Brewing Nostalgia: The 70s Vibe Coffee Shop That's Rocking Kansas City

Marketing alum Madi Dombrowski ’20 uses what she learned at K-State to make sure that the unique vibe of her Overland Park shop – Jinkies! – stands out in a crowded coffee town.

The names of the shop’s coffees have a classic rock connection – the “Rolling Stone,” “Zeppelins Dream,” “Strawberry Fields.” The lemonades are all Scooby-Doo themed – Velma, Shaggy, Daphne, the whole gang. The cups read “Dream On,” complete with roller-disco skates. The theme, if you need it spelled out, is the ‘70s. And it’s 100 percent intentional.

Jinkies! Coffee and Hangout was launched by Madi Dombrowski, who she says was born in the wrong decade, and her mom Lisa, who, perhaps, wasn’t. So, the theme comes from the heart, but Madi knows it has real impact.

“Social media is saturated. You have to give people something unique to look at. It can’t just be another cup of coffee. You need people to take the pictures, post the things,” said Madi, a K-State marketing alum.

The market for coffee shops in the Kansas City area – Jinkies sits in southern Overland Park – is saturated. There are more than 90 independent or small-chain shops in Kansas City, according to Dombrowski.

“It’s a local coffee town. But there was no local coffee where we are. It was all Starbucks and Dunkin’,” she said.

The spot is hot. There are four high schools within five miles of the place. Parents come in after they’re done in the drop-off line. The work-from-home crowd perches when they need a break from their own four walls, and the high schoolers stop by after the 3 o’clock bell.

Jinkies! started with just the Madi and Lisa, all hands on deck, as some people were returning to public spaces in January 2021. Clearer roles have developed since. Staffers pull the espressos and run the register these days. Mom bakes and works the room, making sure everyone is happy and having a nice time. Daughter mostly carries the back-of-house tasks, like finances, staffing, inventory, and marketing.

“We both have pretty obvious strengths and weaknesses, and we’ve found our groove. It’s easy to step back and let the other person shine through,” according to Dombrowski.

Prior to starting Jinkies!, Lisa sold real estate before her business selling baked goods out of the house took off. During college, Madi was a professional photographer, shooting senior pictures and family portraits.

Her experience at K-State put a finer point on what it meant to be self-employed, and K-State’s focus on practical, relevant skills prepared her to jump into her own business not long after graduation.

“College is self-driven, and it teaches you that you account for your own success. You only get out of a college what you put in – just like a business. No one else is going to bug you or motivate you to do more,” she said.

“As soon as I arrived on campus, I thought ‘This is where I should be.’ I was a marketing major, but that also required classes in things like accounting, finance, and management. I got a baseline knowledge of everything I needed. It put me a step ahead.”