Salutations, Taylor Swift music, savory smells and Pride and Black Lives Matter flags greet customers when they enter The Dandy Lion Cafe in Ashland, Missouri. Caitlin Cunningham, owner and operator of The Dandy Lion Cafe, is striving to make it an environment that honors diversity, inclusion and safety. 

The idea for The Dandy Lion Cafe came to Cunningham when they were between teaching and keeping the books for Century Tattoo in Ashland. At the time, Cunningham and the owner of Century Tattoo, Lars Van Zandt, frequently discussed how they wished Ashland had a local coffee shop. These conversations sparked the idea for Cunningham to make that wish a reality.

“One day the garage space [next to Century Tattoo], which was being used as a handyman shop, came open for rent,” Cunningham said. “I decided to [turn it into a coffee shop] and went for it. I kept putting one foot in front of the other until it was open.”

The Dandy Lion Cafe opened in March 2022 and quickly became popular in Ashland and surrounding communities. 

“As I started coming out and exploring that side of my sexuality, [The Dandy Lion Cafe] was the first place I met several of my new friends in that community,” Nathan Butler, a Dandy Lion Cafe customer, said.

The Dandy Lion Cafe hosts events, including drag brunch, karaoke, game nights, bingo and live music. Cunningham hopes these events create an environment of acceptance for everyone. 

“We get folks in all the time who aren’t sure what they are walking into and end up being pleasantly surprised,” Cunningham said. “Someone the other day said, ‘This is the first coffee shop I’ve been in that I didn’t feel anxious immediately.’”

Outside of providing a smaller, community based, social justice cafe, Cunningham’s goal is to promote various events not frequently offered around Ashland and mid-Missouri. 

“There’s a lot of events that are inclusive, and that’s important to have in Ashland,” Anna Porter,  a Dandy Lion Cafe customer, said. “I find myself often there on Friday nights for different events. They’ve made it an exciting and inclusive place to be.”

Cunningham recognizes that Columbia has more restaurants, shops and entertainment options for people to enjoy than Ashland. However, they know that not everyone feels comfortable in settings where college students frequent. 

 Anthony Plogger, a Dandy Lion Cafe customer, often finds that there are too many people in places in college towns. 

“So many of the bars in Columbia, even that are upscale, nice bars …  [are] going to be packed,” Cunningham said. “For a lot of folks, especially neurodivergent, marginalized community members, that’s a difficult situation to be in.”

Finding a happy medium where people can have fun and not worry about their safety is important for Cunningham.

“I’m not a big crowd person,” Plogger said. “The Dandy Lion is a safe and comfortable space for me. Even if they fill the space, I am still comfortable. The atmosphere itself is what brings me back.” 

Cunningham says that despite hosting events that lawmakers have tried to ban nationwide, such as drag show readings, they have seen more support than backlash.

“There’s so much more support than there is hate,” Cunningham said. “If I overhear someone talking about The Dandy Lion with anything less than reverence and love, I remind myself that this is someone who has something in their life that is keeping them from being able to see that the only thing happening within those four walls are love, joy, acceptance, kindness and connection.”

In the past year, state governments across the nation have begun restricting gender-affirming healthcare, especially for minors, and attempting to ban drag performances. This legislation affects many people with marginalized identities and their ability to feel safe expressing themselves.

“We’re going to be unabashedly supportive, authentic and inclusive,” Cunningham said. “I remind everyone when they come for an event, especially one that is burlesque or queer-oriented, that supporting gay businesses, loving queer people, being an ally and introducing yourself with pronouns are all acts of revolution.”

A sign in the cafe states, ‘Gender affirming care saves lives – this is not up for debate.’ Cunningham hung it up after protests this past year and has seen it spark conversations with those who may not know what gender affirming care means. 

The Dandy Lion Cafe also hosts vaccine clinics, Narcan education programs and public health events. 

“[Hosting these events is] acknowledging that marginalized communities have disproportionate access to those things,” Cunningham said. “My biggest goal is just to make sure that there is accessibility for anybody.”

More than 105,000 people in the U.S. died from drug-related overdoses in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provisional data — a statistic Cunningham believes is important to put into perspective. 

“How many have had a relative or friend overdose? How many have had a relative or friend who wasn’t keeping in care of their health and something that could have been prevented by regular check-ins?” Cunningham said. “That is why it’s so important to continue offering all those things.”

When Cunningham is not leading the call for action, they run around the cafe making food, greeting guests and serving drinks. Their food is sourced from local Missouri farms. 

“The food is always delicious, everything is made right there,” Plogger said. “They also serve local crafts and spirits and make non-alcoholic beverages for our non-drinking patrons in the community.”

The name Dandy Lion came from realizing how many marginalized people relate to being othered. The name also comes from the idea that a ‘dandy lion’ is described as a lion who is confident in what and who it is no matter what others say about them.

“A dandelion is an ‘other’ in the plant world, when in reality they are so critical to the ecosystem,” Cunningham said. “This concept of something being an other and yet so critical to survival has really spoken to me as an allegory for folks who exist on the margins. If there’s not diversity, then the entire system will fall apart.”

Cunningham’s customers feel welcome and proud of who they are when visiting the Dandy Lion.

“The Dandy Lion is fabulous,” Plogger said.

“It’s community,” Porter said.

“The Dandy Lion is welcoming because everybody that’s walked in there feels welcome,” Butler said. 

While the drive may seem far from MU, Porter said, “It’s closer than you think. It’s a nice space to go to events and work in. That can be hard to find in Columbia. It is a place you can be at that is supportive of you for a few hours.”

The small, cozy shop is in Ashland — 15 minutes from Downtown Columbia. Cunningham looks to continue to “lead with love” moving forward.

Edited by Annie Goldman | agoldman@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Jackson Cooper and Grace Knight

Edited by Sophie Rentschler | srentschler@themaneater.com