Tara Stucky bounds up the steps of a century-old house, passing an old wooden porch swing. The wind closes a creaky door behind her in a soft whoosh. She hears the crackling of a fireplace and the low voices of customers, who sip lattes in between sentences.
A coffee shop all her own. Just like her 15-year-old self had dreamed.
Cause Coffee in De Soto accomplishes another dream of her teenage ambitions. In high school, she spent a few weeks working at schools in Jamaica. The experience ignited her drive to help people — both in her community and overseas.
“I just really had these two passions,” she said. “I had coffee, and then I had serving others.”
So, after covering the cost of expenses and staff, she gives all of Cause’s proceeds to nonprofits. Stucky skips paying herself. (Separately, she and her husband own a renovation and design company.)
The organizations that receive the money rotate every few weeks, sometimes months, if needed.
Cause has purchased Christmas presents for needy families in De Soto. It’s raised money for orphanages in Haiti, schools in Nicaragua, and held a drive for Grace Blankets — a local charity that gives free linens to NICU babies.
All in all, the coffee shop has given away $80,000 in the six years it’s been open.
And though Stucky’s shop is focused on the goodwill of others, it’s probably not called “Cause” for the reason you think.
“Every customer is our cause,” Stucky said. “We celebrate with our customers when they have great news, we cry with our customers when they are grieving. We just kind of live life with them.”
Perhaps the staff’s camaraderie with their customers has paid off. On most weekends, the old house at 33180 W. 83rd St. is bustling with caffeine-charged patrons.
Cause has become a fixture in tight-knit De Soto, a town of 6,300 people in northwest Johnson County, hosting business meetings, dates and clubs.
Stucky and her staff of 10-ish (not counting the volunteers) are on a first-name basis with their regulars. Several are De Soto natives, who hover over their keyboards and take calls in the town’s only local coffee shop. Others are local figureheads: business owners, city council members, the mayor.
But just as many faithful espresso-drinkers are from all around the metro and further — Lawrence, even Topeka.
“Honestly, it’s kind of become a destination spot,” Stucky said. “Cause has taken off way more than any of us have dreamed.”
Noah Uebelein started out as a customer.
Just a fan of Cause’s coffee and conversations. He had roasting experience with another local coffee company, so he and Stucky hit it off. In 2021, his long chats behind the counter turned into a proposition: “Help sling espresso in your spare time?”
Uebelein said yes. So, he pulled shots and scrubbed counters until his son was born in 2022.
He still has all the admiration in the world for Stucky and Cause.
“It made it so much more fun to get to tell people about the shop … what the goal is, and what they’re supporting coming out there,” he said. “People always laugh when I tell them that one of the best coffee shops in Kansas City is in De Soto.”
When Stucky tells customers about the inception of Cause, she starts in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
At 15, Stucky was road tripping with her family from Kansas City to California. They stopped at a coffee shop in a mountain town to unwind, and Stucky fell in love.
Heavy snow falling outside, foamy cappuccino in hand, acoustic guitarist plucking softly in the background — that’s when she knew she wanted to open her own.
Stucky married at 20 and raised her children for the next two decades. It wasn’t until 2018 that Cause came to fruition.
Her shop uses Messenger beans for its espresso drinks, and it sells drip coffee from Arkansas roasting company Onyx. Other favorite items are its smoothies and pastries made with organic ingredients.
Pouring drinks beside Stucky is her daughter, Cheyenne Lowe. She’s been helping her mother since Cause began.
“People have given feedback that Cause has literally changed their life,” Lowe said. “I feel very proud.”
Cause is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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