Crows Coffee

a locally owned neighborhood coffee company founded in 2014 by Kansas City native Zach Moores, who left a career as a catastrophe insurance adjuster and cashed in his 401(k) to open the first café in South Plaza. Now three South-KC cafés with a major Troost roasting/bakery facility underway. Tier 1 (independent, owner-operated).

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Description

Crows Coffee is a locally owned neighborhood coffee company founded by Zach Moores, who left insurance in 2012 (he worked as a catastrophe claims adjuster) and cashed in his 401(k) to open the first Crows in South Plaza in summer 2014, next to UMKC.¹²³ It has grown to three cafés across South Kansas City and runs an in-house bakery, The Baked Crow, out of the Waldo location.¹ In early 2025 Moores announced a major Troost expansion — two buildings (3308 + 3314 Troost, 10,500+ sq ft) for on-site roasting and a wholesale bakery, with a public café to follow.²³

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Locations

Multi-location operator pattern (per 2026-05-17_strategist-session-decisions-rounds-1-10 §D6.3): this operator-level page lists all locations; each café is its own Map pin linking back here. Addresses verified 2026-06-02.⁴

Café	Address	Note
South Plaza	304 E 51st St, Kansas City, MO 64112	Original (2014), next to UMKC
Waldo	7440 Washington St, Kansas City, MO 64114	Former Coffee Girls space (bought 2016); houses The Baked Crow bakery
Red Bridge	535 E Red Bridge Rd, Kansas City, MO 64131	Opened 2018

Troost (pending): the 3308 + 3314 Troost site (purchased ~2025) is a roasting / wholesale-bakery production facility; its public café was still pending as of 2026-06-02 and is not yet a 4th café — do not add a Map pin until it opens.²⁴

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Ownership and history

Ownership

Period	Owner / Operator	Notes
2014 → present	Zach Moores (independent, locally owned)	Founded 2014; grew to 3 cafés; Troost production facility underway. No corporate parent.12

Timeline

• 2012 — Moores leaves a catastrophe-insurance-adjuster career.²
• 2014 — opens first Crows, 304 E 51st St, South Plaza (cashed in his 401(k)).¹⁵
• 2016 — buys the Coffee Girls location at 7440 Washington St (Waldo) from Lindsey Patterson-Smith, gaining a kitchen for in-house baking.⁶
• 2018 — Red Bridge café opens.⁴
• 2025 — announces the Troost roasting + wholesale-bakery expansion (production by end of 2025; café later).²³

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Sources

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Disputes

(None active.)

Footnotes

1. Crows Coffee — “About.” https://crowscoffee.com/about/ — asserts: “Zach Moores, a Kansas City native, established Crows Coffee in summer 2014”; catastrophic insurance adjuster background; three KC locations; in-house bakery “The Baked Crow.” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. KCUR — “Crows Coffee lands on Troost for major expansion with on-site roasting and wholesale bakery” (Feb 16, 2025). https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2025-02-16/crows-coffee-lands-on-troost-for-major-expansion-with-on-site-roasting-and-wholesale-bakery — asserts: left insurance in 2012, cashed in 401(k); first café 2014 at 304 E 51st; Troost 3308 + 3314 (10,500+ sq ft), production by end of 2025, café later. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Startland News — “Crows Coffee Troost” (Feb 2025). https://www.startlandnews.com/2025/02/crows-coffee-troost-2/ — asserts: 401(k) detail; Troost expansion (roasting + wholesale bakery + community space). ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Crows Coffee — official site (https://crowscoffee.com/, /waldo/, /contact/) + Yelp “Crows Coffee Waldo” (https://www.yelp.com/biz/crows-coffee-waldo-kansas-city-3, updated May 2026). Asserts the three current café addresses (South Plaza 304 E 51st St; Waldo 7440 Washington St; Red Bridge 535 E Red Bridge Rd). The conflicting “3925 W 69th Ter” Waldo address appears on no listing and is rejected. ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. The Pitch — “Crows Coffee opens in South Plaza next week” (2014). https://www.thepitchkc.com/crows-coffee-opens-in-south-plaza-next-week/ — asserts: contemporaneous 2014 South Plaza opening. ↩

6. The Pitch — “Zach Moores of Crows Coffee buys Coffee Girls” (Jun 3, 2016). https://www.thepitchkc.com/zach-moores-of-crows-coffee-buys-coffee-girls/ — asserts: bought the Coffee Girls space at 7440 Washington St from Lindsey Patterson-Smith (2016). ↩