Waterbird Coffee Company

Waterbird Coffee Company is a corner coffee shop at 12th and McGee in downtown Kansas City’s government district, a block from City Hall and a few from the T-Mobile Center. Bandmates Jamakee Blackburn and Brian Denman opened it in November 2022 in a storefront that had sat empty since the 1990s; it closed in March 2026 after Denman left to open Apparition Coffee in Waldo, went up for sale for $95,000, and reopened under the same name on August 24, 2026 with new owners Matt and Adraina Holopirek — a former teacher and a parks superintendent running their first café — pouring Foxen Coffee from Monett, Missouri, alongside Scratch KC pastries, house fruit-syrup refreshers and the old shop’s butterscotch latte.

Description

Waterbird sits on the ground floor of a downtown building at the southeast edge of the government district, “convenient … for nearby county and city workers” and, as the Star put it, “one of only a few coffee shops” serving them; the Holopireks count the surrounding high-rise apartments and government buildings as the core of their trade.¹² Nearly floor-to-ceiling windows on McGee brighten the room, and a bar-height counter runs along them for laptop customers; the 2026 owners added couches and classic bistro tables, painted the walls brown and matcha green to “pare down the more industrial feel the shop once had,” and stenciled “Come as you are” on the floor in front of the counter — a Nirvana reference that doubles as the mission statement.¹ A mural by local artist Brett Crawford of a bird swooping down to clench a coffee cup survives from the first ownership, and works by Adrianne Clayton and Angela D’Souza hang for sale.²³

The drink list is built for the daily regular: drip and cold brew (Matt’s preference), lattes (Adraina’s), hot and iced matcha and chai, and a set of signature and seasonal lattes that includes two carryovers from the original Waterbird — the butterscotch and brown sugar cinnamon lattes, made with the previous owners’ syrup recipes plus new house flavors such as lavender, blackberry, hazelnut and mango.¹² New to the reopened shop are energy refreshers and lemonade-based drinks built on house-made fruit syrups (watermelon, peach, blackberry, strawberry), canned and sealed in-store on a machine the couple brought with them.¹ Food is from the wholesale bakery Scratch KC — their homemade Pop-Tarts, cookies and muffins, plus breakfast burritos and bagels — as it was under the founders.¹⁴

The Pitch’s Tiffany Watts, visiting in January 2026 during the original ownership, called it “a gem … low-key, welcoming; plus they’re doing really good coffee in a subtly cool way,” with “art and decor along the walls” that “amps up the energy”; she ordered a cortado with oat milk and a vanilla latte with an extra shot.⁵

Ownership and history

Blackburn and Denman, 2022–2026

Brian Denman and Jamakee Blackburn had known each other for 18 years and played in a band together when they decided to open a coffee shop. Denman was a specialty-coffee veteran — a barista at Black Dog Coffee House in Lenexa until he was laid off during COVID — and Blackburn was the business partner who talked entrepreneurship with him.⁶ They took a 1,700-square-foot corner space at 1200 McGee that had been “vacant since the 1990s except for occasional events,” fought through what Denman called “an antiquated” permitting system, and opened in November 2022 — Monday through Saturday, 7 to 2, with Repetition Coffee from Lawrence, pastries from Scratch and grab-and-go sandwiches. “We want to be an inclusive coffee shop for the daily drinker,” Blackburn told Flatland.⁶ KCtoday listed it among that season’s downtown openings alongside Post and Grand.⁷ By 2026 the shop was also carrying Mr. D’s Donuts.⁴

In early 2026 Denman, who ran coffee operations, left to build Apparition Coffee, a heavy-metal-themed shop in the former Second Best Coffee space in Waldo that opened June 26, 2026.⁴¹ “Once Denman was out, Blackburn said he closed the business” — Waterbird’s last day was in March 2026 — and in the spring he listed it for sale through 030 Holding Company, whose managing director Keith Davenport posted it on Facebook at $95,000: the lease on an “80% finished” café with equipment, the brand and its social accounts, pitched as an opportunity to build around T-Mobile Center and Power & Light events.⁴

The Holopireks, 2026–

Matt and Adraina Holopirek bought it. Adraina is superintendent of the Gardner, Kansas parks and recreation department; Matt was an educator and then worked in sales. Neither had run a café, but for three years they had made a Saturday habit of trying a new Kansas City coffee shop each week.¹ The Star found them painting the space one July afternoon in 2026 as would-be customers, unaware of the closure, kept walking in to order — “This is obviously a good location,” Adraina said — and they told everyone to come back in mid-August.¹ They chose Foxen Coffee Co. of Monett, Missouri, a family roaster (the Milones) sourcing from small producers in Ethiopia, Kenya, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru: “a phenomenal family to work with,” Matt said.¹² “What’s going to separate us is me as the owner being here 24/7 interacting with the customers, getting to know them by name.”¹

Waterbird reopened on Monday, August 24, 2026 — The Pitch had flagged the date the week before — and drew lines of 15 or so at the counter in its first days, a mix of “loyal fans they’ve adopted from the previous owners” and newcomers who saw it on social media.³² The Holopireks say they hope to extend hours for events once settled.¹

