Tag: kansas city

Topeka startup hub launches diverse entrepreneur community (with fintech help on loan from KC’s Cyphr)

admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 15:28:38 +0000

TOPEKA — An initiative aimed at boosting early to mid-stage entrepreneur development in the heart of Kansas launched Friday, said Michael Odupitan, noting the effort by Topeka-based Omni Circle to redefine the startup journey — and who’s allowed to join it — comes with a Kansas City assist.

How an east side community garden gives Ruby Jean’s namesake her storybook ending as juice brand goes national with Whole Foods

admin — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 22:44:25 +0000

While market expansion for Ruby Jean’s harvests the big headlines, Chris Goode’s grassroots health initiatives are staying firmly planted in Kansas City’s east side, the juice brand’s founder said — announcing plans to launch a one-acre community garden this spring on Wabash Avenue.

Budding out just blocks from where Goode grew up, the Ruby Jean’s Garden will provide free, fresh produce to community members in exchange for small acts of “sweat equity,” like helping to plant crops, pull weeds, or attending educational workshops in what is historically a food desert, he said.

Kauffman-backed tech coalition gains runway (and funding) to help fill KC’s talent pipeline, leader says

admin — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 19:14:32 +0000

A new talent-focused coalition led by the KC Tech Council envisions a reality where all of Kansas City’s tech jobs can be filled by Kansas City, said Kara Lowe, unveiling new details of an initiative made possible by the Kauffman Foundation’s new “Collective Impact” funding pathway.

How Silicon Valley, Topeka joined forces for a downtown tech incubator in Top City capital

admin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 21:14:36 +0000

Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro.

TOPEKA — A new incubator is expected to help homegrown tech idealists turn their dreams into successful startups, said Stephanie Moran, sharing a vision for the Link Innovation Labs that includes critical lab and equipment space in the heart of downtown.

Why keep Betty Rae’s from the world? KC ice cream shop franchising brand across region

admin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 17:51:42 +0000

Matt Shatto wants to “create smiles across the country” — not just in the metro. His plan: scoop a pint of franchising into the handcrafted mix for Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, a shop that developed into multiple must-visit Kansas City destinations over nearly a decade.

ProX calls on KC employers to help plant seeds; 1,700 student interns await program’s summer sunlight

admin — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 17:08:29 +0000

For the fourth consecutive summer, ProX — one of the largest paid internship programs in the country — is giving Kansas City-area employers the opportunity to invest in the region’s future talent, Solissa Franco-McKay shared.

The collaborative ProX effort pairs Kansas City students — from both sides of the state line — with area employers for five-week paid summer internships or work projects supervised by a professional mentor.

Omaha-based Elevator expands its co-working with warehousing model to North Kansas City

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 22:16:24 +0000

Editor’s note: The following story was published by Silicon Prairie News, an Omaha-based publication of the Nebraska Journalism Trust. Click here to read the original article or here to subscribe to SPN’s newsletter.

Superstars pack KC Chamber celebration with gratitude; thankful for a space to belong when many feel lost

admin — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 21:42:03 +0000

Julie Cortes beamed as she took in the energy of Kansas City’s small business community Tuesday evening — surrounded by hundreds of her fellow Small Business Superstars and a crowd eager to build an emerging spirit of entrepreneurship.

Ixtapa closes JoCo favorite; owner says he won’t compromise family recipes or up prices as food, rent costs rise

admin — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 21:43:11 +0000

Ixtapa Fine Mexican Cuisine has closed in Johnson County after five years.

Co-owner Victor Esqueda blamed rising costs — rent, ingredients and more — for the closing of the restaurant at 7305 W. 95th St. in Overland Park, near the sprawling Shamrock Trading Company campus.

Coffee cluster percolating on one Troost block; will business support the buzz of six spaces to sip?

admin — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 20:50:09 +0000

A new stretch of coffee shops in the 5500 block of Troost will test the caffeine tolerance of folks seeking a fix. Six options soon fill out the menu along this bustling corridor.

Blackhole Bakery, High Hopes Ice Cream and The Littlest Bake Shop currently offer coffee along with their core menu items.

But Blackhole is expanding with a coffee and bagel bar. Kaveh Coffee Co. is opening just to the north, and Polished Perk Coffee Co. is going in across the street. Start at Zero is expected offer coffee in its new play cafe near the southern end of the block.

Rally unifies voices amid attacks on immigrants, LGBT+ rights; now it’s time to make noise, organizers say

admin — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 18:41:47 +0000

As anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies seeking to dismantle DEI efforts ramp up, Danny Soriano has seen inquiries and communication to his digital media business noticeably slow down, the Latino entrepreneur said.

Rooftop Austin’s Bar & Grill just one step in unlocking Olathe’s ‘downtown renaissance’

admin — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 23:33:58 +0000

A century-old building in downtown Olathe will get new life as an indoor/outdoor restaurant complex known as County Square Commons — anchored by the popular Austin’s Bar & Grill.

Concert: Black rockstars don’t just exist — they innovated the genre; how KC artists are still (song)writing history

admin — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 22:31:54 +0000

A rock concert Friday at the newly opened Zhou B Art Center in Kansas City does more than place Black artists center stage for one night, said Malek Azrael; it spotlights that Black creatives belong in every musical space.

Blackhole Bakery plans bodega-style expansion for second location: a West Plaza ‘blank canvas’

admin — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 21:00:02 +0000

During his five years operating on Troost, Jason Provo said real estate agents often approached him, asking, “When are you going to leave and get a big boy spot in Leawood?”

Now the owner of beloved Blackhole Bakery is planning his second location. But not in Johnson County.

Dublin down on shenanigans: Smoke Brewing goes green with St. Patrick’s season pop-up

admin — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 20:49:20 +0000

St. Patrick’s Day-themed Shenanigans is now open in downtown Lee’s Summit.