By Kady Cramer
As construction commenced on State Line Road off 1-435 Hwy for the new UMB Bank, the community started to see signs of a second business emerging. Officially serving patrons on August 21st, The Roasterie Coffee Company opened its doors inside the new bank location at 1310 Carondelet Dr.
“This is a great example of two local brands coming together,” says Roasterie president Isaac Hodges. “We’ve supported each other a lot in the past.” UMB has Roasterie coffee available at bank branches including a small Roasterie Coffee kiosk inside the downtown campus.
Hodges describes the new State Line location as a really high traffic intersection in the middle of a local coffee desert.
“As soon as we knew UMB was putting this rebuild on their roadmap, I reached out to one of their team members and told them we needed to do this together,” says Hodges. “We want to be onboard and be there with them in person. We want to serve people in a new community.”
With a history of only one Roasterie drive-thru in the area, Hodges is not deterred by the State Line’s café-only location.
“A new café allows us to bring new people into the company,” says Hodges. “Obviously the drive-thru is a really important model in today’s coffee world…the convenience, the ability to not have to leave your car. But what we’ve seen is that people want a space to get out of the house and go spend time in.”
The State Line café can seat 22 guests with its indoor seating and an outdoor patio. In addition to its menu of signature drinks and coffee blends, the new location will also sell a variety of Ibis Bakery goods and grab-and-go snacks.
30 for 30
Thirty years ago, Danny O’Neill founded The Roasterie in the basement of his Brookside home in Kansas City. A locally owned and operated company, there have been many milestones for the Roasterie over the past 30 years including opening the first Roasterie café in Brookside and the placement of the iconic DC-3 plane (named Betty, after Danny’s mother) on the roof of their factory location downtown.
“For the 30th anniversary, there’s a lot to celebrate within the brand itself and the people who have helped create the brand,” says Hodges. “But really, the celebration needed to be more so about community and people who helped lift up The Roasterie over the years.”
In addition to current programs that already benefit organizations like Children’s Mercy, The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, The Roasterie will celebrate its 30th Anniversary by giving back to an additional 30 Kansas City nonprofits. Fueling Kansas City 30th Anniversary campaign will involve volunteer hours, coffee and monetary donations.
“Our cafés show up in different geographical locations in town, so giving back looks different in each one of those cafes and in what the community needs.”
The campaign’s nonprofit beneficiaries were nominated by the Roasterie community and include organizations such as the Veteran Community Project, Operation Breakthrough, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Big Brothers Big Sisters KC, and more.
“It shows up in the arts, it shows up in education, in social issues, in the underserved and underrepresented in our communities,” says Hodges.
On Sept. 8, the State Line Roasterie will donate a percentage of all sales to Nurture KC as part of the 30th anniversary celebration.
For more information and a full list of 30 for 30 nonprofits, visit theroasterie.com/pages/30th-anniversary/.
Give Back Blend
To kick off the 30 for 30 campaign, The Roasterie has launched its Give Back Blend, with notes of blackberry, cherry and citrus. For every tin of the Give Back Blend sold, The Roasterie will donate 10% of all proceeds up to $30,000 to the 30 selected Kansas City’s nonprofits.
“You’ll see a pretty complex coffee,” says Hodges. “It’s pretty high end when you look at the components.”
State line store hours are Monday – Friday from 6am-6pm, Saturday and Sunday from 7am-4pm. A grand opening celebration is in the works for mid-September in collaboration with UMB Bank. For more information, visit theroasterie.com.