Inside the new Pennant Coffee shop in Wichita, Kansas. All images courtesy of Pennant Coffee Roasters.
In Wichita, Kansas, Pennant Coffee Roasters is swinging for the fences with a new cafe that’s more than 10 times bigger than its previous home base.
Occupying approximately 2,000 square feet on the ground floor of a two-story brick building that’s more than a century old, the new Pennant digs are the old home of Leslie Coffee Co. in the Delano neighborhood.
“It would be silly not to recognize the amazing work that Leslie has done over the previous five years,” Pennant Coffee Roasters Founder and Co-Owner Nick Unruh told Daily Coffee News. “We couldn’t be more grateful and excited to continue serving great coffee out of that space, while also introducing some of our own menu items that make us unique.”
Daylight streaming through the shop’s huge wooden-framed windows illuminates the intricate original floor and ceiling tiles, while the cafe’s new black and white quartz table tops catch warm glints from the solid pink wall behind the counter.
“We feel fortunate that the building already had so many beautiful features to it,” Unruh told DCN. “It was our goal when designing the space to bring our brand identity in without overshadowing those unique details.”
Seating around the shop was designed to reflect the brand’s “better together” slogan. It includes a long community table and other seating areas that could accommodate groups.
Supported by a 10-kilo Mill City Roasters machine, roasting for Pennant may soon be moving to a larger space in nearby McPherson, Kansas, where the company was founded in 2017. Unruh said he generally relies on importer Genuine Origin for the steady supply of high-quality green coffees.
“I gravitate towards coffees that are super sweet and clean,” said Unruh. “Those two qualities are my guiding principles for both our staple blends and featured single origins. When I find a coffee with those characteristics and it has that little extra unique ‘pop,’ that’s when I know I’ve got a winner.”
The original Pennant bar opened in 2022 within a multi-business connected complex of converted shipping containers called Revolutsia. Pennant is continuing to offer the same drinks, breakfast sandwiches and breakfast pizzas that earned a loyal following in the former home.
“None of this would be possible without such an incredible staff of baristas and bakers,” said Unruh. “They have been doing such an amazing job over the last week of being open, and we couldn’t be more proud of their work and dedication to quality.”
Additional partners in the Pennant venture are co-owners Caleb Porter and Andrew Schwartz, who were operating Fox & Ash barber shop in Revolutsia prior to launching Pennant. The partners are also behind the Revolutsia business Good Company Taps & Spirits.
As buildout continues within the Delano space, Schwartz, Porter, Unruh and additional co-owner Brady Sherman plan to soon install a pair of Fox & Ash barber chairs. Later this summer, the owners expect to incorporate nighttime cocktail and dinner service through the Good Company connection.
Pennant Coffee is located at 930 W Douglas Ave. in Wichita. Tell DCN’s editors about your new coffee shop or roastery here.
Howard Bryman Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
