Hospital staffers on the West 39th Street corridor are about to get a new grab-and-go habit. Marigolds, a compact sandwich shop built with KU Med workers in mind, is slated to open this October inside the West 39th apartments next to the University of Kansas Medical Center. Owner Kory Roth is taking over the former Panera Bread space at 1850 W. 39th St. and plans a fast, mostly to-go setup with a small lounge tucked inside.
City building records are available through Open Data KC and include fields for "certificate of occupancy", "change of use", and "automatic sprinkler" information that can be checked for 1850 W. 39th St. (Open Data KC, data.kcmo.org).
According to The Kansas City Star, Marigolds will run Tuesday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., with lunch kicking off at 11 a.m. The heart of the menu is all-day breakfast sandwiches built on a homemade biscuit recipe that Roth says comes from his great-grandmother. Hot handhelds will share the spotlight, including a slow-braised “Sunday roast” and a “Mary’s meatloaf” sandwich. Roth told the paper that pastries will come from an in-house baker who keeps a daily-changing case.
Space and service
The interior is designed for quick breaks between shifts, not lingering all afternoon. Roth says the space will seat roughly 30 people and include a standing-room counter, a fireplace and a TV for workers who only have a few minutes to themselves. Moody green paint, he notes, is meant to create a calm, restful pocket for anyone stepping out of a long shift.
Menu, prices and retail
The Kansas City Star also reports that coffee will come from Provis Coffee Roasters, paired with simple Italian-soda-style drinks built from house-made fruit syrups and soda water. Breakfast sandwiches are expected to land around $10, while a straightforward black coffee is pegged at about $1.50.
The shop will tuck in a small retail shelf as well, stocking greeting cards from Two Tone Press and small bouquets from a local florist, a nod to anyone dashing in for a shift, a visit or a last-minute “sorry you are in the hospital” card.
Who it's for
Roth says Marigolds is built around KU Med’s shift schedules, with a focus on quick morning pickups and easy mid-day orders for staff, visitors and nearby residents. The shop is slated to open in October 2026 and aims to fill a midday gap near the hospital as the West 39th apartments bring more residents and foot traffic to the block. According to The University of Kansas's Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Financial Report, the campus had an "estimated capacity is 2,132 spaces and serves both employees and patients/visitors."
