"I see my roaster pass me on I-70 and flip upside down on the median," Jurgens recalls.
He kicked open his door and pulled his passenger, Brent Larson, free. They watched as a river of gasoline ignited and headed straight for the 12-kilo roaster that Jurgens had just purchased in Memphis.
"I'm just watching it burn," Jurgens says, "And then I bawled like a baby." Ambulances took the men to Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence. It looked like the end of E.F. Hobbs, LLC.
Three and a half years later, the hospital is one of his main coffee clients.
Then head over to Parisi Cafe tomorrow between 7 and 10 a.m. for a free cup of coffee to celebrate National Coffee Day. The new cafe is setting up a pop-up drive-thru in the circular drive in front of Union Station, so you don't even have to get out of your car to take advantage of the offer.
You probably have no desire to have your inside mirror your outside right now, so hot coffee might just have taken a backseat to Diet Coke or some other method of caffeine injection this summer.
If so, you're missing out on one of life's great joys -- iced coffee. The Roasterie, in a move that's sure to prove popular as the temperature ticks up above triple digits, now has a new line of iced-coffee blends called Summer in the City. And this Wednesday, they're celebrating the release with a Summer Jam party.
Muddy's Coffeehouse (318 E. 51st St.) is getting a new owner, but if you're a regular, odds are that you'll recognize the new ownership group.
Joyce Smith of The Kansas City Star reports that Muddy's owner, Oliver Burnette, will be selling his coffee shop after 16 years to two longtime employees. The change in ownership is expected to take place sometime in June.
Let's say you come into that Marcus Allen money or, better yet, that Jared Allen money. And after your family is secure and you purchase a pink Cadillac with horns, you can get to what really matters: opening your own restaurant.
While a steakhouse might not be the way to go, especially if you don't have long-term plans in Kansas City, everybody has one great idea for a restaurant. I've long entertained opening the Lazy Boy Cafe, wherein all of the chairs are recliners. The problem has always been, though, how to turn over a dining room that is incredibly comfortable.
What's your great idea for a restaurant? What's the name and what's on the menu?
The coffee world used to make sense. You had your independent roasters and coffee shops, your large chains like Starbucks and then your convenience-store and fast-food cup of last resort. But fast-food franchises recognized that coffee could be black gold for their bottom lines, and as they expanded breakfast menus in an effort to jump-start profits, "premium" coffee was suddenly everywhere.
Thus, it shouldn't be surprising that the Kansas City Business Journal reports that QuikTrip will be testing a new concept with outdoor seating, beverage and ice-cream service designed to compete with Starbucks.
If you've never been to a particular coffee shop, there are often a few clues in plain sight that can let you know what to expect. Odds are, you're in the right place if you see mismatched furniture, there's a board game seemingly left mid-game on a table and, perhaps most importantly, the smell of roasting coffee wafts out when you open the door.
Hazel's Gourmet Coffee & Tea (4001 Frederick Avenue) in St. Joseph roasts Arabica beans daily. And the smell is practically ingrained in the wood. When you add in the chess set, where white appears to be beating black in the split dining room, I think it's fair to say I was predisposed to liking Hazel's before I stepped up to the counter.
You probably don't remember Stella Liebeck, but you might remember her lap. It was her lap, or more specifically the hot coffee from McDonald's that scalded her lap, that led to Liebeck being the plaintiff in a 1994 lawsuit against the fast-food franchise.
And now, lawyer-turned-filmmaker Susan Saladoff is telling Liebeck's story in a new documentary, Hot Coffee, which premiered at the Sundance International Film Festival this week.
Before you yell at the guy in front of you at Starbucks who won't stop texting, take a minute to make sure he's not actually paying.
Wired writes that the coffee chain has rolled out an application that allows iPhone, iPod Touch and Blackberry owners to purchase an order with their phones or touch-screen devices. The payment system is now in place nationwide at freestanding Starbucks and more than 1,000 locations inside of Target stores.
Milk & Honey has the best I've had in KC. http://milkandhoneykc.com/
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