KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The popular Vietnamese coffee shop Cafe Cà Phê is expanding to the West Bottoms. Its spot inside 12th Street Post is the second location for owner Jackie Nguyen.
Nguyen explained the original coffee shop was in the West Bottoms, and she wanted to bring it back, saying this is something the shop and community needs.
"We miss the West Bottoms and we wanted to do something where we could expand, but not expand too much out of our comfort zone or that we weren’t ready for yet," Nguyen said.
She describes it as a "baby expansion" because the new spot is only open on weekends and First Fridays. For her, it's also about bringing more diversity to the area.
"(Diversify) just a little bit at a time, you know, and have some of our culture be represented here too," Nguyen said. "Now that First Friday’s is back, it, it’s just a huge hub. It’s not just for, you know, the Halloween and the escape rooms, it’s so much bigger than that now."
Bigger not just for business but residential spaces, too. The area has seen two big apartment buildings bring in over 500 units to the area, and according to their websites, only a dozen or so apartments are vacant.
"This is an area that people have always come to," said Bruce Holloway, a board member for the Historic West Bottoms Association. "It’s gone through some changes and gone through some times when there weren’t as much activity down here, but that’s changing."
Holloway has seen the West Bottoms through its ups and the downs, and he, along with the organization, want to see the area revitalized as what it was meant to be originally: a mixed-use space.
"Kind of an extension of downtown, but an area that maintains it’s own authenticity and it’s own history," Holloway said. "And we think those types of growth can exist side by side with the right kind of planning and cooperation among all the parties."
And as more businesses like Cafe Cà Phê come along, the West Bottoms can expect good things for its future development.
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