HITIDES COFFEE — Restaurant in Kansas City

Be aware of where your money is going. This shop is such a disgusting cultural slap in the face to every Hawaiian, Native American and person of color in the KC community that I feel obligated to write my first negative review. To summarize, if you are looking to put your money towards an ethical and moral cause, avoid this place and just support another local, POC-owned establishment that has their heart in a place of real value towards the culture they are displaying. (Cafe Ca Phe is amazing!) If you don't care about the cultural consequences of projecting negative stereotypes about a group of people, then you probably aren't reading this far anyways.

First of all, the drinks I got seemed too sweet to justify the $7+ price. If your goal is to get good coffee, Cafe Corazon is literally half a mile west and will do you more justice than here.

Secondly, it's not owned or managed by Hawaiian or Hawaiian-related people, but that's not even the worst part.

Hitides' blinding desire for an aesthetically pleasing, tropical getaway negates the ongoing struggles that the Hawaiian people face on a daily basis rooting from the colonial mistreatment of the culture.

At first glance, you walk in and are greeted with the almost hilariously overwhelming synthesized, warm tropical aesthetic, with a whole wall full of Hawaiian-themed decorations. "Okay," you think to yourself, "we're in the Midwest. This is a pretty good effort for the theme."

Then you look closer. You see a ukulele on the wall, painted with the decades-old stereotype of "Hula Girl" clothing, featuring a red bra on the body of the ukulele. For anyone that needs a reminder, this stereotype roots from the misogynistic, colonial efforts to reduce Hawaiian culture to an over-consumed getaway for white Americans, ignoring and destroying the rich Polynesian traditions and ideals of life that the group has long been able to thrive off before European colonization and the subsequent disinformation of the culture. (Similar to examples of America's history of racism, like bl4ck fac3 and caricature portrayals.)

Simple displays of ignorance like this not only shows the lack of care that went into creating this shop, but it underlies the financial desire of the owner(s) to profit on the previously-mentioned, colonialist aesthetic.

The fact that the square-footage of the unit is so large compared to other local coffee shops further highlights the idea that the white owners (presumably; I mean there's no way any POC could guiltlessly facilitate this cultural destruction, right?) are lining their pockets from the Hawaiian aesthetic.

The small accessories and jewelry for sale don't seem to be created by or financially support any of the previously mentioned groups of people.

It just so happens to be a hilarious fateful fact that, according to previous reviews, the management mistreats or has mistreated their employees.

My advice to the management who is definitely reading this? Do more for the community you claim. A quick skim of your Instagram profile shows not one mention of support towards Lahaina fire victims. You don't even ask for a donation to help the people that are struggling to get back on their feet (mind you this disaster happened a year and a half ago, and thousands of Natives are still displaced), yet you profit off of the exaggeration and hurtful projection of their culture. You want to give KC a tropical getaway, good coffee and share the beauty of Hawaiian culture? I have no issue with that, even with you being white, so long as you understand the foundations of Hawaiian culture. I do have an issue with you using the image to give KC a fake experience that we...

I stopped by Hitides Coffee while downtown and decided to order a drink since only paying customers are allowed to use the restroom (which I understand). After ordering a matcha latte, I waited my turn for the single bathroom — no issue there. But what followed was painfully slow service.

The gentleman who took my order was kind and professional, but the barista preparing drinks moved at a pace I’ve never seen in ANY service job. I’ve worked in the service industry for over a decade, and even the DMV runs faster than what I witnessed here. It took over 20 minutes for a simple matcha latte — and that’s not an exaggeration. I checked my phone log between texts to confirm the wait time.

There were people inside, but it wasn’t busy. By the time I left, she had only just gotten to the two customers who were ahead of me when I had originally arrived. I finally told them to keep the drink, wished them a good day, and walked out.

$6 drink + $3 tip = $9 just to use the restroom. No one should ever have to wait that long for a drink, especially when the shop isn’t slammed.

Someone seriously needs to provide better training or guidance for that barista. Not everyone has the luxury of standing around for 20+ minutes waiting for a simple beverage. I’ve been through the morning rush at packed cafés in L.A. and New York and still got my drink faster than here! This was by far the slowest coffee shop experience...

I was having a really hard day today and was exhausted/at my breaking point when I went to go pick up coffee + donuts for myself and a couple of friends. While trying to fit everything in my hands, I knocked over one of the coffees while trying to pick it up. I immediately started crying I was so upset. They 2 baristas at the coffee shop were SO extremely nice to me. They turned a hard, exhausting day around. They made me a new coffee, asked me about school (I was in lab coat with my university and program on it), told me that what I was going through was really tough, and to be gentle and easy on myself. They did all this while I sat at the counter crying I was so upset with myself. They even sent me with some cookies to help brighten my day. It meant so much to me- I needed that show of kindness, and to be reminded to be kind to myself. About a month ago I started going to HITIDES a couple times a week, after discovering their amazing Hawaiian macchiato and unique take on donutology donuts. HITIDES great food and unique atmosphere make it stand out against other KC coffee shops. However, the service at HITIDES make it one of a kind. Thank you to the 2 baristas who went above and beyond today. It meant so...