Cafes with a Cause: Local coffee shops that give back to the community in various ways

Though Starbucks and Dunkin’ drive-thrus are convenient, I can’t help but feel guilty dropping a daily six dollars going straight to the big corporations. Luckily, Kansas City is the hub of local coffee spots, and it’s nice to know your caffeine indulgence is going towards a good cause, too. 

As a caffeine addict constantly on the search for the latest coffee spot, I discovered these two, new-to-town cafes with missions that go beyond building the next multi-million coffee corporation. 

Of the boarded-up buildings and abandoned car lots that make up Strong Ave., Grounded Sole Coffeehouse is set apart by a vibrant mural of local historical figures and events. Brilliant yellows and oranges of the building are just the beginning of the bright light this new shop is to the Argentine neighborhood of Wyandotte County. 

Since their grand opening on Oct. 5, owners Taylor and Jimmy Penrod are committed to fostering a business that welcomes everyone, knows customers by name, uses resources to serve their community and provides job opportunities for local young adults. This sense of welcoming and warmth only continues inside the cafe with its lava lamps, cozy basket chairs, colorful vintage couches and floral, plant-lined walls. 

In a neighborhood ridden with violence and isolation, Grounded Sole isn’t the only effort working towards building a stronger community. The Penrods, along with a board of eight others, make up Barefoot Mission — an organization promoting sustainable and holistic evolution of urban communities. 

Posters around Grounded Sole explain that over the last five years, the Mission has established Argentine Wellness Center for healthcare screenings, church services and food for the community and Avenue Youth House to provide a safe space for homeless young women between 16 and 24. 

I witnessed this community-building firsthand as I sipped on my Honey Crisp cold brew from the fall menu: families chatting with the baristas, a group of teenage girls eagerly asking how they could help today and the owner sat down while they stamped paper bags together, catching up on their weeks.

Across from Wyandotte County’s juvenile detention center and tucked in the bottom floor of the historic Kansan newspaper building, the compassionate smiles and fresh-brewed coffee waiting inside Connect Café contrast its otherwise bleak surroundings.

Now open for over a month, the Social Enterprise Program — started by Foster Adopt Connect, an organization working with youth and families navigating the child welfare system — aims to make a difference in the lives of Kansas City youth aging out of foster care. 

Not only do the cafe’s proceeds go to FAC’s work to break the cycle of generational abuse and neglect for Kansas City children and families, but they also employ youth in the foster system to develop food and customer service job skills. Once graduated from the program, FAC connects the teens with job opportunities in the foodservice industry and local KC restaurant businesses to help them meet their goals and succeed through adulthood.

Open on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m, Connect Café offers a complete breakfast, lunch and snack menu, along with local KC baked goods and espresso drinks from Scratch Bakery and Messenger Coffee. Knowing that the $10 I spent on a vanilla cappuccino and granola parfait was going right back to teens my age made it an even more fulfilling breakfast.  Though simplistic, the cafe’s cozy environment and its company’s generous values make for a worthwhile stop for your next brunch outing.