Break-in leaves KC coffee shop shattered, not broken. ’We won’t let this set us back’

Following several break-ins and burglaries at Kansas City businesses, a year-old coffee shop on 39th Street has become the latest target of would-be retail theft.

The owners of Rebel Coffee, 1607 West 39th St., said Tuesday that the little blue store’s glass front door had been shattered overnight as part of an apparent break-in.

A barista discovered the damage upon arriving to open the store at 6 a.m., co-owner Caleb Chincoya Velasco wrote online Tuesday. The barista also noted that the store’s security system had been tripped.

Regular customers arriving around 6:45 for a morning coffee were “shocked” to see shattered glass everywhere, Chincoya Velasco wrote in a post shared Tuesday to Facebook and GoFundMe.

“They helped clean up the broken glass, even with their own brooms!” Chincoya Velasco wrote.

Rebel Coffee remained open for carry-out Tuesday, with store employees carrying orders out to the patio or street. The store will reopen as usual Wednesday with a temporary covering over the door.

Chincoya Velasco doesn’t think the would-be thievesy took anything from the coffee shop.

“Our security system seems to have scared them off,” he wrote.

However, repairing the door will cost about $3,000, he wrote.

Rebel Coffee opened for business on Nov. 17, 2023. Nestled above a bright blue patio on the 39th Street business corridor, the locally owned coffee shop is known for creative seasonal specials, single-origin cold brews, hearty breakfast burritos and vegan syrups made in-house.

A fundraiser supporting door repair had raised about $950 as of Tuesday evening. Chincoya Velasco hopes to have the new door installed by Rebel Coffee’s one-year anniversary party in November.

“It’s been a year with a lot of growth, and we won’t let this set us back,” Chincoya Velasco said.

Rebel Coffee joins several other cafes, eateries and small businesses across multiple neighborhoods of Kansas City which have been damaged by overnight break-ins in recent months.

On Sept. 10, Messenger Coffee Co. and Ibis Bakery on Grand Boulevard was burglarized, followed in the same week by River Market businesses Enzo Bistro & Bar, Donutology at the Trolley and the Blue Nile Cafe.

Mildred’s Cafe and City Barrel Pizza + Patio also suffered break-ins in early September.

On Aug. 5, Buffalo State Pizza (1815 Wyandotte St.), Ruby Jean’s Juicery (3000 Troost Ave.), Anchor Island Coffee (4101 Troost Ave.), Teocali Mexican Restaurant (2512 Holmes), Torn Label Brewing Co. (1708 Campbell St.) and Nothing Bundt Cakes (332 W. 63rd St.) all reported break-ins the previous night.

Previous reporting by The Star’s David Hudnall, Toriano Porter and PJ Green was used in this article.