Mildred’s is coming to the South Plaza.
The coffee shop and cafe has signed a lease at 5060 Main St., on the ground floor of the 51 Main apartment building. The space was home to Mission Taco Joint until recently.
“We like being in historical neighborhoods that are densely populated and support small, locally owned and operated businesses,” said owner Evan Ashby. “The South Plaza and Brookside have that kind of culture, which makes us think we can fit in.”
It will be the third Mildred’s in Kansas City, following its locations in the Crossroads (1901 Wyandotte St.) and downtown (908 Baltimore Ave.)
Ashby said they are aiming for a late fall opening.
“We’ll do some light renovations to the space — lighting, colors, tilework, things like that — but the general layout will remain the same,” Ashby said. “There’s a cool mezzanine upstairs that we want to utilize a little more intentionally, probably with more bar seating and outlets so customers can use it as a work space.”
The coffee and breakfast-and-lunch food menu will be the same as at the other locations. Hours have yet to be determined.
“We’ll definitely be open during our standard hours, which is 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the weekends,” Ashby said. “But we’re contemplating staying open later because we’re so close to UMKC.”
Ashby’s mother, Debbie Luce Ashby, opened Java Garden Espresso Cafe in 1997 in the Ten Main Center downtown. In 1999, she purchased Mildred’s from original owners Kathleen Kraushaar and Brian Mossman, who had opened the coffee shop in 1994 in downtown Overland Park. Java Garden was then rebranded as Mildred’s. The Mildred’s in Overland Park closed in 2006.
The Crossroads location opened in 2004 at 1821 Wyandotte St., then moved across the street to its current, much larger space in 2018. The following year, Mildred’s moved its downtown location a block away to the LaRue building. Evan and his brother, Clayton, became owners in 2023.
