A coffee chain that started as a $30,000 kiosk in a Salina, Kansas mall two decades ago is now setting its sights on the Kansas City metro, with plans for nine new sit-down and drive-thru shops on the Missouri side of the border and beyond. Mokas Coffee & Eatery has signed a development agreement with Cornerstone Hospitality, led by franchisees Brice Turner and Jeff Bennett, to bring six locations to Clay and Jackson counties, Missouri, along with three additional Kansas units in Derby, Garden City and Manhattan.
The agreement expands the Salina-based chain beyond its existing footprint, which for most of its 20-year history operated as a small corporate footprint before turning to franchising. According to the Kansas City Star, Mokas currently has seven locations across Wichita, Salina and Colby, Kansas, plus two stores in Arizona. No opening date has been announced yet for the chain's first Kansas City-area location, per the same report.
Turner said his family already frequents Mokas and that he was drawn to the brand's food quality, menu variety and broad customer base, according to the Star. His partner Bennett brings experience in commercial land development and East Coast multi-unit franchising, while Turner is a U.S. Army veteran who founded investment firm Duty First Holdings in 2010, according to PR Newswire.
An Olathe Shop Already Locked In
An Olathe Shop Already Locked In Before Cornerstone came aboard, Mokas had already signed its first Kansas City-area franchisee, Christian Coleman, who plans to bring six coffee shops to Johnson, Douglas and Shawnee counties in Kansas — starting with a location at 11814 S. Fellows St. in Olathe, per the Star's reporting. Coleman, a member of the family behind the Wichita-founded Coleman outdoor gear company, is president of a hemp-processing facility in Newton, Kansas. Combined with the Cornerstone agreement, Mokas' franchise pipeline has reached 15 units, pushing its overall network projection to roughly 24 open or planned locations, according to Daily Coffee News.
The chain's menu has grown well beyond drip coffee since its mall-kiosk beginnings. Mokas now serves all-day breakfast, in-house roasted coffee, frappes, smoothies and lunch items, and rotates seasonal drinks like an upside-down peach cobbler latte, a matcha-mallow latte with strawberry cold foam, a birthday bash frappe and a sriracha club sandwich, per the Star. Its fall lineup includes a banana nut muffin latte and a fall bliss iced latte, the outlet reports. The brand rebranded from Mokas Coffee to Mokas Coffee & Eatery in 2024, alongside its expanded eatery concept.
Backed by the Nation's Largest Freddy's Franchisee
Mokas is owned by Jason Ingermanson, who also serves as CEO of JRI Hospitality Group, the largest franchisee of Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers in the country, per the Star. Ingermanson has credited much of Mokas' expansion push to Scott Redler, who was appointed board president of JRI Hospitality in 2024, according to the same report. JRI Hospitality operates 130 Freddy's locations nationwide, per the Star's figures; a separate PR Newswire release put the company's broader restaurant portfolio at more than 145 units across 18 states. Hoodline previously covered JRI's Freddy's rollout.
Redler's résumé in franchise scaling runs deep. He co-founded Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, according to PR Newswire.
Competing With Drive-Thru Coffee Giants
New Mokas locations can be built as drive-thru-only buildings or full sit-down eateries. The company also operates the official Mokas Roastery.
Mokas combines sit-down space with drive-thru service, while Scooter's and Dutch Bros. are drive-thru coffee chains. The sit-down space offers room for business meetings and casual use. Cornerstone is actively seeking sites in Clay and Jackson counties as the Missouri locations take shape.
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