Martin City Coffee to Open
By Kathy Feist
It won’t be long before morning commuters traveling up Holmes in Martin City can pull up to Martin City Coffee shop’s drive-thru window and order a cup of coffee with a pumpkin spice donut.
On Friday, Oct. 26, Martin City Coffee at 13115 Holmes Rd. will have its official grand opening and ribbon cutting at 10 a.m.
The coffee shop will be serving Intelligentsia coffee roasted in Chicago.
Pastries available for sale will include seasonal donuts, croissants, cinnamon rolls, scones, muffins pop tarts and cookies made by KC Bakery.
Starting Saturday, owner Penny Romero will have a lunchtime menu available that departs from the coffee house norm. Grilled Cuban sandwiches, crispy chicken chicharron, stuffed arepa (flat cornbread), yuca fries, tostones (fried green plantains) and spicy Mexican hummus will be made in house by Romero. The lunchtime fare is inspired by Romero’s South American heritage. She spent much of her youth in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
Romero will be serving up coffee and meals alongside her 22-year-old son Ival “Ty” Crisp, who formerly worked at Scooters in Olathe.
Both have been training staff who will help at the front counter and eventually the drive-thru, which will open in another week or two.
Currently, it may seem owners Romero and partner Rick Ramsey of Affordable Plumbing and Sewer still have a lot of unfinished work to do. Ramsey, who has restored dozens of houses, has done most of the work himself without the benefit of a construction crew in the past year. To kick the project into high gear, Romero said she finally had to set an opening date and made arrangements for a ribbon cutting with the South Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. In the future, Ramsey’s only job will be to come in for a cup of coffee, says Romero.
The coffee shop has a warm rustic decor with hardwood floors, repurposed wood cabinets, rock walls and large glass windows. Black geometric-shaped light fixtures give it a modern vibe. Espresso-colored tables and chairs fill the dining area. A long wooden bench created by a local carpenter runs the length of the room. A custom made bar and countertop incorporate a repurposed bowling alley floor.
A large 11,000-square-foot kitchen, which takes up half the building, allows Romero to add more to the menu in the future.
While there is still a lot to be done–fencing, landscaping, outdoor patio and pergola– Romero and Ramsey remain undaunted. When the work is completed, they will begin to focus on their next project: a neighboring burger joint drive-thru.
Martin City Coffee will be open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information call 816-535-1055.
[THIS STORY WAS UPDATED OCTOBER 26 FROM ITS ORIGINAL VERSION PRINTED IN THE OCTOBER 16 ISSUE.]