Mid Coast Modern closing Westport shop, relocating Bear Soap brand to west coast
May 28, 2024 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
After nearly a decade as a local retail staple, Mid Coast Modern is closing, founder Matt Bramlette confirmed.
The Westport Road gift shop — which opened in 2015 and supports makers/artists and indie businesses — is expected to shut its doors at the end of the month.
Matt Bramlette, founder of Mid Coast Modern, Bear Soap Company, Soap Bar, in June 2020; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
Sales have declined since the pandemic — especially after losing foot traffic from nearby restaurant The Corner closing in March 2020, said Bramlette, who also owns Bear Soap Company. That brand’s popular products — from body soaps and bath bombs to beard balms and toilet bombs — are crafted in-house and sold online, in Made in KC stores, and other retail locations.
“It was definitely a battle to keep income with so many external factors that we had no control over,” he explained.
Bramlette’s Bear Soap Company will continue on, moving with the founder to California in the coming months. His venture Soap Bar, which heavily featured the Bear Soap brand, closed in June 2022 when Bramlette consolidated his Westport storefronts into Mid Coast Modern.
Bramlette loved creating the Mid Coast Modern space — its soon-to-close storefront is also dealing with window damage from a deadly shooting in Westport over the weekend — and making it a unique destination for shoppers, he said.
Mid Coast Modern, May 2024; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News
“I liked the hunt for interesting products and helping small brands flourish,” Bramlette noted.
He’ll miss the employees and customers who have become like an extended family, he said.
“We made lots of friends with customers and it was a joy when people would say it was their favorite shop,” he added. “I’ve lived in KC my whole life and have great connections and many good friends and family here.”
On Instagram, Bramlette also noted he’ll miss working with local makers.
“KC has a lot of creative spirit and we wish success to all of you,” he posted. “Please keep supporting local and keep small businesses alive. It’s where the personality of a city lives.”
Upon moving to California, Bramlette plans to operate production spaces in both Kansas City and California.
“I expect new opportunities to arise out West,” he said.
Featured Business
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Flocking back for the holidays: How this third-generation plant nursery keeps a custom Christmas tradition growing
Christmas is a time to spruce things up at Family Tree Nursery, Jesse Nelson shared. And the business has kept a number of holiday customs through the years since Nelson’s grandfather, Ron, opened the venture in 1964. One such tradition: flocking — or the process of spraying Christmas trees with a mixture of cellulose, cornstarch…
How a Worlds of Fun data internship shaped this teen’s cookie cutter subscription box business
Every cutting-edge business idea has a season, said Alex Santoro, baking the details of his 3D printing venture: a subscription box that delivers a set of Kansas City-made holiday-themed cookie cutters — and showcases the teen’s enterprising ambitions. When he turned 18 in August, the Lee’s Summit West student and Worlds of Fun intern celebrated…
EquipmentShare nonprofit’s holiday-time gift: No-cost mammograms for 50 community members
COLUMBIA, Missouri — An employee-led foundation affiliated with one of Missouri’s top startups is helping offer free mammogram sessions for up to 50 uninsured individuals in the Boone County area where rapidly-scaling EquipmentShare calls home. The holiday-timed give-back is a partnership between the EquipmentShare Foundation, the Columbia/Boone County Health Department and JCB, the world’s largest…
HERImpact $50K pitch competition returning March 8; Here’s how KC women entrepreneurs can apply
Women business owners and social entrepreneurs in Kansas City are encouraged to compete this spring for up to $50,000 in a Shark Tank-style funding event aimed at investing in women’s ambitions to start and scale local businesses. “Expanding access to capital and mentorship is critical to women’s success as they start their own businesses,” said…