Zen Donkey

Zen Donkey is a Fairway, KS wellness café and juicery opened in August 2025 by Kate Barker Sternberg and Andy Sternberg of Greenwood, MO. The concept grew from Zen Donkey Farms — a donkey rescue farm and cold-press juicery — into a brick-and-mortar café at 2812 W 53rd St in Fairway Shops, making it one of the first independently-owned food businesses in Fairway’s thin commercial corridor. Kate staffs the counter herself and the café draws on a farm-to-cup ethos with organic, cold-pressed juices and a plant-forward chef-created menu.

Description

Zen Donkey opened August 7, 2025 in Fairway Shops at 2812 W 53rd Street in Fairway, Kansas — filling a real gap in a municipality with almost no restaurant presence. Kate Barker Sternberg and Andy Sternberg built Zen Donkey from a donkey rescue farm and cold-press juicery in Greenwood, MO into this first retail café location. The café serves cold-pressed organic juices alongside a chef-created plant-based food menu, with Kate often working the counter herself. A nonprofit arm focuses on rescued donkeys.

The opening was covered by Johnson County Post and KC Magazine pre-opening, establishing Zen Donkey as one of the most-noted independent restaurant openings in Johnson County’s southern corridor in 2025. Fairway, KS is nearly entirely residential; this café and the adjacent Scratch Gourmet Kitchen relocation represent virtually the entire independent-restaurant offering within Fairway’s city limits.

Ownership and history

Kate Barker Sternberg and Andy Sternberg grew Zen Donkey from a farm-and-juicery concept in Greenwood, MO (KC metro south), then scaled to a retail café after building a following. A VoyageKC profile documented Kate’s trajectory.¹ The farm has a nonprofit arm focused on rescuing donkeys. The Fairway Shops café (2812 W 53rd) is their first brick-and-mortar retail location.

Tier classification

Tier 2. The Sternbergs are dedicated KC-metro operators with a genuine, organically-built local brand (farm → pop-up → retail). The Tier 1 question is whether Kate or Andy is KC-born-and-raised — unconfirmed in available press. Tier 2 is the conservative editorial call pending that confirmation.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-14 · Source: Zen Donkey Farms official site; Johnson County Post; KC Magazine · URL(s): https://zendonkeyfarms.com; https://johnsoncountypost.com/2025/09/02/zen-donkey-opens-fairway-267583/ · Confidence: Medium (named items confirmed from official site and press; café food prices not published, menu rotates seasonally)

Zen Donkey is a plant-based Fairway wellness café and juicery serving raw cold-pressed organic juices, smoothies, matcha, and a rotating chef-created café menu; all items are vegan and locally sourced when possible.²

Cold-Pressed Juices

• Donkey Dreams²

• Celery. Straight Up.²

• Hot to Trot²

• Paradise²

• Pickle’s Potion²

• Pico’s Punch — watermelon, strawberry, lemon and mint²

Juice Cleanses & Bundles

• Immunity-Boosting Combo Pack ($65)²
• Nourish and Glow Reset (from $66)²
• Healing Routine ($61)²
• Rainbow Reset — cucumber, green apple, orange, pineapple, carrot ($66)²
• Healthy Kids 6-Pack ($45)²

Café Food

• Avocado Toast — ripe avocado on artisanal bread, seasonal herbs²
• Smoothie Bowls — blended fruits and superfoods, nuts and seeds²
• Breakfast Burrito — scrambled eggs, vegetables, choice of protein²
• Vegan Breakfast Burrito — scrambled tofu²
• Blueberry Chia Cup²
• Quinoa Salad — quinoa, mixed greens²
• Tart Cherry Pistachio Salad²
• Power bowls, wraps, and energy bites²

Coffee, Tea & Other Drinks

• Purple Moon Brew — cold brew with ube, cashew milk and dates²
• Ceremonial-grade matcha²
• Flow State — sparkling tea infusion ($17)²
• Pour-over coffee, smoothies, housemade sparkling waters and teas²

Links

• Website: https://zendonkeyfarms.com

Sources

Footnotes

1. KC Magazine — “Zen Donkey Farms is opening its wellness cafe next month” (pre-opening feature). https://kansascitymag.com/zen-donkey-farms-is-opening-its-wellness-cafe-next-month/ — Confirms: Kate Barker Sternberg; chef-created menu; organic cold-press juicery origin; wellness café concept; first retail location. ↩

2. Zen Donkey Farms — official menu, https://zendonkeyfarms.com (accessed 2026-07-14). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