Kagen moves on from flagship crêpe shop to ‘make some noise’ at Rockabilly
Nine years ago, Kagen Cox was scrambling to open a coffee and crêpe restaurant in Richland’s Uptown Shopping Center.
Kagen’s Coffee & Crêpes was set to debut the following day, but a key ingredient was missing. He had no ingredients to make crêpes and no money for a grocery run.
Cox did what he had to do: He parked his beloved Suzuki Samurai along Jadwin Avenue and sold it to a passerby willing to pay cash.
Kagen’s restaurant opened the next morning.
The gamble paid off when customers flocked in, not just the first day but every day after.
Nearly a decade later, the Suzuki story is part of Kagen’s lore.
It’s also, Cox said, inspiration for the decision to sell Kagen’s to focus on his new venture, Rockabilly Roasting Co.
Kagen and Jennifer Cox have an agreement to buy Rockabilly, which was established by their late friend, Travis Jordan, from his widow, Laura.
As Cox shifts his focus, he and Jennifer are selling Kagen’s to close family friends, Zimri and Maria Barker, former operators of The Local coffee shop on Gage Street. The transition takes effect Oct. 1.
All hands on deck
Cox, whose ventures have always been guided by faith and prayer, said the change reflects his rising interest in supporting entrepreneurs who buy beans and espresso machines from Rockabilly.
It was an unexpected detour for Cox.
A serial entrepreneur, he has started and closed nearly a dozen business. Attempts to export Kagen’s have faltered and he once competed for a $250,000 investment from Gordon Ramsay on “Food Stars,” a Fox reality TV show. He was quickly eliminated.
Rockabilly is different. Travis Jordan was a close friend and his death was unexpected. His friends rushed to help his wife manage the aftermath.
“When Travis passed, a whole community jumped in to keep it moving forward,” Cox said. In time, Laura Jordan invited the Coxes to buy Rockabilly.
“The only question was, did we have the bandwidth for both?” he said.
They took over the Kennewick coffee business in January 2024, but kept the agreement quiet. Cox said the low-key takeover respected his friend’s family and gave him time to learn the ropes of a business that is unlike a crêpe restaurant.
This year, he was ready to, as he put it, make some noise.
Rockabilly remains the business Travis Jordan created — a unique coffee shop and coffee roaster that sells beans to wholesale accounts.
But it has grown too. Wholesale accounts are up by a third, with about 40 shops across the Inland Northwest.
Cox also ventured into the espresso equipment business. Rockabilly is a dealer for premium equipment and Cox being certified to handle repairs.
“Anything that has to do with coffee, we are it,” he said.
Why you need people
Along the way, he’s helped customers navigate the process of opening businesses and making smart decisions.
Cox relishes opportunity to support his fellow dreamers.
As much as he misses the customer-facing aspects of the restaurant, being part of the teams that help make dreams come true is exciting, he said.
He notes it’s the sort of wisdom he could have used before he found himself selling his car to buy groceries.
“This is why you need people on the back end,” he said.
And he reflects on his nine years in the crêpe business, which includes expansion to Spokane, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Kennewick (all closed now), he sees the power of lessons learned and the importance of having goals.
Kagen’s has helped men propose to girlfriends and popped prom proposals. Teen employees grew up and pursued their own dreams.
But as the responsibilities at Rockabilly grew, Cox found himself split between the two. He was losing focus on his family and children. Even when he was with them, he found himself thinking about the businesses.
He and Jennifer prayed on it and reached the deision to sell Kagen’s, with some heartache.
“Kagen’s is my baby,” Cox said.
Prayer-led sale
Even after making the decision to sell, the Coxes didn’t list the restaurant, relying instead on prayer and faith to guide their next steps.
When Zimri Barker visited the restaurant with his kids, Cox shared his plans.
Zimri and his wife, Maria, were instrumental in Kagen’s Crêpes early success. They’d advised Cox on the coffee side of the business and introduced him to Maria’s sister, Kagen’s longtime manager.
A few days later, the Barkers were back. They were ready for a new hospitality venture. They offered to buy Kagen’s.
They are renaming it “Yellow Cafe” but intend to keep the staff and recipes and essentials intact.
The “Yellow” theme will play with honey and bees, echoing the lifesize statue of the roaring 12-foot grizzly bear statue on the sidewalk nearby.
Follow Kagen Coffee & Crepes and Rockabilly Roasting Co.
Rockabilly is at 101 W. Kennewick Ave. in downtown Kennewick.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.