The coffee shop owned by six Kansas City Current players is packing up its Crossroads café and setting up shop steps from CPKC Stadium. Pitchside Coffee will close its 1819 Grand Blvd location on September 27 and reopen in early November inside a corner lobby space at Current Landing, the riverfront district taking shape along the Missouri River.
The move trims Pitchside's footprint dramatically, from a 5,000-square-foot warehouse space down to about 900 square feet, according to Startland News. Player and co-owner Kristen Hamilton said the new location will sit close to CPKC Stadium. The business has also used a mobile coffee trailer.
From a Preseason Chat to a Stadium Fixture
From a Preseason Chat to a Stadium Fixture Pitchside Coffee was founded in 2024, the year its mobile trailer debuted. The business was founded by Hamilton, Elizabeth Ball, Vanessa DiBernardo, Hailie Mace, Desiree Scott, and Mallory Weber, all current or former Current players, the outlet reports. In May 2025, the Kansas City Current officially named Pitchside a permanent restaurant partner at CPKC Stadium, letting the trailer operate inside the venue during home matches — making it the first player-owned vendor permanently featured inside an NWSL venue.
Pitchside also holds the distinction of being the only food or beverage vendor in an American professional sports venue owned and founded by currently active professional athletes, according to Startland's report. When the founders launched the brand in July 2024, they partnered with Grandview-based Notion Coffee for roasted beans and Kansas City, Kansas-based Kinship Cafe for cold brew and chai, with both local businesses training the players to pull their own espresso shots, per IN Kansas City Magazine.
A Bigger Menu at a Smaller Address
Coffee will remain central to the new location. The Current Landing location will also feature extended hours and outdoor seating, and Pitchside plans to host events like Christmas pop-ups.
For Hamilton, the business has been a way to stay connected to the sport. Startland's reporting notes that the Crossroads shop had also drawn players from visiting teams who stayed nearby, a detail that speaks to the brand's reach within the broader NWSL community even as it relocates closer to home turf.
Plugging Into a Billion-Dollar Waterfront
Current Landing is a riverfront district near CPKC Stadium. Hamilton said the district's investment is adding another place for people to explore in Kansas City. The broader development is taking shape along the Missouri River.
The Current ownership group broke ground on Phase 1 of the district in March 2025, a $200 million build-out that includes 429 multifamily homes, 48,000 square feet of retail, and a public riverfront promenade. CPKC Stadium itself opened in 2024 as an 11,500-seat venue. Kansas City Council's July 2, 2026, approval of a $235 million funding package for the Kansas City Current did not immediately authorize payment; it directed City Manager Mario Vasquez to negotiate a final deal for a $1.4 billion waterfront expansion that would grow the stadium's capacity to 18,000 seats, according to KCUR.
According to KCUR, plans were completed in 2006 for a new riverfront mixed-use development surrounding a redesigned Richard Berkley riverfront park. The Business Journals reported that Kansas City transferred about 110 riverfront acres to the Port Authority of Kansas City in 2012, an earlier step in the area's redevelopment history.
A Riverfront Location
Pitchside's new location will give the business a presence beyond game days.
The players' expanding business ambitions add further context. Pitchside's owners are betting that a smaller footprint in a bigger, busier district will turn the shop into a lasting gathering spot for players and their families after games.
