First Mother Earth Coffee franchise will open in new International apartments on Armour

Kansas City-based Mother Earth Coffee plans an October opening for its first franchise-owned location.

The 2,200-square-foot shop will be on the first floor of the new International apartments at 301 E. Armour Blvd. The former Gillham Plaza office building has been renovated and now has 56 luxury apartments on the four upper floors. It will have offices of the first and second floor. It also will have 16,000 square feet of retail on the first floor, including the coffee shop. The building has been dubbed the “zebra building” for the vertical black and white stripes on the exterior.

Mother Earth Coffee, founded in 2005, is an organic, direct-trade coffee brand owned by Paris Brothers Specialty Foods Inc.

In late 2015, the coffee company opened two kiosks in Shawnee Mission Medical Center in cooperation with Shawnee Mission Health in Shawnee, as well as a full service coffee shop in the hospital’s Prairie Star location in Lenexa.

The new Mother Earth Coffee shop will seat 45 to 50 people. It also will have a fireplace, free Wi-Fi and a community room. The menu will include lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, fruit smoothies, caffeccinos (blended ice coffees), teas and chai, as well as fresh-baked pastries, cookies, brownies, house-made granola bars, croissant-style breakfast sandwiches, salads and sandwiches.

Franchisee Bob Paredes said his family was looking for a franchise operation, including gyms, that they could do together. But after talking with childhood friend Anthony Paris, son of Paris Brothers co-founder Sal Paris, he decided to become the first franchisee for Mother Earth Coffee.

Scott Presnell, spokesman for Paris Brothers, said the company plans to have two more area Mother Earth Coffee shops open by mid-2017.

Mother Earth Coffee uses fully certified organic processes for storage, handling and roasting. It purchases coffee crops directly from the farms at or above sustainable pricing. Its five coffee blends are Organic Medium Roast, Organic Breakfast Blend, Organic Dark Roast, Organic Decaffeinated and Organic Espresso.

The International

The International had its grand opening Thursday.

In 2013, Mac Properties purchased the former Gillham Plaza office building, circa 1959, for an undisclosed price. They replaced the old vertical black glass with more transparent windows to “glow with activity and show occupancy at night.” They also put in balconies on the north and south entrances.

Each apartment unit has quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, modern pendant lights, glass backsplash, soft-closing doors, floor-to-ceiling windows and in-unit washer and dryers.

The building also has a fitness room, yoga room, 24/7 emergency maintenance, Google Fiber and access to a pool across the street at the Bellerive.

Some units are already occupied, but officials with Mac Properties declined to release the current occupancy rates. Studios, one-bedrooms, larger one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms and two-bedrooms with balcony are available. Studios rent for $1,123 to $1,153 a month and two-bedrooms with balcony rent for $1,757 to $1,855 a month.

Mac Properties posted a time lapse of the building’s renovation.

This story was originally published July 20, 2016 at 11:41 AM with the headline "First Mother Earth Coffee franchise will open in new International apartments on Armour."