When Cafes Collaborate: Nordic Coffee & Handmade Pastries
Meet the three local businesses collaborating to bring you the ideal café duo - Nordic style coffee and artisan baked goods
Prefix Coffee officially launched in 2021 and is the sister brand to Notion Coffee. Notion is the roaster and roasts coffee beans in ‘Nordic style.’ At all Prefix cafés, you can find quality coffee roasted in-house by Notion. The two businesses are a family affair and owned by three couples - Joel and Lindsay Friedrich, Jonathan and Sarah Friedrich, and Colin and Melissa Dwyer.
When Prefix Coffee first began slinging pastries from their kitchen, it was Daniel Del Toro and Christopher Wilson whipping up the artisan goods. Like many great bakers, the duo “got really into bread” and went on to start their own bakery in South KC – Fox & Bull Baking Co. Loyal to its roots, the bakery serves Notion coffee and Prefix Coffee continues to offer Fox & Bull’s stellar pastries and desserts in their cafés.
Each business elevates the other. It’s a story of collaboration, but ultimately, it’s the dedication to quality that makes this local trio something truly unique.
Notion Coffee
The roaster brand roasts the coffee beans in the ‘Nordic’ style, meaning a lighter roast. Roasting creates a different flavor profile for the coffee beans but roasting to a lighter degree changes the profile less so. This allows more acidic flavors, like citrus and fruit, to shine so the coffee is oftentimes more vibrant and tangier.
“The lighter roast brings out the natural flavors in the coffee itself,” says managing partner Melissa Dwyer. “We believe that the coffee already comes with a lot of flavor and instead of trying to roast it super dark and mask [it], we want to accentuate what flavor is already there.”
Notion sells their coffee wholesale. You can find it in Billie’s Grocery, Lee’s Summit’s Hand in Glove, and Fika Coffee KC, but the light coffee beans are also available in a subscription service and can be delivered right to your door.
Prefix Coffee
Both locations (one in Grandview, MO and the other in South KC right off East Red Bridge Road) showcase Notion Coffee’s lighter roast in their espresso-based menu. The typical coffee drinks are available – gibraltars, macchiatos, lattes and cappuccinos, but guests can also indulge in some of their more creative concoctions that feature their house made syrups. One of the current summer specials is a strawberry and basil cold brew made with fresh basil and topped with cold foam. One of Prefix’s three signature drinks is an espresso and tonic paired with the house made syrup that rotates seasonally. The current syrup featured in the tonic is St. Elmo’s Flame made with blueberry, blood orange and black pepper.
Fox & Bull’s pastries are available, of course, but customers can also grab some coffeehouse eats like a vegan southwest or chorizo breakfast burrito, snack boxes and turkey and pastrami sandwiches.
Fox & Bull Baking Co.
Located in South KC, the bakery’s name was born from both owner’s names - Daniel Del Toro (Spanish for ‘of the bull’) and Christopher Fox Wilson. Fox & Bull opened in July 2022. The small artisan bakery specializes in quality breads and prioritizes locally sourced ingredients like Marion Milling flour and Local Pig’s bacon stacked within the breakfast sandwich.
Fresh sourdough loaves (classic, olive and jalapeno cheddar) decorated with the silhouettes of foxes and bulls are available daily along with possibly the most extensive variety of Danishes one can find in the city. Flaky almond bear claws and rich sourdough brioche donuts sit behind a display case, but more substantial breakfast items are also available for those who want to sit down and enjoy a full-on breakfast or lunch. Like a turkey hoagie or maple sausage biscuit sandwich. Homemade breakfast pizzas are also available depending on the season.
