Pi and Coffee

“It’s an art gallery where you can get a cup of coffee,” Jody Wilkins, owner of the Pi Gallery, insists. “It’s not a coffee shop with art hanging on the walls.” This doesn’t mean, however, that the homey new café within the Pi Gallery (419 East 18th Street, 816-210-6534) isn’t an excellent place for coffee and a bagel. The Westport Blend drip coffee comes from Broadway Roasterie Company. Most art galleries need an alternate source of income to keep running — the Dolphin, for example, runs a framing business. But the Pi’s new business model is more fun. The coffee shop is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Wilkins hopes the extended hours will make Pi a community meeting point and give art lovers extra time beyond First Friday to enjoy the works on display. Pi Gallery
Tuesdays-Fridays, 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., 2007