Tag: Blip Roasters

Coffee cluster percolating on one Troost block; will business support the buzz of six spaces to sip?

By Tommy Felts / February 25, 2025

A new stretch of coffee shops in the 5500 block of Troost will test the caffeine tolerance of folks seeking a fix. Six options soon fill out the menu along this bustling corridor. Blackhole Bakery, High Hopes Ice Cream and The Littlest Bake Shop currently offer coffee along with their core menu items. But Blackhole…

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Nika Cotton makes a drink at Soulcentricitea, which she opened on Troost Ave. last July. Cotton applied for a grant from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, but did not receive any money. Photo by Zach Bauman/The Beacon

Beacon analysis: Restaurant relief funds flowed to whiter, more affluent areas of Kansas City

By Tommy Felts / August 18, 2021

Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a nonprofit, public-service journalism newsroom serving Kansas and Missouri. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the free Kansas City Beacon email newsletter. Local businesses received a total of $53 million from the fund, but few of those dollars flowed…

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DJ Stewart and Hartzell Gray, Journey Pro KC

KC pro wrestling rides its return — inside Blip Roasters and fueled by founder’s recovery

By Tommy Felts / July 23, 2021

The fast-paced world of local wrestling might seem like a crazy one, but its coming return offers DJ Stewart a much-needed sense of normalcy.  “It gives me something to be really excited to work on,” said Stewart, owner of Journey Pro KC, announcing the return of the Kansas City wrestling company’s live shows, which found…

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Jahna Riley, Aya Coffee + Books pop-up at Blip Roasters

Black and bookish: Founder hopes to turn pop-up page, eyeing coffee and book shop on KC’s east side

By Tommy Felts / February 25, 2021

Jahna Riley loves the atmosphere of coffee shops. Connecting with others over coffee and a good book is a personal joy, she said, noting one glaring exception in most shops: inclusivity.   “Kansas City has an amazing coffee scene, but it’s not necessarily one where I see my culture reflected in it,” Riley shared. “I want…

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Soulcentricitea on Troost

Tea shop on Troost finds its flavor at the intersection of herbal serenity, cultural activism

By Tommy Felts / July 15, 2020

Kansas City’s air is thick with revolution and restoration, contemplated Nika Cotton.  “In the social and cultural climate, it’s really a time that people are rising up. The systems are changing. We’re talking about the abolition of police departments, the abolition of the industrial prison system — really exciting things,” Cotton said amid a flurry of…

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