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Cafe Cà Phê is Kansas City’s first Vietnamese-owned coffee shop — founded by Jackie Nguyen as a single-table pop-up in October 2020, grown into a dragon-faced mobile trailer, and opened as a brick-and-mortar in Columbus Park on August 13, 2022. An independent, women-owned and AAPI-owned shop built around Vietnamese coffee and Asian-American representation.

Description

Cafe Cà Phê bills itself as “Kansas City’s First Vietnamese Coffee Shop” and is one of only a handful of Vietnamese-owned specialty coffee shops in the United States.12 The shop’s program centers on Vietnamese coffee — robusta-forward, often served as cà phê sữa đá (iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk) and seasonal house drinks — and it positions itself explicitly as a welcoming space for people who feel “othered,” with a stated mission of championing Asian-American representation and minority-owned businesses.32

The brick-and-mortar sits at 916 E 5th St in Columbus Park, the historically Italian neighborhood north of Independence Avenue that is also home to one of Kansas City’s largest Vietnamese communities. Founder Jackie Nguyen framed the location as a deliberate cultural bridge between the area’s Italian and Vietnamese histories, and preserved the building’s historic architecture during renovation while consulting neighbors throughout the process.4 Neighbors and the Columbus Park Community Council have credited the shop with helping revitalize the block.4

Ownership and history

PeriodOperator / milestone
October 2020Jackie Nguyen launches Cafe Cà Phê as a single-table pop-up; soon expands to a dragon-faced mobile coffee trailer touring KC56
2020–2022Operates as a mobile / pop-up business, building a following; community raises ~$60,000 toward startup and brick-and-mortar costs16
August 13, 2022Grand opening of the brick-and-mortar at 916 E 5th St, Columbus Park47
2025Launches affiliated nonprofit Hella Good Deeds to support KC’s Asian communities8
PresentOpen and operating under Nguyen’s founder ownership2

Jackie Nguyen is a first-generation Vietnamese American and former Broadway touring performer. Originally from San Diego, she relocated to Kansas City during the pandemic (her partner at the time was a KC native on the same Broadway tour) and has made the city her home since.15 She has cited the lack of Asian representation she encountered in KC as a core motivation for the shop, and has become a public speaker and advocate, recognized in KCTV5’s “Impactful Women of KC” (2024) and through the Women’s Foundation / United WE entrepreneurship programming.2 No corporate parent or franchise relationship is indicated; the business is independent and owner-operated.2

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Daily Coffee News, “Cafe Cà Phê Puts Vietnamese Coffee in the Spotlight in Kansas City” (Sept 14, 2022). https://dailycoffeenews.com/2022/09/14/cafe-ca-phe-puts-vietnamese-coffee-in-the-spotlight-in-kansas-city/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. KCTV5, “Impactful Women of KC: Jackie Nguyen x Café Cà Phê” (Mar 1, 2024). https://www.kctv5.com/2024/03/01/impactful-women-kc-jackie-nguyen-x-caf-c-ph/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Official site — CAFÉ CÀ PHÊ. https://www.cafecaphe.com/ ↩

  4. KCUR, “Café Cà Phê is finally opening, and neighbors say it’s breathing new life into Columbus Park” (Aug 13, 2022). https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-08-13/cafe-ca-phe-is-finally-opening-and-neighbors-say-its-breathing-new-life-into-columbus-park ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. Startland News, “New in KC: Why Jackie Nguyen hit the brakes on acting to open a mobile coffee cafe” (Sept 2020). https://startlandnews.com/2020/09/jackie-nguyen-cafe-ca-phe/ ↩ ↩2

  6. Feast Magazine, “After years on wheels, Cafe Cà Phê is set to open its brick and mortar coffee shop in Columbus Park” (2022). https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/after-years-on-wheels-cafe-c-ph-is-set-to-open-its-brick-and-mortar/article_6d3e1ba8-db7b-11ec-b71d-af2382be6a86.html ↩ ↩2

  7. Asian American Chamber of Commerce of KC, “Cafe Cà Phê’s brick & mortar grand opening on August 13th.” https://www.asianchamberkc.com/posts/congratulations-to-cafe-ca-phes-brick-mortar-grand-opening-on-august-13th ↩

  8. KCUR, “Cafe Cà Phê is launching its own nonprofit to support Kansas City’s Asian communities” (Jan 24, 2025). https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2025-01-24/cafe-ca-phe-hella-good-deeds-kansas-city-asian-culture ↩

  9. Yelp business listing — Cafe Cà Phê, 916 E 5th St (phone number). https://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-c%C3%A0-ph%C3%AA-kansas-city-2 ↩

See also

Categories
  • Locally owned
  • Coffee
  • Columbus Park