KC Current players debut coffee trailer at First Fridays in the Crossroads
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - There was a new vendor at First Fridays in the Crossroads: Pitch Side Coffee. It was a popular choice for many; the line was down the block for hours. The reason? It’s owned and operated by KC Current players.
“We are so excited to start this journey together,” said Vanessa DiBernardo, a midfielder. “We had a little bit of a vision in pre-season, and it’s finally come to light.”
According to DiBernardo, she, Elizabeth Ball, Kristen Hamilton, Mallory Weber, Desiree Scott, and Hailie Mace spend a lot of their spare time in coffee shops. Not wanting a brick-and-mortar spot, they opted for a coffee trailer instead.
“We love that time to just talk to each other and connect,” said DiBernardo. “We just found a love for coffee, so we came up with this idea pre-season and we kind of just rolled with it and here it is.”
Fans were excited to show support for the team in a new way. Caity Hynson says she found out about the coffee trailer on social media.
“Me and my friends have a group chat on Instagram because we are all season ticket members and we were saying oh my gosh, they are doing coffee, we have to go,” said Hynson.
Many in line could be spotted with Current shirts, hats, bags, and more.
“We are here in line at Pitch Side, which is kind of at the intersection of our three favorite things for our family: the Current, coffee, and my kids,” said fan Jon Kramer. “I got my girls here. We are huge fans and love to support this. It’s amazing what they are doing.”
His daughters wore their Current jerseys to Pitch Side Coffee’s debut. Ruby was wearing a hat signed by several players at the first match at CPKC Stadium. She was hoping for several more Friday.
“I’ve been a fan since I was a baby,” said Elle Kramer. “I like that they keep fighting and never stop.”
The Kramer family plans on going to the Saturday match against Orlando Pride.
“We are going to cheer louder than everyone else,” said Ruby Kramer. “We’re going to tell them to play hard.”
So how do players find the time to run a business and be part of the team that now holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak in the league?
“That’s a great question and we get that a lot,” said Kristen Hamilton, a forward. “You find time for things you love, and we love being out in the community, we love connecting with our fans on this level. We just love to be out here, and we love coffee. It’s such a cool venture that we can do that brings all of the things we love together.”
Hamilton says she was shocked seeing the outpouring of support from the community.
“Oh my gosh, I’m just a little bit like what is going on?!” said Hamilton. “It’s awesome. We are just so grateful for the support the city has given us. It’s been awesome just walking down the street and people have been happy to be here. They said hi, gave us good lucks for this weekend. Everybody is obviously really ready for the game tomorrow too and so are we.”
Her teammates agree.
“It’s so cool,” said DiBernardo. “This city has taken my heart and the support here is amazing. And that’s what we wanted to do with this: get out in the community and connect with fans, connect with people, and connect with our community a little bit more. They come and support us on the field, we thought this would be a fun way to connect with them as well.”
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