Café Equinox propagates new year-round Liberty location; Nelson brothers taking perennial coffee concept evergreen
January 7, 2025 | Joyce Smith
Café Equinox initially was meant to operate its coffee shop concept only during the equinox, nestled inside Family Tree Nursery greenhouses, said Jonah Nelson.
Jesse and Jonah Nelson, Cafe Equinox and Family Tree Nursery; courtesy photo
“From September through March when people don’t have that warm outside space, they can come to the greenhouse,” said Nelson, who operates the family-owned garden centers with his brother, Jessie. “It is like being in the garden. It feeds part of our souls and has become a community space.”
But the Shawnee cafe, at 7036 Nieman Road, “exploded and developed into what it is today. Full-time,” he said of the popular Johns County location that debuted in 2019 — ultimately the first to shift operations to 12 months a year.
From the archives: Fresh coffee concept sprouts in the suburbs
Now the family plans to operate a Café Equinox trailer year-round inside the greenhouse of their Liberty store at 830 W. Liberty Drive. It is scheduled to open later this month or in early February.
The Overland Park cafe, in the greenhouse at 8424 Farley St., also will eventually expand to year-round.
Cafe Equinox’s new coffee trailer concept, slated for the Family Tree Nursery location in Liberty; photo by Joyce Smith
Jesse Nelson and Bo Nelson, Cafe Equinox
Bo Nelson, brother of Jonah and Jessie, is founder and owner of Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters, which plays a integral role within the Café Equinox brand.
In addition to coffee from Thou Mayest, Café Equinox’s menu includes teas and tea lattes. It also serves pastries from Heirloom Bakery & Hearth in East Brookside, as well as some from Mud Pie Vegan Bakery & Coffee in Mission. On Saturdays, the cafes feature cinnamon rolls.
Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Blue Sky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.
Featured Business
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC Rising red flag: Educated talent leaving KC, metro tech jobs unfilled
More college-educated workers are leaving Kansas City than being drawn to the region, according to a new KC Rising report. That means local companies are forced to look outward for qualified talent, said Ryan Weber. “Most of those tech firms are hiring; it’s just for skill sets that few people have,” said Weber, president of…
Students struck by KC gun violence search for solutions at MECA Challenge
Editor’s note: MECA Challenge and Startland News are both programs of the Kansas City Startup Foundation, though the content below was produced independently by Startland. For more information on the relationship, click here. Escaping the cycle of gun violence can seem impossible, said Lea Thompson, still wearing a cast on her hand after being shot…
STEAM Studio team coding best fit for boy’s 3-D-printed prosthetic arm
Four-year-old Hudson Borton extended his arm Wednesday, as his father fitted a 3-D-printed prosthetic to the boy’s upper arm and elbow. The light blue plastic piece mimicked the size and length of Hudson’s right arm, though his father and Mandi Sonnenberg, co-founder and director of STEAM Studio, agreed the new device wasn’t yet a perfect…
KC-based SouveNEAR vending machine startup prepping to scale up
SouveNEAR offers travelers a piece of KC — from KC, said co-founder Tiffany King. The Kansas City-based startup, which repurposes vending machines to sell locally made souvenirs, is in its fourth year of steady, organic growth, King said. As a member of ScaleUP! KC new class, SouveNEAR is preparing to grow the business and turn…