Leslie Coffee Co. to celebrate grand opening in Delano

As Sarah Leslie prepares for a grand opening of her Leslie Coffee Co. in Delano next week, she has more on her mind than last-minute details.

“It’s really important to me that this feels like what Wichita wants and the community wants out of a coffee shop and not just what I want out of a coffee shop,” Leslie says.

“There’s a lot of great businesses up and down Douglas and even off Douglas,” she says. “I also feel like there’s a lot of energy toward building up the community in this area. . . . I really want this to be a meeting place for people in this area.”

The shop is in just over 2,000 square feet of the 12,000-square-foot one-time Independent Order of Odd Fellows building at the northeast corner of Douglas and Walnut, which has been converted into multi-tenant space.

There’s high-top seating at the windows along both streets. There are also tables in the center of the shop that can hold small groups. Two community tables can hold big groups or serve as shared space.

A training room also will double as overflow seating. Leslie plans to have classes on topics such as how to make better coffee at home, how to be a barista and how to taste and appreciate the flavors in coffee.

Leslie is so passionate about coffee, she’s the chairwoman of the Barista Guild of America.

The Wichita native lived in New York City for a dozen years and worked in various roles related to coffee — barista, manager, trainer and educator — while she went to school. Leslie has a master’s degree in cinema studies from New York University and thought she might become a professor.

She says she’ll still be an educator except it’s in coffee.

“I’ll be using coffee beans roasted from three different companies,” Leslie says.

The main one is Onyx Coffee Lab in Northwest Arkansas.

“I love Onyx’s blend,” Leslie says. “It made sense to go with them as my main one.”

She says she especially likes the company’s transparency on what it spends on raw coffee.

She’ll also rotate in selections from Messenger Coffee Co. in Kansas City, Mo., and Equator Coffees & Teas from the Bay Area in California.

“It was hard for me to pick,” Leslie says.

She says she has many friends in the industry.

“I feel bad choosing just a few.”

Leslie also will have a light food menu with pastries she’ll make daily, such as muffins and vegan banana bread.

She’ll also offer overnight oats, cheesy grits, a variety of toast and the option to add eggs.

Bread will be from Newton’s Crust & Crumb, and Leslie is using the company’s whole wheat sourdough to make her toast.

Hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily.

The grand opening with be the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

Leslie says she knows it’s a busy time, but she hopes people come try her shop.

“I really want this to be a community-gathering place.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 5:00 AM.