New Mexican-inspired coffee shop to open in downtown Kansas City neighborhood
Benicio Baeza has always loved coffee.
And sure, there are plenty of places for a cup of Joe in the metro.
But after visiting some of the modern, stylish coffee shops in different cities around Mexico, he realized the Kansas City area was missing something. Baeza began to envision a space with the same creative decor, inventive drinks and genuine hospitality he found during his travels.
Soon, months of visualizing, the cafe of his dreams will become a reality.
Veil Cafe will open in Kansas City’s downtown area at 800 Broadway Blvd. He plans to open the spot sometime this summer.
His cafe will be in the newly built Harvey Dutton Lofts in Kansas City’s historic Garment District.
Baeza said he wanted to “give people the awareness of the culture down there for coffee.” The shop will have subtle nods to his coffee travels, from the decor to its drinks.
“If I could only bring a fraction of that here, I think it would do a lot for the industry,” he said.
One of Baeza’s biggest inspirations was Pera Café in Xalapa, Veracruz. It offers espresso mocktails, affogatos, and other specialty drinks.
Baeza plans to offer unconventional drinks, though he can’t say what’s on his menu just yet.
“I think people like lattes, the bigger stuff, the easier stuff,” Baeza said. “I really want to introduce more specialty offerings in coffee and get people to understand how many hands were involved in it, ethically.”
That said, Baeza will offer all the typical espresso drinks as well: lattes, cappuccinos, cold brew, etc.
He’ll offer beans from Marcell Roasting Club in the Crossroads, Hammerhand Coffee in Liberty, and Valor Coffee in Georgia He’s also looking into ways to bring in coffee beans from Mexico.
It was Baeza’s father, who hails from Puebla, who encouraged him to take a coffee pilgrimage to Mexico in the first place. His family were coffee growers before a coffee rust epidemic forced them to switch to oranges.
“He always wanted me to visit the inner city and check out these coffee places, because he knew I liked coffee,” he said.
The antique decor will also have echoes of the historic district in which the cafe is located.
Weathered wood. High ceilings. Mid-Century furniture.
Inside, he’ll seat less than 40 people. The cafe will have an outdoor patio that with views of the Garment District Place park.
“We’re kind of playing into the nostalgia of the space,” he said.
Just below his space at 802 Broadway Blvd., cocktail lounge Something Good is also opening. It, too, hopes to begin serving customers this summer.
Before Baeza came to the neighborhood, Vested Coffee used to operate nearby at 310 W. Eighth St. It closed in December 2023.
Neighbors mourned the coffee shop’s closing when it shut down after four years.
“We’re really trying to fill that void,” Baeza said.
In May, 24-year-old Paola Campos from Puebla opened Chambre Coffee in the former Westport Coffeehouse space at 4010 Pennsylvania Ave.