by William Crum
There is a small café located at 1315 Fairfax Trafficway in Kansas City, Kan. The place I’m referring to is called Lou Lou’s. They serve breakfast and lunch between the hours of 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. They are open from Tuesday to Friday.
A lot of people regard this little place, formerly a gas station, as one of the best cafeterias in Wyandotte County. They are known for their home-cooked meals. In fact, according to a lot of people, their biscuits and gravy is the best they’ve ever had.
The story behind this little hole-in-the -wall is totally remarkable. It came about four and a half years ago, when a woman, Linda Keys, who grew up in Rosedale, and her daughter, Shae Plattenburg, decided to start their own cafeteria. They used their lifelong savings to start this.
“Both my mother and I have always had dreams of starting a small cafeteria where you get home-cooked meals and get excellent speed of service. This is how Lou Lou’s came about,” Plattenburg said.
But now Lou Lou’s existence is threatened. The levee area at Fairfax, near Kaw Point, is being redeveloped by NorthPoint Development. Developers want to put in some new buildings in the area, giving this part of the Fairfax industrial area new life. Existing buildings there will be torn down. They may have to tear down the Lou Lou’s cafeteria to put in a road, therefore destroying the dream both Shae and her mother had.
Recently Shae went before a committee meeting of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and pleaded with them not to tear the place down. UG Commissioner Gayle Townsend asked her to go before the commission and explain why they should not tear it down. The commission, after hearing Shae’s testimony at a committee meeting, has not made a final decision on it, and a commissioner asked NorthPoint Development to see if there’s any way possible that the cafeteria would not be torn down.
On Thursday, June 5, a meeting was held at Lou Lou’s regarding this issue. A representative from the mayor’s office and NorthPoint Development were at this meeting. A representative of NorthPoint Development said they could possibly move the cafeteria to a vacant spot in the levee area and would have to tear the current cafeteria down.
“Both my mother and I told the representatives that they could not see any way for this to happen. The current location has a lot to offer; it has easy in and easy out, which in this area is ideal, especially for those who work at the Fairfax industrial area. They come in, and get the food and leave. Which makes it ideal for those workers who only have short lunch breaks,” Shae said.
This is the only cafeteria in the Fairfax industrial area, Shae added.
Soon the issue of what will happen to Lou Lou’s cafeteria will come before the UG Commission.
It could very easily happen that Linda and Shae’s dreams would be crushed in the name of progress, Shae said.
“I’m really worried about the outcome of the situation. I don’t know what to think,” she said.
