By Christina McDonough Hunt
It’s almost 3 pm and customers are hustling to the door to get in before closing time. Grandview’s newest cafe and bistro, Housewife, is creating a buzz in south KC.
Housewife opened its doors on December 1, a dream come true for owner Anna Sorge. Housewife is a breakfast and lunch cafe and bistro, but Sorge wants it to be more than an ordinary coffee shop.
“I wanted a place where people walked in and felt like home. You know, a place to eat great food, meet people, and sit down and have a cup of coffee,” Sorge said.
Housewife’s breakfast and lunch menu appears to be a hit since many of the items sell out daily. Sorge said she chose the menu based on what she loves to eat, something she calls “the classics.”
“I love eating my own food more than other things that are out there, so I thought, I’ll go ahead and put this on the menu and see how people respond to it. It’s been great.”
The restaurant serves homemade biscuits with sausage gravy, breakfast burritos made with “life changing” pork fat flour tortillas from Yoli Tortilleria in Kansas City, avocado toast made with fresh rustic loaf bread, soup of the day and other items.
Housewife’s pastry chef Zoey Ramberg is a former co-worker of Sorge’s. Ramberg reached out to Sorge when she heard she was opening Housewife and asked to be a part of it. Ramberg is also the mastermind behind the restaurant’s almond croissant, which is, in this writer’s opinion, the best croissant ever tasted.
Sorge is not a professionally trained chef. She began baking when she was a young mother with four children. When she started giving her baked goods away, everyone loved them, “and things took off from there,” she said.
In fact, her abilities in the kitchen and a conversation are what sparked the name Housewife for the cafe.
Sorge explained, “I had a former boss who once lamented how a simple housewife like me could make better food than an executive chef. I went home and told my husband, Joel, if I ever opened up my own place, I would call it Housewife. That was it, one simple conversation.”
Sorge has successfully combined her two passions. Her husband and children work at the cafe with her.
Located at 801 Main St. in Grandview, Housewife resides in the former Masonic Lodge where Harry S. Truman was a founding member and played pool. The atmosphere emits a rustic, yet clean farmhouse feel with brick walls, large windows, white and black decor, dark green velvet curtains and house plants. The walls are specially adorned with artwork created by Anna’s husband. Because Sorge believes that the environment of the restaurant is one of the most important aspects of the experience, she paid special attention to detail.
Housewife offers free coffee to all men and women in uniform as a way to say thank you. “It’s the smallest gesture,” commented Sorge.
The restaurant is open Tuesday-Saturday from 7 am – 3 pm and the evenings are reserved for special events. Sorge hopes the cafe becomes a community spot to host events.
“I’ve managed event places in the past and they can be so expensive. You have to bring catering in, and the logistics of it all can be so difficult,” she said. “We have a 12-foot communal table upstairs that I had built just for hosting events.” Four-course meals and cheese charcuterie boards are available.
Sorge teaches classes in charcuterie board and floral arranging, and is obtaining a liquor license in order to have wine tasting classes. Catering is also available, as well as packaged items such as cookbooks, jellies and locally handcrafted charcuterie boards. For more information, go to Housewifekc.com.