April: A Closer Look

This month, we take a look at three of Columbia’s newest businesses or locations – Three Story Coffee, Woof’s Play & Stay, and Paleteria El Tajín.

Three Story Coffee
Business partners Nick McKague and Tony Anderson believe there are three stories when it comes to coffee: the farmer’s, the customer’s, and the coffee shop’s. These three stories come together at Three Story Coffee, a coffee house that began in Jefferson City before opening in Columbia.

Nick explains that Three Story Coffee values the relationships they have with their farmers and customers. “We buy directly from the farmer and have [the coffee] imported in. We can help them produce a better product, which in turn makes them more money and allows us to provide a better product to our customer,” Nick explains.

Currently, the partners want to focus on providing a top-quality product to the Columbia community and seeing how Three Story Coffee can grow from there. Nick says, “We want to share our story and tell people why we invest in our farmers and why we do the things we do — because we want to help other people.”

300 N. Tenth St., Ste. 100
573-447-8050
threestorycoffee.com

Woof’s Play & Stay
With a passion for dogs and a search for a new market, Woof’s Play & Stay opened its doors to the first Columbia location in late January after its success at locations in Kansas and Kansas City. The dog day care is run by avid dog lover and area manager Morgan Rankin.

Morgan explains that the day care offers Columbia’s dogs five services: day care, boarding — also referred to as “NightStay” — grooming, training, and Woof’s at-home services. “We’re not just putting your dog in a kennel all day. The big thing for Woof’s is socializing. It’s more of an enhanced day care approach,” Morgan says.
The goal of Woof’s services is for dogs to return to their owners with better behavior than they started with.

Morgan’s plans for the future include continuing to grow and find more markets that are in need of a day care center for dogs. “We’re offering a home away from home for your animal,” she says.

205 E. Nifong, Ste. 130
573-615-0495
Woofsplaystay.com/columbia

Paleteria El Tajín
The Herrera family’s dream of owning their own business, paired with the persistence of Yesica Herrera, the chef of the family, sparked the creation and opening of their own Mexican restaurant, Paleteria El Tajín.

The restaurant offers a wide range of dishes that are popular in Mexico, from empanadas to mangonada, a traditional ice cream treat. “We wanted to do something that people don’t find easily here in Columbia,” Yoselin Herrera, co-owner of Paleteria El Tajín, explains. The dishes offered at Paleteria El Tajín are recipes from the Herrera family kitchen that were taught to Yesica over the years.

Yoselin explains that while opening another location is the family’s big vision, right now, they’d like to get a space that’s big enough to make their own ice cream and popsicles. Yoselin says, “When people come here, they find a good experience — we have something totally different.”

923 E. Broadway
573-447-6595
paleteriaet.com