By Kevin Collison
Ian Davis knew his Blip coffee shop and roasterie in the West Bottoms was in for a bumpy business road when his connections on the West Coast warned him of the looming Covid-19 crisis in early March.
“We were one of the first to close up because of Covid,” he said. “My contacts said it was coming and I decided to shut down and got everybody on unemployment.”
It also proved to be a transitional time for Blip.
“We’re pivoting and making moves,” he said. “We’d been looking for a larger space, wanting to expand and stay in the West Bottoms.”
As a result, Blip Roasters has closed its small operation in the Wonder Shops + Flats development on Troost, handing it over to another entrepreneur, and also packed up and left its previous main digs at 1101 Mulberry.
The new Blip coffee space is larger than the previous location and close to the Riverfront Heritage Trail.
Davis found his new building at the southwest corner of Mulberry and Woodsweather Road on the north edge of the West Bottoms and is in the middle of setting up shop. The new location is close to the Riverfront Heritage Trail.
“It’s a funkier part of the West Bottoms, but it has better access to the River Market and downtown, and we get a lot of bicycle traffic,” he said.
Right now, he’s roasting coffee and filling online orders with hopes to reopen to the public by the end of the summer. His new address is 1301 Woodsweather Rd.
Ian Davis blends his passion for coffee and motorcycling at Blip.
Besides coffee, Blip is known for its motorcycle merchandise including clothing, helmets and accessories.
The motorcycle crowd that once loved to congregate at his Mulberry Street operation on Sunday mornings already have found his new location.
“We had our first Sunday Meet-Up last weekend,” Davis said.
“I was pretty proud of the number of people who wore masks and practiced social distancing.”
(Editor’s note: CityScene KC is now a paid subscription publication, please consider subscribing.)
Reading these stories is free, but telling them is not. Start your monthly gift now to support Flatland’s community-focused reporting.
Related Stories
Nick’s Picks | Veep, Gerrymandering, Football and More …
Vance Lands in KC Again … Vice President JD Vance will make two stops in the Kansas City area today, his second visit to the metro in less than four months. The White House says Vance will visit a federal law enforcement facility in Kansas City, Missouri, to highlight the Trump administration’s crackdown on fraud….
The Fight Against Forgetting 9/11
Schools, nonprofits, and firefighters work to ensure Kansas Citians remember the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.
United in Opposition: The Bipartisan Response to Data Centers
From Independence, Missouri, to Osawatomie, Kansas, data centers are angering residents and spurring bipartisan opposition.