Now open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday!

The Prospect KC, a culinary social enterprise headed by Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant, is opening The Nook, a new coffee bar and community-based culinary learning lab, at the Central Library.

“Everyone," says Director of Central Library Operations Teresa Bolton, "is looking forward to having coffee in the Library again."

A grand opening and ribbon cutting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 7. The Nook plans to operate 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“I’m a reader. I’ve been a reader my whole entire life,” McAfee-Bryant says. “I'm excited where my mind is going to be able to go with all the fun things that we're going to be able to do with books and food and creating community-based programming.”

Think literary-inspired drinks like Berry Bard Bliss (a nod to playwright William Shakespeare), Octavia’s Cosmic Caramel Mocha (science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler), and sandwiches such as Angelou’s Caged Bird (author and poet Maya Angelou), plus salads, and cookies, muffins, and other baked goods.  

Programming is expected to include culinary pop-up workshops, coffee tastings, food prep classes, menu creation workshops, and more. 

McAfee-Bryant says she fell in love with cooking as a teenager. She went on to complete professional culinary training at Johnson County Community College, create and own the contemporary Southern food restaurant, Magnolia’s, and win The Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen.  

In 2019, McAfee-Bryant spent time with Catalyst Kitchens, a culinary job training and placement program for people experiencing poverty or homelessness, in Seattle, Washington, and decided to create something like it in Kansas City. That same year, she founded The Prospect KC which offers job training designed to empower lives, disrupt poverty, and cultivate community. 

Students who prepare food and drinks are enrolled in a 16-week program, which includes kitchen training, interpersonal skills workshops, and wrap-around services from a case manager.

The Nook, she says, will offer additional work experience. 

“For some people, 16 weeks is not enough because they're excelling and they need additional time,” McAfee-Bryant says, “or they need some type of financial security so they can move on to the next level.”

The Library’s health and wellbeing specialist Jamie Placht views The Nook as a chance to make and deepen connections. 

“I’m excited to see how dynamic the partnership can be,” he says, “and having that space in our Library is a really unique opportunity.”

The Nook opens August 7 at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th Street in Kansas City, Missouri.