ABOUT US

Our Cafe is located in the Historic Jayhawk Tower, previously known as the Jayhawk Hotel and Theatre.  Our Cafe has been restored to its original elegance.  As you enter the building and walk up the beautifully restored staircase (elevators available if needed) you will step back in time.

​All of our dishes are prepared from recipes from cooks of the 20's.   Come and enjoy a meal in history or just sit and relax in the atmosphere with a great cup of coffee and one of our delicious cinnamon rolls.

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​THE HISTORY OF THE JAYHAWK HOTEL

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What's not to love about a cool old building with a ginormous neon Jayhawk on top?

"On August 11, 1925, E.H. Crosby of the Crosby Brothers Company made the first announcement of his plans to provide the capital city of Kansas with a modern hotel and theatre. After slightly more than a year of work the Jayhawk Hotel and Jayhawk Theatre opened its doors in August of 1926. The total cost of construction was not published but has been estimated between $750,000 and $1,000,000.

Though the theatre was placed on the national register of historic places in 1974, it lists Topeka architect Thomas W. Williamson as the designer for the entire complex. Elements such as the air conditioning and its steel and concrete structure made the Jayhawk Theatre unique and a forerunner of its day.

In May of 1976, the curtain closed on the Jayhawk Theatre for the last time, after half a century of motion picture and stage entertainment.

The Hotel Jayhawk, also closed shortly after the theatre, was renovated into the Jayhawk Tower in 1982, and the theatre became cordoned off. In 1992, a local developer sought a demolition permit that would have included the Jayhawk Theatre. Due to prior placement on the national and state historic registers, the demolition permit was contingent upon approval from the Kansas State Historical Society. In October, 1992, KHS preservation officer Dr. Ramon Powers wrote a letter stating, “that demolition of the building would damage the historic character of the Jayhawk and two adjacent buildings on the register: the Jayhawk Tower and the Davis Building.”

In 1997, Tom Little and Little Properties donated to the Jayhawk the first floor of the Commonwealth Building, which together with additional space to the south, will become the support space and lobby for the theatre. The space was used only for theatre offices until 2007 when a group of local artists and students asked if they could use part of the space for a local art gallery. This rapidly grew into the Upstage Gallery at the Jayhawk Theatre, a popular local art space that draws hundreds to its eclectic shows and First Friday gatherings featuring music of all types, even dance. The gallery has been a tremendous asset in getting people back into the theatre to see what it was and what it will become.