Muddy’s

After having gone to Muddy’s since 2000 — where some of my fondest college memories were born, I was disappointed to find that my favorite business in all of Kansas City had shut down. Even 11 years after my first visit to the quaint coffeehouse, I would make the hour long drive from south Olathe just to have a cup of their wonderful coffee and to eat one of their great paninis. But alas, their doors have closed for good. I wish it wasn’t so as I will really miss this wonderful place.
R.I.P Muddy’s. You are missed.

Muddy’s offers the best coffee within a short walking distance of UMKC campus. The other options without getting into a car or making a long walk to the Plaza or Brookside are the mediocre coffee at Einstein Brothers in Royall Hall or Jazzman’s Café & Bakery in the Student Union.
The small space is often brimming with students studying for exams and people on their laptops. The coffee isn’t the best in Kansas City but Muddy’s boasts an extensive selection of syrupy concoctions such as mint mocha and French éclair vanilla. They also source their beans from a roasting company in St. Louis.
Oliver Burnette started the shop when he was a student at UMKC. The business took off and now 16 years later he sold his business to two longtime employees in pursuit of other ventures.
I’ve never had a problem with service but don’t expect professional baristas here. Parking can be difficult unless you’re an UMKC student as you’re limited to street parking and a small parking lot Muddy’s shares with the other tenants in the strip center.

Best coffee in Kansas City. Hands down. Friendly owners, too. They always remember my usual order and have it ready in about a min.

I like this place, but it is hard to find a seat sometimes and it can get loud. The coffee is really good and I do enjoy the 24 ounce size (although I try not to drink that much at a time!!) I like how they offer skim and regular milk, even on the self-​serve bar. I also enjoy the $ 1.50 mug with refill. Perfect for when I need an hour or so to study and want some, but not too much, coffee. The sandwiches are also really good.

Muddy’s is a good diverse, college, Rhoda Morgenstern decorated coffee shop. (Seriously, if Rhoda had a coffee shop attached to her apartment above Mary’s, this is what it would look like… makes me smile!)
Great tasting coffee and a nice little selection of savory or sweet treats surrounded by works of local artists.
Everyone from college kids, old hippie’s, Brookside family’s and business professional walk through the doors at Muddy’s.
The one thing that is a little shaky is the service. Not in performance, but in attitude. It can either be nice and friendly or brooding and standoffish. Either way, it just adds to the character of this place and the product is always good. I just wish locally owned places always had sincere, warm service but I will just keep wishing this for Muddy’s.
If you like coffee, diversity and Rhoda… check out Muddy’s.

I am a regular at Muddy’s after my early morning walk (before 7am) so crowds aren’t a problem. I can read the store copy of the NY TImes here. Owner Oliver knows every customer, and is full of stories. Actually I think most of their coffee is only average, and priced a bit above the competition, but Oliver assures us that he pays more in benefits to his staff and that’s reflected in the price. I’m OK with that.
I regularly see friends and neighbors coming through Muddy’s.

I only come here on Sunday mornings almost as soon as they turn on the Open sign. Otherwise I’ll never get a seat. It’s always crowded here with college students. I dearly miss the Muddy’s on W. 39^th St. and this location is the one I salve my soul with.
Love the coffee and the ambiance. The staff knows how to make their coffee drinks and are usually cheerful. The owner has the best CS. Parking is a pain in the butt unless you come during down times. And I agree with the reviewer who asked that the local radio station be piped in. At least during certain times for the local programs.
I love to come here and read, but I usually come here to work and wind up leaving in a tiff. The wifi sucks. The server must be in a cement bunker in the back. I’ll be surprised if this review loads as I type it from the front table by the window. This happens to me regularly. And as soon as I hit Save Now, I’m leaving to go to One More Cup in Waldo where the coffee is just as good and the wifi is infinitely better.

I’m a big fan of the coffee at Muddy’s. I’m not a college kid anymore, so I have to be in the mood for that crowd, but they are harmful enough and good for people watching. The staff is hit or miss, but I love that it is locally owned and they produce great coffee and food, which after all is their biggest purpose! So a shiny 4 stars for Muddy’s.

Muddy’s, located next to the UMKC campus, is the ideal escape for the laid back artist or caffeine addicted theatre major looking for a quiet place to practice his lines.
Muddy’s is a small coffee shop with countless painting on the walls, enduring books lining the book shelves, and a pastry case full of tantalizing deserts.
The menu boards were full of irresistible choices including a chai latte, a vanilla bean/​coconut latte, and a mixed berry mocha. The barista enthusiastically suggested a white chocolate chai latte.
If ecstasy could be poured into a cup, it would take the form of a white chocolate chai. Intriguingly sweet and perfectly warm to the lips, the white chocolate chai was divinely delicious.
Muddy’s even offers fifty cent refills on any of their specialty drinks, a deal not given at many coffee shops.
In the mood for poetic inspiration? Looking for excellent customer service? How about the perfect caffeine buzz? Muddy’s is the place or all this and more.

This place is not for me. Located in the heart of UMKC, it’s too crowded with people not reading books on a campus for my liking.
The décor is pretty good. The staff is a hit or miss. And the coffee tastes muddy. It’s too bad though because this was the only coffee place on my way to work.
The end.

Really good coffee and a pleasant atmosphere. Rather crowded during some blocks of time due to near proximity to the UMKC campus, but there are seats inside and outside, and one can take coffee to go in a pinch, too.

