Midtown coffee shop that made Food & Wine’s ‘best coffee’ list opening 2nd KC location

Tyler Rovenstine had been in the coffee industry for 13 years — winning recognition as a barista both regionally and nationally. But his longtime dream was having his own cafe.

So in mid-2017, Rovenstine and his wife, Jaime, opened Monarch Coffee in midtown. Two years later, Food & Wine named it to its listing of “The Best Coffee in Every State 2019.”

Now the Rovenstines have a second location, which opened Feb. 20 at 2345 Grand Blvd. in a multistory office building across from Washington Square Park near the Crossroads.

The new location will have the same menu as the midtown shop — a variety of coffee drinks, as well as hot chocolate, raspberry fig nutmeg shrub soda, and pastries including products from Hana’s Donuts in Kansas City, Kansas, and Heirloom Bakery & Hearth in East Brookside.

“We weren’t really looking aggressively to expand but this was a good opportunity,” Tyler Rovenstine said. “Our midtown shop is more of a weekend destination shop, and I think this one will be busier through the week with the all the office buildings.”

Hours will be 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. It will be closed on Sundays.

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.