The owners of this west Wichita cafe are changing both the concept and the name
Nearly four years ago, Sunflour Cafe & Collective opened at 6120 W. Central and became a place where people could enjoy a plant-forward, vegetarian menu of made-to-order pizzas, sandwiches, breakfast items and coffee.
The business, which also operated as a place where local vendors could sell their products, found a following and became known for the annual events it put on, from Veg Fest to Mushroom Festival to Crazy Cat Lady Art Market.
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But now, owners Nicole Mullen and Maranda Asche want to take the business in a new direction, and they’re also giving it a new name.
Saturday will be the soft opening for the new concept, which will be called Scoop & Brew. Though the signs on the outside of the building won’t change right away, the approach inside will.
Mullen said that the business will become less of a traditional café and instead a more streamlined operation focused on lattes, specialty drinks, milkshakes, ice cream and baked goods. It will still offer food, but it will be served grab-and-go rather than made to order.
Many different factors went into the owners’ decision to make the change, Mullen said.
“The cafe part is something that, while we love being able to offer that, sustainably, for us being such a small business, it’s not something that we can keep up on,” she said. “We are realizing that a lot of people are wanting the quick, fast meals. When they go to an establishment like ours, they’re wanting more of the Starbucks and the franchise feel.”
Mullen said the staff was also hearing from customers that the wait for food was too long, but waits are unavoidable with a made-to-order menu.
Food waste was also an issue.
“It’s not how we want to continue,” she said. “And we just loved the ice cream part.”
In 2022, Sunflour Cafe became the home base for Asche and her Soft Swerve Creamery business, which offers soft-serve vegan ice cream. Mullen eventually took Asche on as a partner in the cafe.
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Scoop & Brew will still carry Soft Swerve ice cream, but the partners have also come up with a new ice cream product that they’ll serve. They’ve been perfecting the recipe for the ice cream, which will come in lots of different flavors, including cheesecake, blueberry, German chocolate and apple pie. The ice cream will all be gluten-free and vegan, but the owners won’t be overemphasizing that fact because they want all ice cream lovers to give it a try.
“It tastes like regular ice cream,” Mullen said.
The ice cream will be the centerpiece of a fun new offering in the shop: an ice cream sandwich bar. People will be able to choose from different cookies, ice creams and toppings and get a custom-made ice cream sandwich.
The grab-and-go food items will include things like breakfast tacos, breakfast casserole, breakfast burritos and cinnamon rolls. People will be able to grab those items from refrigerators and have them heated up.
There will be a few changes to the interior of the shop, too. Though Scoop & Brew will still have local market vendors set up and selling goods inside, the owners plan to pare down the number.
“We are being a little more intentional., having less businesses but expanding the businesses we have in here and making sure that those that are in there are wanting to grow within the community,” Mullen said. “The collective part isn’t going to change. We’ll still have plenty of small businesses to shop from in here.”
The owners also are planning to add a plant room in the far back corner of their space. It will offer all things plant-related and will also allow people to take and leave clippings of plants.
Though Scoop & Brew won’t have a drive through — the lot the building occupies is not conducive for one — it will have a new drive-up service. Customers will be able to pull up, text their orders from their cars, and wait for the staff to bring them out.
The hours won’t change: They are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Mullen said that she’ll also continue to put on her various festivals. In fact, the third annual Mushroom Festival is on the calendar for March. 7.
Mullen said she’s excited about the changes and hopes her customers will be, too.
“Kind of the hope is that we’ll be people’s go-to shop for supporting local and getting some coffee and sitting down and hanging out and having some treats and ice cream,” she said.
The soft opening of Scoop & Brew will happen from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Mullen said that she plans to collect customer feedback at the opening and will adjust the new business based on what she hears.
This story was originally published February 11, 2026 at 1:49 PM.
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