Dearest Family & Friends,

Warm greetings and heartfelt wishes for a joyful holiday season! As we reflect on the moments and memories of 2023, we are reminded of the importance of our bonds and are filled with gratitude for each of you and the year we have shared.

First and foremost, we hope this letter finds you in good health and high spirits. This year has been an eventful one for many of us, filled with both challenges and triumphs. We are grateful for the love and support that continues to surround us, and we wanted to take a moment to share some highlights from our lives.

Maddi (17), Nathyn (16), Phillip, Jonelle, Jacob (19), Kay (20)

Family Matters

You can see in our photo the kids continue to get taller and taller but… Our family is growing in more ways than one! We’re thrilled to share the news that we are expecting our first grandchild this Summer! Our oldest son, Jacob, and his partner, Alexis, will welcome a new baby in June. Watching our family grow is a blessing, and we look forward to savoring every precious moment with the new little one. Jonelle has already begun converting our youngest son’s room into a part-time nursery (ha!).

New Adventures

This past September marked one year since the bittersweet closure of Kind Food, our beloved little restaurant. While we greatly miss our customer community and amazing team (and the food!), we've been taking steps this year on our new path toward new adventures. (For now, anyway…)

This Spring, Phillip began a new role as the Director of Food Service Operations at Iron District (Kind Food’s first home). In this role he helps curate vendor concepts, guide and support vendors day-to-day, and expand available offerings on-site (including vegan options!). They have many exciting projects planned for the next few years and he is thriving in this role.

This past fall, Phillip and Jonelle collaborated to help open Iron District’s wine bar concept, The Dennison (pics below). Jonelle designed the branding and interiors for the space, while Phillip curated the wine menu and helped bring the space to life with his handyman skills. You can often find him manning the wine bar, always ready for a good conversation! If you’re in the area or visit Iron District, don’t forget to say hello. It’s always a gift to see old friends.

Jonelle reactivated her real estate license in May and is enjoying a variety of projects in the design and real estate world. She’s worked on some non-profit campaigns as an art director and designer, completed interior design projects, and just completed a real estate deal with two former Kind Food customers (so special!). Along with design and real estate, she’s got a handful of side projects in the works (per usual) including a vintage reselling business and online retail shop for real estate swag and gifts. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and strong! If you or a friend is looking for a designer or Realtor, please reach out as she would love to be of service.

Our oldest daughter, Kay, is working as a full time daycare teacher and enjoys spending her days helping little ones learn to talk and explore the world. She’s still at home with us, saving up for her first place.

Jacob has been working with his dad at Iron District, helping to run the Iron Grill concept. He has very much taken after his dad and is very skilled in the kitchen. A surprise to all of us as he was always our pickiest eater!

Maddi has become very interested in interior design. She will be starting online school next month for her last few semesters of high school and hopes to pursue a career in design.

Nathyn just celebrated his 16th birthday! (How is it possible our youngest is sixteen??) He is also moving to online school next month and we’re grateful for the flexibility that offers. Another kiddo to follow in his dad’s footsteps, he is a skilled chef d’cuisine at home and is, in fact, cooking us lunch while we write this letter.

Familiar Tastes

Speaking of food… Although the restaurant doors have closed, we wanted to bring a bit of the Kind Food spirit to you this season by sharing a couple of our favorite recipes with you. We hope you enjoy recreating the flavors of our kitchen at home. Below, you'll find printable recipes for our signature Rooben and Awesome Sauce. We hope these bring a taste of nostalgia and fond memories to your holiday table.

--------

We remain open to whatever fun opportunities may come our way in the next year and look forward to sharing those with you! We hope that, whatever lies ahead for you and us, we might be able to connect again soon.

May this holiday season bring you joy, laughter, and moments of peace. Here's to a new year filled with adventure and the warmth of cherished connections.

With warmest regards,
Phillip, Jonelle and the Jones Family

Follow along online...
Real Estate: @midcoasthomes on social / MidCoastHomesKC.com (this website!)
Vintage: @homewithvintage on social / HomeWithVintage.com (soon!)
Retail: @midcoastmarket on social / MidCoastMarket.com (soon!)
Phillip: @kindchef on Instagram / Jonelle: @thejonellejones

Right click and save this image to print out these recipes!