My fifteen year old cousin recommended this place, so I was a little skeptical when we walked in. The atmosphere was great, though. This is clearly the kind of place that not only has regulars, but has regulars that know and like each other. Everything felt very friendly and welcoming– if I was a KC local, I wouldn’t hesitate to bring my book or laptop here.
As it was, we were just running in for a pick-​me-​up. The drinks weren’t expensive, necessarily, though they were certainly pricier than Starbucks. However, I probably would have paid twice as much for the cappuccino that I ordered. It was AMAZING. I usually order decaf, and am used to acridly bitter coffee. And for some reason the art of foaming milk has been lost, so I know when I order coffee out that I can usually expect a half-​hearted dollop of suds. Not here! The coffee tasted fresh and delicious, and the foam was like manna from heaven– thick, creamy, dense– everything that foam should be.
I live in LA in a coffee-​snob community, and Muddy’s was the best coffee that I’ve had in the whole United States.
Seriously awesome.

I like that Muddy’s is open until 11 pm. If you’re like me and tend to be productive later in the day, it’s wonderful. The free wi-​fi signal always works perfectly. The diversity of the crowd admittedly depends on what time you’re there. College students, professionals, high schoolers, families with kids, old hippies – I’ve encountered them all there. (Protip: daytime is usually better if the under-​30 crowd annoys you.) I’ve personally never gotten any attitude from any of the baristas. They tend to be stand-​offish, but never outright snooty.
The outdoor seating, though limited, is great when it’s warm out. It would be nice if they could procure just a couple of more tables. The art is hit or miss. The music source is Sirius Satellite Radio and changes based on who is behind the counter and the time of day. I’ve heard everything from jazz to 90s alternative to obscure indie. The prices are pretty on par with similar coffee shops. Middling. The food choices aren’t extraordinary or diverse, but they never claimed to be a bistro. It does take a little time for some drinks, but it’s a coffeeshop, not a fast food restaurant. The coffee itself is definitely above average, though nothing to write home about. Their supplier is Ronnoco, if there are any afficionados out there who know more about that kind of thing.
Parking is often a pain during the 10am-​1pm weekday time slot, which has to do with there being 3 restaurants nearby. The seating is not comfortable – wooden stools and benches all the way. It’s not cozy at all. It’s a very old building, and it’s not the most sexy coffeeshop in terms of appearance. Finally, if you’re temperature-​sensitive like me – bring a sweater or be prepared to take one off if you’re wearing one.
My overall grade – 85%.

This is quaint. err tiny coffee shop on the edge of the Kangaroo grasslands. It smells friendly, but the servers act funny. They don’t really pay attention to you, unless you make it easy and just order a damn coffee. Since there isn’t much else like it in the immediate area (except for Brookside) I usually settle for a cup of joe here. Music could be better (UMKC student run radio station, I believe), and hipster birds fill the small, coffee friendly atrium as well. Quality of coffee: above average. Get muddied out with homework or to stare at stressed out kangaroos.

Too cool for me.
I’ve spent some time in a few hipster coffee joints, and that place makes me feel like an alien… perhaps this is just me, but I suspect not.
Maybe if the brooding baristas didn’t scoff when I asked if they had free Wi-​Fi, maybe if they looked me in the eye when I ordered or perhaps, I don’t know, had basic social/​service skills, perhaps then I wouldn’t feel like this. But as it all occurred, I would much prefer a smiling human on the other side of any counter where I’m about to fork over $ 5 for a cup of coffee.
I’ll take The Roasterie in Brookside any day over this establishment.

I usually don’t like to give unpleasant reviews, but this place, while well-​intended, seems to exist solely on the fumes of well-​established freshpeople from the local university and the south-​plaza/​brooksideites who frequent coffee shops like they are suppose to. Nothing against coffee shops, mind you, but they don’t deserve to be, sine qua non (a hoity-​toidy word for you coffee shop people).
The coffee is not bad, the ambience is not bad, they have a bookshelf of books to read, all sorts of stuff, and they even have a few newspapers every day laid out for people to read. No, that’s not what really gets me. What gets me is their prices. They price their items, especially the baked goods, like they were some sort of artisan shop with exclusive membership. And it’s not the people who work there’s fault – they are just ringing me up, but who decided to price a slice of bannana bread or a muffin at $ 2.30? I can go down the street (3 blocks west, 2 blocks north) to Andre’s (
) and get a much better, fresh baked, locally made pastry for $ 1.60. And their coffee is good, too.
Anyhow, am I just whining like I rate a certain price for things? Shouldn’t I just not visit this place if I don’t like it so much? It’s a free country. Well, maybe I’m old-​fashioned, but I guess I hold an establishment responsible not just for what the market demands, but also for what it strives to be.

This place is okay. The only reason I go is for the convenience. It’s just off the UMKC campus and gets lots of customers for that reason. I always end up getting the same thing… a raspberry/​amaretto skim latte or a bottled juice. The staff is hit or miss for me and the service time is atrocious so make sure you’re not running late for anything. And they have a frequent flier card which makes me happy. Enjoy!

Best coffee I’ve found in Kansas City.

Muddy’s has a nice atmosphere and is a good place to sit with a cup of coffee and book. Its reasonably priced and has decent coffee, though disappointing foam.
The service, however, is awful. You’ll need to wait at least 5 minutes for a latte, not including the wait up to the register. So plan on at least 10 – 15 minutes; not very convenient if you’re in a hurry. Also, both myself and my friends have had experiences where they significantly messed up our orders and they were not willing to 1) take responsibility or 2) correct the mistake.
If I have time, I try to go to the Roasterie or Boadway now instead.