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Columbia Missourian

Lee's Summit coffee shop opening not delayed, despite break-in

By The Associated Press
September 3, 2008 | 3:57 p.m. CDT

LEE'S SUMMIT - Hours before the grand opening of a suburban Kansas City coffee shop this week, a thief smashed the front door, stole a safe and emptied the cash register.

The three sisters who own the Lee's Summit Coffee Company say they worked all summer getting ready to open for business, only to suffer a $2,200 loss before the doors opened.

But Jesi DeMeire, Callie Hanson and Erin Parks opened anyway. As coffee flowed, a calculator temporarily replaced the cracked cash register and the women did the best they could to make change.

Parks said the episode adds "an interesting twist in the story - but not the end."

This winter the trio plans to open Cafe Auplay, a shop where parents can drink coffee while their children use educational resources.