KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For Anchor Island Coffee owner Armando Vasquez, this is his way of saying thank you.
Opening in March 2020, the coffee shop has faced its fair share of trials as a small business. Vasquez said he wouldn’t have imagined that his corner shop at 41st and Troost would turn into a known LGBTQ hangout spot.
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“It feels great. It feels like now, our heart is not just my dream," Vasquez said. "It is other people’s dreams, other people's space."
So during Pride Month, Anchor Island Coffee will host various pop-ups of local small businesses and artists, like Erika Sakata.
Sakata makes art that shares her identity with others. She is half Black, half Japanese and queer.
Being able to share her art with others who may connect with it is special for Sakata.
“I feel like pop-ups are cool because I get to share my art and share pieces of myself, but I also get to know other people,” Sakata said. “Showing my art is kind of like showing inner parts of myself. So I feel like if people come to my table and they resonate with my art, I feel it's pretty much resonating with just me as a person.”
Sakata said she feels there are more queer-friendly spaces, like Anchor Island Coffee, but feels there could be more.
Anchor Island Coffee has the pop-ups posted on its Instagram page.
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