In 2017, a brand was born for Kate Barker Sternberg and Andy Sternberg out of two passions: wellness and donkeys.
After purchasing a farm in Missouri, the wife-and-husband duo became invested in growing their own vegetables and juicing for health reasons.
That same year, they fell in love with donkeys while encountering a band of them up close on a trip to France.
“They’re incredible animals,” Kate Barker Sternberg said. “They’re such interesting creatures, really highly intelligent and really misunderstood.”
Kate said their resulting brand, Zen Donkey Farms, was intended to be more of an outlet than anything else; not necessarily a business or a nonprofit.
But eight years later, it has grown “organically” into both of those things. Through their website and local markets and pop-up events, the Barkers sell their organic juices to a wide customer base, putting part of the proceeds to their nonprofit, the Zen Donkey Experience, that lets people in need of mental health services interact with rescue donkeys for therapeutic purposes.
This year, customers will have a new place to grab the juices they’ve come to enjoy. The Barkers will open the brand’s first brick-and-mortar store, Zen Donkey Wellness Cafe & Juicery, in the historic Fairway Shops later this summer — likely in July.
Zen Donkey is coming to 2812 W. 53rd St.
- The cafe is moving into a space on the west end of the Fairway Shops, just off 53rd Street and Shawnee Mission Parkway.
- The spot has been vacant for at least a couple of years, but it housed an architectural firm previously.
- Once it opens, Zen Donkey’s regular hours will likely be 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.
Zen Donkey sells organic, cold-pressed juices
Zen Donkey’s raw and organic juices come in a variety of flavors, from the “hot to trot” (pineapple, lime, green apple, jalapeno and cilantro) to the “Donkey Dreams” (carrot, pineapple, orange, turmeric, ginger and lemon).
All of the bottled juices are cold-pressed and vegan, with no added sugars or other additives.
In addition to juices, the new cafe’s menu will feature other healthy items like smoothies, power bowls and salads. Later in the fall and winter, the cafe’s menu will expand with more offerings like soups and warm beverages.
The cafe will primarily serve grab-and-go items, but the space will offer some seating for customers who want to stick around while they enjoy their drinks or healthy snacks.
“We want to create a safe space for anyone who has a specific dietary need or is looking to consume food for a specific benefit,” Kate said. “Everything in the store will be organic, predominantly plant-based, very healthy and nourishing, with no hidden ingredients.”
This is Zen Donkey’s first brick-and-mortar store
Zen Donkey got its start initially as a delivery-only business. In the past eight years, Kate said it became clear that customers wanted somewhere to go in person.
“The demand is definitely there, and our community is asking for it — they’ve been asking for it for years,” she said. “It’s going to be a really great new era for us.”
Kate said Fairway will be just the start of this new era. Though she couldn’t share details just yet, the cafe and juicery will expand further in Johnson County later this year.
With a new brick-and-mortar store, she said she’s looking forward to the opportunities it will bring for her to connect with her customers in a new way, and for those customers to have a new place to connect with one another.
“I think I’m most excited about actually having an opportunity to go in-depth with customers,” she said, “to be able to connect and build those friendships and relationships in the community, but on sort of a deeper level.”
Want more food and drink news? Swing 365, a new facility for year-round golfing, is coming to Overland Park
