Can a new coffee shop change an old neighborhood? This Independence location hopes so
The BlendWell Community Cafe is offering coffee, conversation, and more
The BlendWell Community Cafe is offering coffee, conversation, and more
The BlendWell Community Cafe is offering coffee, conversation, and more
Can a new coffee shop really change an old neighborhood?
In part of Independence - they're giving it a try. And that shop is serving a lot more than just coffee.
It all starts with the coffee.
"In here, we talk about one cup, one conversation at a time," said Mark O'Renick
It was back in July when an old bank along 24 Highway became the BlendWell Community Cafe.
"Where else can you go and have a meeting if you need, or have a community get-together?" said customer Enrique Ortiz. "Plus the coffee's really good."
In the city's Fairmount Neighborhood, the answer is: You couldn't go anywhere for that...until now.
"It's a grind, no pun intended," said O'Renick.
O'Renick is with the Community Services League, which has helped people in Independence meet basic needs since 1916.
So, in this older, blue-collar neighborhood, they asked.
"We asked them what you want, and they said, 'We don't have nice things. There's not a Starbucks, there's not, the traditional retail's not going to come in here, and there's not a place to gather,'" O'Renick said.
Now, they have that, and more.
They turned an old bank vault into a community meeting room. There's space to help people find jobs. There's even a credit union downstairs offering small loans so people don't have to rely on payday loans.
"Any time you're addressing change, any kind of change, it starts with a conversation," O'Renick said.
So, can a new coffee shop change an old neighborhood? One customer thinks so.
"It's possible," Ortiz said. "It's possible."
And the hope is that change will start at the BlendWell Community Cafe.