KANSAS CITY, MO – Oddly Correct has been bringing coffee lovers to the corner of Westport Road and Main Street for eight years. But in the months to come, the owners are hoping to do new business on Troost Avenue.
“We’ve always been more of a target business,” said Mike Schroeder, co-owner and general manager at Oddly Correct.
He also said they tried to combine the company’s coffee shop – which pride themselves on not serving cream or sweeteners – and the roasting process under one roof. Recently they found a place at 4141 Troost Avenue.
“I live in this neighborhood, so I drive past it every day,” said Schröder, “and only one day it occurred to me that I had never seen anything there before.”
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Many view Troost Avenue as the dividing line between the owners and the non-owners. For years, attempts have been made to close the gap between the east side and the west side of the avenue.
Entrepreneurs work with community leaders to become thoughtful and part of the neighborhood.
And when Oddly Correct announced its planned move on social media, not everyone was happy.
“We are 100% open to criticism and suggestions,” said Schröder.
Since then, the owners have met with neighboring businesses and community leaders.
“You could have just been a company that said, ‘No, we’ll buy it. Here we are. You just take it the way it is, that’s what you get,'” said Alana Parrish, president of the historic Manheim Park Association said. “But they are ready to help.”
Parrish told 41 Action News that Oddly Correct has pledged to raise funds for ongoing safety initiatives and to buy eggs and other merchandise from the nearby community garden.
“To be able to buy locals from Manheim and to know that the money from Manheim goes straight back into the same garden means to feed more businesses, feed more families that we have, right there, strictly in Manheim” said Parrish.
When hiring, the roaster prioritizes those who live in Manheim Park.
“We want to create a place where everyone feels welcome, especially long-term residents in the neighborhood,” said Schröder. “But if you don’t see people who look like you and work somewhere, that’s the first signal that likes, is this a place for you?”
The opening date for Oddly Correct’s new space is still a moving target. Renovations are ongoing but the owners hope to be sometime in May.
“I know there is likely to be a backlash from some older members of the community who don’t like the idea of different communities, different companies operating in them,” Parrish said. “But at the end of the day, having a building that has a business will always be an advantage – that was nothing in the 25 years I’ve been there.”
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