In Kansas City, Kansas, parking regulations have threatened to demolish a local coffee shop for a parking lot. An out-of-state developer is trying to meet the city’s strict parking requirements for a new apartment complex across the intersection, and the coffee shop owner, T.J. Roberts, is trying to save what’s become a special community hub. 

On this Upzoned episode, host Abby Kinney talks with Roberts about his inspiration for building community, and his struggle to keep his coffee shop, Kinship Cafe, from getting torn down. Also on the show is Dennis Strait, a principal at architect firm Multistudio, to talk about why city builders should care about a coffee shop over convenient parking spaces.

• “‘It’s heartbreaking.’ Why parking rules threaten one of KC area’s few Black coffee shops,” by Kevin Hardy, The Kansas City Star (May 2023).

• Urban3 Land Use Analysis on Kansas City.

• Help Save Kinship Cafe (GoFundMe).

• Kinship Cafe (Instagram).

• Abby Kinney (Twitter).

• Theme Music by Kemet the Phantom.