Kansas City Star: Renovation on track to turn former gas station into coffee stop

By Joyce Smith | September 18, 2019

A mid-century former gas station on Metcalf will soon be home to a PT’s Coffee Roasting Co. cafe.

The Topeka-based company has spent about 18 months on getting city approvals and working on plans to convert the former Mac’s 66 Service station—at 8139 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park—to a cafe with a double drive-thru.

It now plans an early 2020 opening.

The station closed a couple of years ago after decades of operations by the McGhee family.

“It will be a great opportunity to introduce the [PT’s] drive-thru concept to the area and revitalize the old gas station,” said Fred Polzin, co-founder of PT’s. “Between the location and the building, it was the right time and place.”

PT’s was founded by Polzin and Jeff Taylor in 1993. They had other careers, but when they couldn’t find a coffee shop in Topeka to meet their high standards, they opened one of their own.

In 2014, they took over a coffee shop at 310 Southwest Blvd. Then, this summer, they opened a cafe at 1310 Baltimore Ave., near the Power & Light District. They also have a Lawrence location.

PT’s Coffee also previously operated in the bookstore at The University of Kansas Edwards Campus in Overland Park.

Their first location with a drive-thru and expanded cafe opened Saturday in West Topeka. It serves breakfast sandwiches, fresh baked goods such as croissants, quiche, flatbreads, sandwiches and salads.

The new Overland Park location will have a similar menu.

Food & Wine magazine recently named PT’s to its list of “The Best Coffee in Every State 2019.” Previously, it made such national lists as “America’s 50 Best Coffee Shops” by The Daily Meal.