Startup connector Thou Mayest closing Crossroads coffee shop, hints at new flagship
November 20, 2018 | Tommy Felts
Thou Mayest plans to shutter its Crossroads coffee shop — a popular collision point for startup leaders and community members — on Christmas Eve, founder Bo Nelson said this week, teasing a pivot to an enhanced wholesale operation and search for a new retail home.
Bo Nelson, Thou Mayest
“This has been an amazing year of change for Thou Mayest. Like many businesses, we saw some bumps in the road this year, and we now have a renewed and inspired approach,” Nelson said in a Facebook post. “We have looked into the future and we can’t wait to share that vision with you.”
Click here to read more about Nelson and his coffee shop philosophy.
“This might sound silly, but Thou Mayest understood the role of coffee,” said Jay Austin, CEO and co-founder at Creators Group and a frequent collaborator at Thou Mayest. “They knew it as a conduit to ideas and conversation. Big ideas and conversations. Naturally, Thou Mayest became the go-to spot for the entrepreneurs seeking that vibe.”
Click here to read more about how coffee culture fuels Kansas City’s startup ecosystem.
Nelson declined to immediately share details of the transition publicly, but hinted at more news to come as the business examines its brick-and-mortar options.
“We are grateful for our time at 419 E. 18th St. and the friendships and community that have emerged in the East Crossroads, and we’re excited to share the next chapter of the Thou Mayest story with you,” he said in the post. “We’re positive that our flagship location will be everything you have come to expect from the Thou Mayest brand and more.”
Wholesale and online operations are expected to be unaffected by the planned 4 p.m. Dec. 24 closure, Nelson said.
Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters
“Even as our retail business has continued to evolve, we’ve experienced tremendous growth in our wholesale coffee program and it continues to operate and grow at an astounding rate,” he said.
As word spread across the startup community early this week, longtime customers of the Crossroads location shared memories of personal and professional connections made at the busy meetup spot.
Click here to read comments about the change at Thou Mayest.
Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters from Summer House on Vimeo.
Featured Business
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC mom’s humble entrepreneurial journey draws on healing power of creativity
Huddled in her parents’ basement, between the cribs of her crying twin babies, Keliah Smith began to draw. She was unemployed and feeling emotionally drained. The relationship with her children’s father had soured. Her escape: the stylus and smartphone in her hands. The Kansas City mother drew what she didn’t see in the mirror, she…
Harvard University recognizes KCMO digital inclusion map
Kansas City’s geographic work to illustrate the area’s digital divide earned high praise from a prestigious university. Harvard University recently highlighted the City of Kansas City, Missouri’s Digital Inclusion map, a tool that — at a block-by-block scale — detail residents’ access to internet connectivity overlaid with poverty levels. “This visualization was chosen as Harvard’s…
Study: Women angel investors more likely to give back to female-led startups
Women support women, a new study of 13,000 North American angel investors says. As more female entrepreneurs have entered the business field in the past few decades, women have begun to reshape the nature of angel investing, according to a report by the Overland Park-based Angel Capital Association. “Being an entrepreneur is one of the…
Bilingual startup Tico Productions brings energy to Chiefs’ Spanish broadcast
When the Chiefs and Raiders meet Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, more than the usual KC-versus-Oakland rivalry will be at play. The game also puts Kansas City-based Tico Sports’ two Spanish-language broadcast teams head-to-head for the first time. It’s not a competition, said CiCi Rojas, partner and president of Tico Productions, the company behind Tico Sports…