The roasting minds behind a successful Kansas City wholesale coffee operation are switching business blends — planning a Crossroads storefront anchored by a new, retail-only coffee brand.
Christopher Oppenhuis and Mark Sappington, the founders and owners of the wholesale roasting company Marcell Coffee, are preparing for the fall opening of their first retail concept, “Take Care.”
The brick-and-mortar space at 419 E. 18th St. in the Crossroads Arts District is paired with the duo’s new direct-to-consumer coffee roasting brand, OLEO Coffee. The retail-only roasting brand focuses on highlighting coffees grown on Single Estate Farms, a majority of which Oppenhuis and Sappington have visited and already built relationships.
“Our goal is to highlight the dedication and expertise necessary to cultivate all of the potential value in a coffee through the entire supply chain,” Oppenhuis said. “All of the inherent quality begins at the farm level and ends with the consumer typically thousands of miles away.”
“For OLEO,” he continued, “it is our mission to create products and environments that genuinely represent the integrity and intentionality we have witnessed first-hand on our coffee buying travels, and we intend to do so through our hospitality, experience and approachability.”
The future Take Care by OLEO Coffee shop at 419 E. 18th St.; photo by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News
The 2,000-square-foot, two-story concept — in the space previously occupied by Chances Social and, before that, Thou Mayest’s flagship coffee shop — will feature a full espresso menu, hot drip brews and a cold coffee and tea on draft system.
Additionally, Take Care will have an in-house baking program focused on biscuits served alongside seasonal preserves and compound butters with additional treats baked fresh daily.
The initial coffee offerings include: a rotating light roast drip option, a medium drip blend as well as a dark drip, espresso or cold brew blend comprised of single estate coffees. A decaffeinated option will also be available to better serve those with caffeine intolerances and preferences.
The OLEO Coffee brand plans to launch its line of farm focused offerings through Take Care as well as online at oleocoffee.com in October.
Click here to explore the OLEO brand on Instagram.
Take Care’s name and aesthetic is derived from “T.C. Farms,” a homestead located in Turney, Missouri, owned and inhabited by Mary Marcell Kirk who was the mother of Christopher Oppenhuis’ father-in-law, William Kirk, who passed in 2014.
“The name is a tribute to the work ethic seen on the small farms of the Midwest as well as the small rural farms we visit in the countries where coffee is grown,” Oppenhuis said. “For true craft to exist and be passed on to future generations, we must take care of the products and land which provides them, take care of the people and families who supply and serve, and take care of the consumer who has the final choice in where to vote with their hard-earned dollar.”
