By Kathy Feist
The Chive Cafe and Market was made for an Earth Day celebration, and the small, sustainable farm to table cafe plans to celebrate big on April 22.
“Earth Day is a part of who we are every day,” says owner and chef Michelle Brown.
Located on the outskirts of Grandview along I-49 and 150 Highway, The Chive will hold an all-day plant sale featuring herbs and plants from Echo Farm as well as native plants from Down to Earth Services.
Also for sale will be live worms and dirt that can be added to a garden or compost bin. Worms create compost by eating scraps. The worms and dirt are available through Elm Dirt.
At 5 p.m. a free native landscape tour of The Chive’s 3.5 acres will be led by Will Gibson from Down to Earth Services. Gibson, who planted over 30 native plants at The Chive, will talk about their benefits and use in landscaping. Beer specials will be served throughout the day.
Brown enjoys her newly founded restaurant and its capabilities. “At the cafe we can raise awareness and change people’s attitudes about sourcing foods,” she says. “It’s not easy being sustainable. Our society has become so used to convenience. It takes effort.”
Around three-fourths of The Chive’s menu ingredients comes from local sources including her own farm located east of Kansas City.
She uses real silverware and real napkins for dine-in meals and compostable containers for take-out.
Food scraps from diners and the kitchen are made into compost by Missouri Organics. “We recycle everything,” she says.
Water-retaining plants were put in a nearby retention pond so that excessive water doesn’t flow into a nearby stream. Native plants were used in the bioswales surrounding the parking lot for the same purpose–to absorb water runoff.
Brown says eventually she would like to plant a garden on the cafe’s roof to absorb water and heat.
Brown shares the cafe with her son Nolan who owns Transparent Brewery. Together they built the restaurant, which opened in fall 2020. They look forward to warmer days when they can open their windowed garage doors facing the patio, allowing customers to sit outside, play bocci at the outdoor activities area and walk their dogs in the dog park. Of course, this is while they enjoy a craft beer with an organically sourced pizza, sandwich or entree. Or maybe a homemade ice cream after a long, hot walk.
The Chive offers other items for sale from their pantry and freezer, such as soaps, spices, coffee, extracts, soups, ice cream, cookies and more.
The Chive Cafe and Transparent Brewery host beer-pairing dinners, artist receptions, cooking demonstrations, gardening classes, walks and trail clean-ups.
The cafe and market is located at 14501 White Ave., off I-49 (71 Highway) and 150 Highway next to Gail’s Harley Davidson.
Hours are 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 am to 10 pm Friday, 10 am to noon Breakfast Saturday, noon to 10 pm Saturday, and 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (816) 499-8899 or go to thechivesimplygood.com.