Broadway Roasting Co.

The fire pole is still there. Broadway Roasting Co. operates out of an old Kansas City firehouse, and the original pole runs through the middle of the room where the firefighters used to slide down to the trucks. That's the visual lead, and it's earned, because the space is tiny and the pole is unavoidable. You can't walk to the counter without going around it.

One customer has been buying coffee here for twenty-five years. That's the kind of regular base Broadway has built up running a no-frills weekday-only operation across the street from a busier sister cafe. Closed Saturdays and Sundays. If you show up on the weekend, you redirect to Broadway Cafe down the street, which the staff at the cafe will confirm if you call ahead.

The coffee is the point. Central and South American beans roast weekly on site. Indian Monsoon Malibar, Sister Anne's blend, an Espresso Blend, a Yirgacheffe. Drinks come with the kind of decorative latte art that suggests the staff cares without making a production of it. A vanilla latte for the standard order. A steamed lavender almond milk for the non-espresso lane. A four-shot decaf breve for the regulars who have figured out exactly how they want their breve and order it the same way every visit.

The vibe is chill and down-to-earth, less crowded than the bustling sister Broadway Cafe location across the street, which is the appeal for customers who picked this one specifically. Patio seating is available when the weather works. The fit is locals who want a quieter, smaller-batch alternative to the busier Broadway Cafe, fans of central and South American beans, and weekday visitors who can plan around the closed weekends. Weekend tourists need to redirect. The fire pole and the twenty-five-year regulars are what you're coming for.