City Market Coffee takes on turnover with upcoming Murmuration Eatery and Cocktail Bar
Murmuration Eatery & Cocktail Bar signage at City Market // Photo courtesy of Nikole Ammer
The marbled teal and salmon floor of the upcoming Murmuration Eatery & Cocktail Bar in City Market emerged completely by accident.
Owner Nikole Ammer found the pattern beneath layers and layers of paint left by previous tenants. Realizing it fit the new concept’s copper patina color scheme, she spent 36 hours with an angle grinder to uncover the design without destroying it.
It’s a great shorthand for the project as a whole.
Since Ammer came to City Market Coffee Roasters 18 years ago, at least five businesses have come and gone from its embattled next-door unit—now one continuous space with the coffee shop, as crews knocked down the wall separating the sister businesses last month—but Ammer has been working patiently all year to make Murmuration a success.
A “murmuration” (which, if you haven’t said out loud, I encourage you to do so now) refers to the twisting formation of starlings in flight. “It looks like art in the sky,” says Ammer. “It’s the whole group of birds working together as a community. There’s not one leader. It’s just a group effort, and they do that to keep themselves safe.”
(Ammer notes that the starling is an invasive species. That’s why the in-store mural, painted by Emily Alvarez, features a murmuration composed mostly of Missouri native birds.)
Mural at Murmuration Eatery & Cocktail Bar // Photo by Dayten Rose
While creating a community hangout is Ammer’s main goal, she was equally motivated by a lifelong love of breakfast food. Murmuration’s breakfast menu will feature elevated versions of the breakfast burritos and sandwiches at City Market Coffee, plus new options like The Pile–an open-faced sandwich loaded with meat, greens, tater tots, and french fries, all topped with an over-medium egg.
Its other offerings will include “walking food” like tornado fries and mini waffles, as well as more sit-down meals like reubens and salads.
With Murmuration to handle the heavy lifting on food, City Market Coffee’s menu will be updated to lean more into drinks, adding a full bar to its existing menu of house-roasted coffee and espresso. “Hopefully we’ll have the best espresso martini,” says Ammer.
Besides their differing menus, Murmuration and City Market Coffee will share a register, pickup window, and seating, meaning visitors will be able to order from both spots simultaneously and enjoy their meal on either side.
Both businesses will also operate on new hours, opening at 6:30 a.m. and staying open until 8 p.m., which Ammer hopes will open the door for events like live music in the summers and collaborations with local businesses.
As one of the oldest businesses still operating in City Market, the roastery has seen many neighbors—including, Ammer recalls, a shop that served ice cream out of creepy dolls. All eventually left the space for one reason or another: Dutch Flowers simply outgrew the unit and moved to its current location across the square, while Beignet’s ownership cited pandemic-related complications in its closure. Ammer even noted how the slope of City Market obscures signage at the 307 unit, which “doesn’t do anybody any favors.”
She hopes that her extensive renovations, aimed at giving both businesses a strong sense of space, will set Murmuration apart.
Murmuration is slated to open in January to let the business get up to speed during the winter’s decreased traffic. But come summertime, when as many as 6,000 visitors come through City Market on a busy day, the twisting traffic of the neighborhood may find a new place to land.
City Market Coffee is located at 305 Main St, Kansas City, MO 64105, and Murmuration Eatery and Cocktail Bar will be in the unit next door.
