JAVA GOGO is NOT a franchise

In the few weeks we've been open, many of you have asked us if JAVA GOGO is part of a chain or a franchise. The answer is no. JAVA GOGO is a brand new Kansas City business. The owners Amy and Josh live here about 15 minutes from the shop.

Amy and Josh first experienced drivethru coffee in (of all places) Fargo ND. We were so excited to be able to grab coffee without having to get out into the North Dakota elements (brrrr). Then Josh took a trip to southwestern Oregon where he experienced drivethru coffee nirvana--there were coffee drivethrus EVERYWHERE. He was convinced that this would work great in Kansas City. So he came back and worked with Amy to create JAVA GOGO.

NKC Business Council Trade Show

Thursday April 20 we participated in the trade show put on by the North Kansas City Business Council. It was a great event, and we got to meet lots of our NKC neighboring businesses. What a cool, thriving community we have! When people came to our booth, we told them the JAVA GOGO story and gave them coupons for a free drink of their choice--since then a bunch of them have already come to check us out!

One of our favorite visitors to the booth was the Northtown Hornet--here she is with Amy (who is expecting our first baby this June).

Well wishes to friends in the STL

Several folks from my running posse trekked over to St. Louis this weekend for the St. Louis marathon this morning. If the weather there is anything like it is here in KC, the weather should be perfect! Randy, Josh, Greg, I hope you have a great run. Wish I was there with you!

3 customers

Patty came by for the first time yesterday. She saw my t-shirt for the 2004 San Diego Rock-N-Roll marathon and asked me about it. It turns out she ran it too! I told her that San Diego was a tough run for me. It was hot that day. I hit the wall at mile 16 and had to gut out the last 10 miles. Brutal! Wish I'd had an iced mocha that day....

Evan works at the Chad Franklin Auto dealer next door to JAVA GOGO. We've set him up every day this week with a cup of our current featured coffee--La Minita from Costa Rica. It's a wonderful, mild single-origin cup o' joe. At this rate, he's going to earn a free cup pretty darn quick. Thanks Evan!

Sara works at the license bureau inside of PETCO (right next to JAVA GOGO) and she has come over for a drink three out of four days since we have been open. Her first time she tried a hazelnut coffee, but then she realized she wasn't much of a hazelnut fan! Since then she's settled on our Ice-Blended Mocha GOGO with a shot of Irish Creme. We may have to name that drink after her. Maybe the Sara Smile????

WOW, the customers are amazing

So three days after opening and we are having a great time. The best part has been getting to know some of our customers. A few of them have come ALL 3 DAYS. Now that's loyalty!

So far people seem to love the caramel macchiato and white chocolate mocha (who wouldn't) for hot drinks. But in the afternoons--which have been kinda warm--they love the smoothies and ice blended drinks, especially the caramel and mocha ice-blendeds.

All of them seem to like our GOGO cards which give them a free drink after they buy 10....

Spring is Here!

The weather is warming up, trees are budding, flowers are blooming, baseball is starting, people are firing up their grills--we personally fired up the weber grill and did burgers, brats and chicken last night!!!--and JAVA GOGO is opening!!! We open tomorrow April 3 at 6:00 AM. With the warm weather we know people are going to love, love, love our fruit smoothies and ice-blended drinks. I'm personally addicted to our Chai Tea GOGO ice-blended drink. But if chai is not your thing we have nine other flavors to try......

I'm Voting Yes on Questions 1&2

OK, here is the first non-JAVA GOGO related post. Jackson County residents vote Tuesday on a sales tax that will fund rennovations to Arrowhead Stadium and Kaufmann Stadium, homes of the Chiefs and Royals and another one to fund a rolling roof that will cover both stadiums. I have decided to vote yes. Here are my reasons.

1. Having major league teams in KC keeps us a major league market. This impacts consumers willing to move here and businesses willing to locate here.

2. The vast majority of stadiums in the US are supported by public funding. There is no reason to think that KC would be any different. If we want major league teams here, we need to pony up.

3. Jackson County is currently in violation of its leases and without funding renovations, the teams are legally allowed to become free agents if they want to look outside of KC. Passing this tax means we are 100% sure to keep the teams here. If the tax doesn't pass, someone might come up with another way to keep the teams here, but this is NOT a sure thing. It's a gamble.

4. Some opponents of the tax want new stadiums (including a baseball stadium downtown) rather than rennovating the current ones. I originally agreed with them. Downtown baseball sounds great to me. But the team owners are on record as saying they don't want that. So if we don't pass the tax, there is no guarantee that a downtown ballpark will be on the table.

Plus, the renovation plans look very impressive. Modernizing the existing stadiums will make them state-of-the-art without getting rid of the designs that people already know and love--the fountains of Kaufmann, the sight lines of Arrowhead. Our stadiums would be unique from all the other new ballparks and stadiums--let's face it, some of them are as "cookie-cutter" as all the ones built in the 60s. And no one will have the rolling roof that is on the table. That thing will be off the hook!

5. Superbowl and MLB All Star Game in Kansas City. Sign me up.