Dunn Brothers and Homer’s. By the end of the calendar year Crows Coffee expects to be open for business selling fair-trade coffee, housemade chai tea and a variety of fresh-baked pastries and breakfast burritos. The menu also will include beer from the Martin City Brewing Company.

Owner Zach Moores runs two other Crows Coffee shops, one in Waldo and the other in the South Plaza near UMKC. The Waldo location features popular events such as open mike nights on Fridays and game nights on Saturdays. Moores thinks a jazz musician might be a good fit for Red Bridge. He wants to encourage a community gathering place, not just throughout the day but also in the evenings when coffee shops are traditionally under-used.

Right now he’s completely reconfiguring the space—tearing down faux walls, installing sliding windows, re-doing the lighting and bringing in a variety of seating. He would like to expose the building’s wooden ceiling trusses and put in a trendy garage door that opens to the patio, but he’s not rushing the renovation. “It will be such a great space,” he says. “I want to do it right.”

Moores lives in Waldo and grew up in the Kansas City area, attending Shawnee Mission East High. He was an insurance adjuster for many years, traveling around the country and seeking out local coffee shops to do paperwork. That’s where he was happiest, so he decided to change careers and start his own business.

Crows Coffee at Red Bridge will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.  Moores will serve locally-roasted Messenger coffee along with a variety of food made from a bakery at his Waldo location, including croissants, scones, muffins and Danish and granola bars. The shop also will serve beer and wine.