Links

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waterbirdcoffeeco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/waterbirdcoffeeco/
• Roaster: https://foxencoffee.co/ · Bakery: https://www.scratchkc.com/

Menu

Last verified: 2026-08-28 · Source: none first-party — no website or online menu exists; prices below are from The Kansas City Star’s reopening report of August 2026 · Confidence: Low — menu_status: unverified.²¹

• Drip coffee (from $3.50) · cold brew · lattes (from $5.50) · Butterscotch Latte and Brown Sugar Cinnamon Latte ($6.50, 16 oz iced) · seasonal lattes · house syrups: lavender, blackberry, hazelnut, mango and more
• Hot and iced teas: matcha, chai
• Canned energy refreshers (two) and lemonade drinks (two) with house fruit syrups (watermelon, peach, blackberry, strawberry)
• Scratch KC: Pop-Tarts, cookies, muffins, breakfast burritos, bagels

Sources

Footnotes

1. Katelyn Umholtz, “A downtown Kansas City coffee shop will reopen with new owners,” The Kansas City Star, 2026-07-23 (syndicated via Yahoo) (original: kansascity.com) — Confirms: Holopireks took over “earlier this year”; first café; Adraina’s and Matt’s backgrounds; three-year Saturday coffee-shop habit; Foxen Coffee chosen; signature and seasonal lattes including butterscotch and brown sugar cinnamon; teas; canned energy refreshers and lemonades with house fruit syrups; Scratch KC Pop-Tarts, cookies, muffins, breakfast burritos, bagels; brown and matcha-green paint; “Come as you are” floor stencil (Nirvana); couches, bistro tables, McGee window bar; planned hours 7–3 daily; mid-August target; corner of McGee and 12th; “one of only a few coffee shops” for county and city workers; founders’ history and Denman’s departure for Apparition (opened June). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. “A once-closed Kansas City coffee shop has returned. What’s changed?,” The Kansas City Star, 2026-08-26 (syndicated via Yahoo) — Confirms: reopened at 1200 McGee St.; “began pouring espresso drinks Monday” (August 24, 2026); Matt and Adraina Holopirek; lines of ~15; Brett Crawford mural; butterscotch and brown cinnamon sugar lattes $6.50 (16 oz iced); previous owners’ syrups reused and expanded (lavender, blackberry, hazelnut, mango); drip from $3.50, lattes from $5.50; Repetition Coffee previously, Foxen Coffee Co. (Milone family; Ethiopia, Kenya, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru) now; new furniture; Matt a former teacher, Adraina Gardner Parks and Recreation superintendent; hours Mon–Fri 7–2, Sat–Sun 8–3, subject to change; founders Blackburn and Denman, November 2022; Denman left for Apparition Coffee; closed in March. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Sarah Sipple, “KC Sipps: Hot dog and donut festivals, plus three notable openings across the metro,” The Pitch, 2026-08-20 — Confirms: Waterbird Coffee Company reopening August 24, 2026 under new ownership, downtown near City Hall and the T-Mobile Center; “shuttered in March of this year”; “coffee roasted by Foxen Coffee from Monett, MO, pastries by Scratch KC, and art for purchase by local artists” Adrianne Clayton and Angela D’Souza. ↩ ↩²

4. “A downtown Kansas City coffee shop is for sale after closing this spring,” The Kansas City Star, spring 2026 (syndicated via Yahoo) — Confirms: Waterbird “roasted Repetition Coffee out of Lawrence and served baked goods from Scratch KC and Mr. D’s Donuts”; closed in March; opened November 2022 at 1200 McGee by Blackburn and Denman; Denman ran coffee operations and left for Apparition Coffee (opening summer 2026); Blackburn closed the business; sale via 030 Holding Company, Keith Davenport, listed on Facebook at $95,000 for the lease, equipment, brand and social accounts; “80% finished” cafe near T-Mobile Center and Power & Light. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Tiffany Watts, “Dish & Drink KC: Fannie’s West African Cuisine and Waterbird Coffee Company,” The Pitch, 2026-01-21 — Confirms: address 1200 McGee St, Kansas City, MO 64106; operating in January 2026; cortado and vanilla latte; “low-key, welcoming … really good coffee in a subtly cool way”; wall art; Instagram link as the shop’s web presence. ↩

6. Kevin Collison, “Waterbird Coffee Pours in Heart of Government District,” Flatland (CityScene KC), 2023-03-14 (republished 2023-07-14) — Confirms: co-owners Brian Denman and Jamakee Blackburn, 18-year friends and bandmates; Denman a former Black Dog Coffee (Lenexa) barista laid off during COVID; opened November 2022; 1,700 sq ft corner space at 1200 McGee vacant since the 1990s except for events; Scratch pastries and grab-and-go sandwiches; hours Mon–Sat 7–2; Blackburn “inclusive coffee shop for the daily drinker”; Denman on permitting. ↩ ↩²

7. “New coffee shops Post, Grand, and Waterbird open in Kansas City,” KCtoday, late 2022 — Confirms: Waterbird among downtown coffee openings of the season. Headline via search index. ↩