This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Anchor Island Coffee is a tropical-themed independent coffee shop at 41st and Troost in Midtown Kansas City, billing itself as “Kansas City’s 1st Tropical and Specialty Coffee Shop.” Founded by husbands Armando Vasquez and Mike Hastings — an LGBTQ- and Latino-owned mom-and-pop — it opened in March 2020 (planned through 2019) just before the pandemic shutdowns and has grown into a community hub on the Troost corridor known for its iced horchata latté and breakfast burritos.

Description

Anchor Island Coffee markets itself as “Kansas City’s 1st Tropical and Specialty Coffee Shop.”1 The concept is a vibrant, plant-filled tropical/island aesthetic — beach decor, abundant greenery, and bright murals from local artists — deliberately departing from minimalist coffee-shop trends.2 The ground floor serves social and walk-in traffic while an upstairs space accommodates meetings and co-working.2 The drink program centers on traditional espresso, cold brew, and signature tropical-leaning beverages, most notably the iced horchata latté (espresso, vanilla, rice milk, cinnamon) made with house horchata prepared by co-owner Armando Vasquez.34 The kitchen, expanded after opening to meet neighborhood demand, is known for breakfast burritos.56

The shop sits at the southeast corner of 41st and Troost, on the Troost Avenue corridor in Midtown Kansas City — a historically significant dividing line in the city’s racial and economic geography that has seen sustained reinvestment and small-business activity in recent years. Anchor Island is repeatedly described in local press as an inclusive, much-needed hub for the LGBTQIA+ community “and beyond.”52

Ownership and history

PeriodOperator / milestone
2019Armando Vasquez and Mike Hastings (a couple, later married) plan the tropical café concept; they relocate from Overland Park, KS, to Kansas City and come out publicly as a gay couple when signing the business lease7
March 2020Anchor Island Coffee opens at 4101 Troost Ave, days before pandemic shutdowns52
2020–2021Survives pandemic operations; expands menu (food service, breakfast burritos) to meet neighborhood needs3
Sept 2021 / 2022A hit-and-run causes major building damage; insurance does not cover repairs, but the café reopens with a renovation weeks later thanks to community support2
Dec 2023–Jan 2024Launches a community equity-crowdfunding round via HoneyComb Credit ($100+ investments) to fund kitchen and HVAC upgrades and expansion; remains owner-operated and independent6
PresentOpen and operating under Vasquez and Hastings’ ownership6

Armando Vasquez and Mike Hastings are a married couple who own and operate the business together. Before founding Anchor Island, they lived in Overland Park, Kansas, where they felt less accepted, and chose to relocate to Kansas City — coming out publicly as a gay couple when they signed their lease.7 Vasquez is Latino; the business is described in local press as an “LGBT, Latino and American owned ma-and-pop shop,” and Vasquez personally makes the shop’s house horchata.3 The owners have spoken about the personal cost of running an openly inclusive business, including estrangement from some family members, alongside its role for young LGBTQ+ patrons and their families.7 The business is independent: no corporate parent or franchise owner. Its 2023–24 capital raise was a community equity-crowdfunding round (HoneyComb Credit), explicitly an investment in the brand rather than a buyout, and the owners discussed franchising additional locations themselves rather than selling.6

See also

  • Registry

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Official site — Anchor Island Coffee, “Kansas City’s 1st Tropical and Specialty Coffee Shop.” https://www.anchorisland.com/ ↩

  2. The Pitch (same feature) — tropical decor, upstairs co-working, 2021 hit-and-run and community-supported reopening, LGBTQIA+ community-hub role. https://www.thepitchkc.com/cultivating-community-ragazza-enzo-anchor-island-coffee-chartreuse-saloon-show-their-pride/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. The Pitch, “Drink This Now: Iced Horchata Latte at Anchor Island Coffee” — “LGBT, Latino and American owned” mom-and-pop; house horchata by Vasquez; horchata latté recipe; menu expansion. https://www.thepitchkc.com/drink-this-now-iced-horchata-latte-at-anchor-island-coffee/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Anchor Island Coffee menu — Horchata Caffe. https://www.anchorisland.com/product/horchata-caffe/474 ↩

  5. The Pitch, “Cultivating Community: Ragazza, Enzo, Anchor Island Coffee & Chartreuse Saloon show their pride.” https://www.thepitchkc.com/cultivating-community-ragazza-enzo-anchor-island-coffee-chartreuse-saloon-show-their-pride/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Startland News, “Anchor Island pours into coffee shop’s potential with unique investment round” (Dec 2023) — HoneyComb Credit community equity crowdfunding; remains owner-operated/independent; expansion plans. https://startlandnews.com/2023/12/anchor-island-investment/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. KCUR, “For LGBTQ business owners in Missouri, creating an inclusive space often comes at a cost” (July 17, 2022) — owners Mike Hastings & Armando Vasquez, relocation from Overland Park, coming out at lease signing, community role and personal cost. https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-07-17/for-lgbtq-business-owners-in-missouri-creating-an-inclusive-space-often-comes-at-a-cost ↩ ↩2 ↩3

See also

  • Registry
Categories
  • Kansas City–owned
  • Coffee
  • Midtown