Thou Mayest - River Quay — Restaurant in Kansas City

I was suuuuuuuuuper excited to go to Quay coffee. I am from a town a few hours away from Kansas City and a huge part of the reason we chose Kansas City for our vacation destination was all the great coffee. Quay was the coffee shop that caught my eye the most and really intrigued me. It was one I had to find on my own and hadn’t really heard about through any of my barista coworkers, which was part of why I wanted to give it a shot. I could tell from their social media pages and their website that they take time to dial in the coffee and make sure it’s all the craft it should be. As a barista in a 3rd wave shop, it was really important to me to go to a local, unique, third wave shop that was going to be a special experience and give me a great cup of coffee. But I was honestly kind of disappointed from the get go. The space is beautiful. Inside and out (the patio has a lot of wonderful plants for summer) but it didn’t seem to feel like it went much deeper than that. Since we’d never been in before (my partner and I) we stood at the counter for a bit to look at the menu and try to decipher what the pastries were. I was surprised that no one behind the counter offered any help or asked how we were doing. (Even though there were at least 3 or 4 baristas) Then when we were ordering I mentioned that we’d never been in before and was super excited to try everything and the girl ringing us up didn’t even comment, just asked to make sure we wanted our drinks to go, which really struck me as rude as we didn’t want them to go. I told her we wanted them for here, the pastries and the coffee. We got our pastries and went and sat down while we waited for our coffee. When our coffee came up it was in to go cups. It honestly felt intentional at that point almost like they wanted us to leave? It was busy in there, but nothing ridiculous and we were able to find seating easily. I was honestly really disappointed. I wasn’t going to ask them to remake it for here, but it just felt like it was there way of saying we should keep moving on. I was happy with my cappuccino that I’d ordered but my partners drink was really sad. She got an iced latte made breve with the house caramel and it didn’t taste like coffee at all. It looked like milk with caramel in it, and tasted like it too. And yes, most people that order a coffee like that are ordering it from Starbucks normally and want something similar but that was not the case with us. Even after all of this I decided to buy a bag of beans Bc that was one of my must haves on the trip and it was our last day so we wouldn’t have time to stop in another shop. I picked out my bag of coffee, again kind of surprised none of the baristas offered any recommendations or asked if I had any questions (it had also slowed down by this point, many of them were standing around). Every bag of their beans comes with a free shot or coffee, and I awkwardly had to ask for my free coffee to go (it wasn’t offered) Bc by then we were both ready to leave. Definitely would stop in at messenger or oddly correct next time before going back to Quay. Should’ve listened to my...

Edit: Management, if you claim this is incorrect information, you need to address why multiple employees are relaying incorrect information. My previous critical reviews resulted in personal messages from staff who tried to explain that the dip in quality was caused by hard work not commensurate with appropriate wages (over HALF of their paycheck is tips! At a coffee shop!). My friends have also spoken to staff who have corroborated this. Now as I try to turn my attention towards what I've been told is the correct problem, I'm having management give a different story. We are more inclined to believe employees than mgmt. We know about your tipping structure, where tips are split not just between all employees, but between all locations. The employees told us about that too. Please do not gaslight us. If your pay was so good, we would not be in this position.

Thou Mayest is a charming spot with good coffee and cozy vibes, and the potential to be the best "third space" Downtown. However, I feel compelled to address something important: according to multiple baristas on staff, the baristas here are not being paid a living wage.

As a near-daily customer for the past 2 years, I’ve noticed a decline in quality and service over the past year, along with significant staff turnover—likely tied to this inadequate compensation. Even the most skilled and loyal baristas with children are barely being paid above minimum wage, which is disheartening. This isn’t just disappointing; it’s a failure of management to support the hardworking staff who make this space special.

Baristas, please know that you have my full support. I, and I’m sure many others, would gladly accept a small price increase if it meant fair wages for the employees.

I understand that the industry is struggling. This is an unacceptable excuse. Businesses must prioritize their workers’ well-being, and there are proven models in other states like California that demonstrate how this can be done effectively even when the economic situation is tough.

I will be removing one star per month that this is not addressed, and continue editing my comment so it stays easily viewable. Furthermore, I will cease coming to Thou Mayest once my review hits 1 star at the end of March. I can only do so much, but hopefully this can at least start a conversation about spending less money on fresh flowers and Palo Santos, and...

So I really like this little spot. Super cute inside, laid back atmosphere, but it depends on the time you go in. I went in the evening hours on a Saturday to study and it got loud, which I kind of expected to be honest. I plan to give it another try in the early hours as they open at 7am and my brain does much better training info during the early morning hours.

Took a while for the staff too acknowledge me. It was my first time there, so I had to find the menu on my own and wasn't sure where to order. Although there is a sign above the register it was high up so I didn't notice it. Not necessarily blaming the sign placement, just didn't know to look up for it.

However, once the staff noticed me, they were super sweet and attentive. I ordered a vanilla/carmel expresso and she made it perfectly. I enjoy strong coffee with a nice amount of sweetness and she made it exactly the way I requested it. Some might say it tastes like dirt (previous comments) but hey I digs their coffee. Definitely prefer their coffee over Starbucks. My coffee came to $6.

I love little hidden coffee shops because they are much more personable and have a comforting set up opposed to chains like Starbucks. They aren't swamped with customers and have time to chat with you if they want. I am not the chatty type when I'm focused, just noticed the atmosphere.

Didn't take a pic of my coffee, but it had a cute leaf design. Thank you!...