Hi Hat Coffee

Hi Hat Coffee is a beloved, fiercely independent KC-metro coffee institution operating since the late 1990s out of a tiny converted 1930s Phillips 66 gas station at 5012 State Line Road in Westwood Hills, Kansas — a roughly 245-square-foot walk-up landmark on the Missouri/Kansas state line with a cult following built on craft espresso and famously friendly service.

Description

Hi Hat Coffee is a small independent coffee shop at 5012 State Line Road in Westwood Hills, Kansas, directly on the Missouri/Kansas state line within the Kansas City metro. The shop occupies a tiny brick Tudor structure — roughly 245 square feet — that was originally built in the 1930s as a Phillips 66 gas station and later served briefly as a one-chair hair salon before being converted into a coffee shop.¹

The shop has been “pouring and creating great beverages since 1999” per its official website,² making it one of the longer-tenured independent coffee operations in the metro. Local press describing the business in 2020 placed its tenure at roughly two decades and referenced a 1998 opening,¹ producing a minor one-year discrepancy on the founding date that remains unresolved. The menu centers on espresso drinks, blended beverages, and a full bakery case (croissants, cinnamon rolls, muffins, Danish), with coffee supplied by local roasters including Messenger Coffee and The Roasterie.¹

Despite its small footprint, Hi Hat has a durable cult following. In 2020 it was featured on a widely-circulated Reddit “Cozy Places” list, drawing regional coverage.¹ The owner has publicly framed the business as “not just a coffee business” but “equally a people business,” crediting its longevity to friendly service rather than scale.¹

Format note: The seed brief described Hi Hat as a “drive-through/walk-up” spot, but no source confirms a drive-through. The official site and press consistently describe a walk-up / counter-service operation with limited outdoor seating and no indoor seating; the official site notes the interior is designed to “get you in and out of the line quickly.”²¹ Treated here as walk-up, not drive-through.

Ownership and history

Period	Event
1930s	Structure built as a Phillips 66 gas station at 5012 State Line Rd.1
(pre-coffee)	Building used as a one-chair hair salon before conversion1
1998–1999	T. Jensen converts the building and opens Hi Hat Coffee (official site: 1999; press: 1998 —)21
2020	Featured on Reddit “Cozy Places” list; covered by Johnson County Post; ~20-year tenure noted1
2026 → present	Continuous operation as a single-location Westwood Hills institution2

The shop is independently and locally owned with no corporate parent.²¹ The owner is identified in 2020 local press as Jensen (initial “T.” in one source), but a full, confirmed owner name has not been located and is flagged for verification.¹

No second location (e.g., a Brookside/Waldo outpost referenced in the seed brief) was confirmed. The official website lists only the State Line Road address, and directory/review listings for Brookside-area coffee shops that surface “Hi Hat” appear to reference the single Westwood Hills location rather than a distinct second store.² Treated here as a single-location business pending any contrary evidence.

Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hihatcoffee/
• Website: https://hihatcoffee.com/
• Phone: (913) 722-5000²

See also

• Registry
• Westwood Hills

Sources

Footnotes

1. Johnson County Post — “Westwood Hills’ Hi Hat Coffee makes Reddit’s ‘Cozy Places’ list” (2020-05-27). https://johnsoncountypost.com/2020/05/27/westwood-hills-hi-hat-coffee-makes-cozy-places-list-on-reddit-93634/. Asserts: owner T. Jensen; ~245 sq ft; building originally a 1930s Phillips 66 gas station, later a one-chair hair salon; opened 1998; coffee from Messenger Coffee and The Roasterie; “people business” quote; ~20-year tenure as of 2020. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. Hi Hat Coffee — official website and contact page. https://hihatcoffee.com/; https://hihatcoffee.com/contact-us. Asserts: founded 1999 (“pouring and creating great beverages since 1999”); 5012 State Line Rd., Westwood Hills, KS 66205; phone (913) 722-5000; hours Mon–Sat 6:30 AM–6 PM, closed Sun; walk-up format; no second location listed. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