Wild Way closing: Coffee camper drips bittersweet blend of emotions as owner’s cup runs dry
June 21, 2024 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Nearly six years after she began serving lattes in her popular Wild Way coffee camper, Christine Clutton is saying goodbye to the business at the end of the month, she confirmed.
Wild Way Coffee — featured on the Peacock series “The Simple Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” and approved by KC-raised actor Jason Sudeikis — is set to close June 30.
“It’s bittersweet, for sure,” Clutton said. “But we’re ready for something different.”
Christine Clutton, Wild Way Coffee; photo courtesy of Wild Way Coffee
The decision to move on is personal, not a financial, she shared. Clutton started Wild Way with her husband, Jon, in 2018. But when he had to take on a smaller role because of an autoimmune disease in 2022, Clutton began contemplating the future of the coffee camper with a new filter.
“We built it together,” she explained. “Part of the fun was doing it together. The goal was to eventually have him come on full time, so it just changed the dynamics of how we wanted it to be set up.”
From the archives: Wild Way coffee rolling Austin flavor onto Kansas City’s bean scene
Clutton ultimately took some time off, trying to determine how to best reorganize the business to make it more manageable.
“Much like invisible labor in households, there’s also a lot of invisible labor in the small business world,” she noted. “It is really tricky to communicate how much energy and time goes into these thought processes and roles that we take on as owners.”
“I’m not alone in any way,” Clutton added. “But it just comes down to, it’s still that hard — even with a great team, even with a great partner, even with incredible customers who are supportive.”
When her plans for 2024 spiraled out of her control and event her body started to feel the stress, Clutton said, she recognized it was time for a change.
“I knew that (my team and customers) would be there to support me regardless of what the answer was,” she explained.
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Clutton isn’t sure what’s next in her journey — maybe a return to marketing or writing a book about what she has learned as an entrepreneur, but definitely not starting another business soon — but she’s spending her time soaking up her last few weekends with the team members and customers who have become like family.
“I have loved building a team and just mentoring incredible people,” she noted. “A lot of my team has been women over the course of the last six years, and I’ve just had the most amazing time getting to know them and getting to see these young, fierce women grow into themselves.”
Click here to follow Wild Way as it winds down operations.
Wild Way Coffee team; photo courtesy of Wild Way Coffee
Clutton feels like she hit the jackpot with customers through the years, she added.
“They are the most incredible people,” Clutton said. “Even the way that they’ve shown up for me after announcing the closing; it’s just been an outpouring of love and support and excitement for me. And sure, there’s sadness and emotion, but there’s way more encouragement and support than anything else. I’ll miss them. I’ll miss being a part of their everyday life.”
“Some of my customers, I’ve known for their entire life,” she added. “One customer started coming to me when they were still in the womb. They don’t know life without Wild Way. Their little 6-year-old heart has never not got to have a pancake drink on a Saturday.”
Wild Way’s customers have even included celebrity Sudeikis, Clutton shared, who visited the camper before an event at Union Station and ordered an americano with cream.
“He was super chill, really easy to chat with,” she recalled. “Then he went into an immediate recording — I think it was broadcasted for radio — he specifically was like, ‘I’m drinking a coffee right now. It’s really good coffee.’ And he didn’t mention Wild Way, but just the fact that he really enjoyed his coffee enough to say something.”
As for the future of Wild Way itself, Clutton said she is open to selling the business or assets — like the camper. She encouraged anyone to reach out if they are interested.
“We are hoping to pass off Wild Way to some to somebody else,” she added. “So hopefully this isn’t the end of Wild Way.”
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