Next stop: donuts. Made in KC passed the keys to Donutology for its River Market Trolley café. The donut shop will open the trolley location in August 2023.
Keith Bradley, Made in KC co-owner, said this change comes as they work to recenter their business.
“What we’ve been kind of focused on [...] is really getting back to the core of our business which is local goods retail,” Keith said.
It was important for the biz to find an operator who would serve coffee and appreciate the hard work it took to turn the trolley into a café.
“A lot of people don’t realize this but [...] back in 2018 [...] it was a trolley and it was a little sign out there. There wasn’t a deck. It was kind of more like a statue or monument,” Keith said. He saw Donutology as the obvious replacement.
“They know how to celebrate Kansas City. We thought it would be a great addition to have in that neighborhood,” Keith told us.
Donutology opened in October 2016. Its owner, Andrew Cameron, said he has always “really, really, really loved donuts” and got the idea for the shop during his college years.
“I had never cooked a donut in my life. Throughout college I was working at a summer camp and [...] I’d bring back donuts every morning after my bank runs,” Andrew said. “I kind of got known as the donut guy. And I thought it would be kind of fun to open my own donut shop.”
The new trolley location will carry Donutology’s standard donuts along with an added bonus: alcohol.
“We’re in the process of transferring the liquor license [...] so we’ll have an opportunity to introduce some signature drinks as well as pairings for our donuts,” Andrew told us.