First Look: Coma Coffee in Brentwood

Coma Coffee has a new home just across the hall from its original space inside the University Tower building at 104 S. Brentwood Blvd. in Brentwood in the former home of Blue Sky Cafe and Bar.

After a two-month renovation of the roughly 4,400-square-foot space that spans two levels, Coma Coffee opened the new spot earlier this year with expanded hours and an evening menu. “Our kitchen and pastry program just kept growing, so it just made sense to move here,” co-owner Macy Holtzman said. The menu now offers dinner, along with cocktails, beer and wine. Holtzman hired Summer Holt as bar manager and Miranda Mooney as head evening chef to manage the kitchen for dinner.

On the beverage side, Holt made an effort to include local makers like 1220 Spirits, Perennial Artisan Ales, Civil Life Brewing Co. and Old Bakery Beer Co. She also used her experience as a server at the popular Kansas City restaurant Port Fonda to bring a fresh perspective and lesser-known agave spirits to the menu by including sotol, mezcal and raicilla, in addition to tequila. She also crafted three coffee cocktails for the menu: The Slow Jam, for example, features a combination of bourbon, espresso, amaretto, milk and a dusting of nutmeg. Other cocktails on the menu are riffs on classics, including a honey-rosemary Old-Fashioned and a raspberry-mint French 75. 

For the food menu, Mooney wanted to offer a fast-casual lineup to be able to get orders out a little faster while still keeping in mind that Coma is a coffee shop first. The menu is divided into shareables that includes a whiskey-onion flatbread with goat cheese and a selection of sandwiches, as well as salads and larger plates like tempura cauliflower tacos with lemon-garlic aioli or chicken and waffles. “I wanted there to be something for everyone — including vegans and vegetarians,” Holtzman said. 

Coma Coffee is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The evening kitchen opens at 3 p.m., and there is a happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. Check out the slideshow below for a peek at the new Coma Coffee.