Messenger Coffee Co. — a popular Kansas City coffee shop — closed one of its two locations on Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza this week.
The lights are off at the 318 W. 47th St. location, next to Tommy Bahama. Its last day was Tuesday. Meanwhile, the 4771 Jefferson St. spot will remain open.
“We have enjoyed having two Messenger Café locations on the Country Club Plaza,” Suzanne Gunning, a spokeswoman for Messenger’s parent company, FairWave, wrote in a statement. “With our lease up at one location on 47th Street, we consolidated the Messenger Café on Jefferson Street. We hope to see all our regulars there soon!”
Messenger has another location at 1624 Grand Blvd. and one in the Kansas City International Airport.
It took over the two Plaza locations in 2021, replacing Kaldi’s Coffee.
Previously, Messenger planned to open a location in Overland Park’s Prairiefire district. FairWave announced last year that it would no longer open in that spot.
FairWave also owns Black Dog Coffeehouse, Ibis Bakery, Filling Station and The Roasterie in Kansas City.
There are several empty storefronts on the Plaza. This year, Hallmark Gold Crown, Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro, Moosejaw, Forever 21 and Soft Surroundings all closed their locations in the shopping strip.
But in June, Dallas-based company HP Village Partners purchased the Plaza. They promised a $100 million upgrade, with new restaurants and more security on the way.
HP Village principal Ray Washburne told The Star at the time that the Plaza needed a lot of maintenance. He promised to bring back longtime favorites and fill empty spots.
“… We’re going to institute a pretty aggressive marketing campaign because of all the vacancies you see there,” Washburne said. “Part of our focus is we’re really going to go hard after the local food scene. That’s totally my focus. You see my other centers, it’s a local restaurant focus. So, we’re going to really interview — try to plug a lot of holes with some local food operators. Try to get best-of-class across multiple food lines.”
Messenger’s remaining Plaza location is open 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
