Openings & Closings

Longtime KC cafe closed. Now it’s reopening with new name, menu, Johnson County spot

Cafe Europa will be called The Lemon Cake Bakery after it reopens in its Mission Farms location.
Cafe Europa will be called The Lemon Cake Bakery after it reopens in its Mission Farms location. The Kansas City Star

Kansas City’s Cafe Europa will reopen at its new Mission Farms location in September, but not without a few changes.

After closing at 4928 Main St. in June, the cafe will resume business as The Lemon Cake Bakery By Cafe Europa at 10683 Mission Road in Leawood, the cafe announced Wednesday.

“Our menu at the new space will primarily be focused on our bakery items, including all of your Cafe Europa favorites, from our famous Lemon Cake, to the addition of some new, fun fall items!” the restaurant’s Instagram post reads.

The owner was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Cafe Europa’s previous menu included soups, salads and sandwiches.

The Lemon Cake Bakery will begin taking bakery orders Sept. 1. It will also feature a full-service coffee menu sourced by Messenger Coffee.

“It’s been a lot of hard work, and there is still so much to do, but we can’t wait to share with you all the new fun and exciting things we have for the future of Cafe Europa and The Lemon Cake Bakery,” reads a statement on the business’s website.

The cafe opened as Europa! Cafe in 2001 at the Crestwood Shops before moving to its most recent South Plaza location last year.

Owner Ben Cascio had planned to open a location in Leawood’s Town Center Crossing, but he dropped those plans and found the Mission Farms spot instead.

“Our base is heavily concentrated in Johnson County, and there was a need to fill the Dean & DeLuca vacuum,” Cascio said in a previous interview with The Star.

Dean & DeLuca, a gourmet foods and kitchenware store, closed its Town Center Plaza location in 2018.

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Jenna Thompson
The Kansas City Star
Jenna Thompson covers retail news for The Kansas City Star. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, she previously reported for the Lincoln Journal Star and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied journalism and English.
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