Tag: kansas city

‘Black-owned dining passport’ launches in response to Trump’s attacks on diversity

admin — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 20:29:31 +0000

A new effort encouraging support for local, Black-owned businesses — many in Kansas City’s historically redlined neighborhoods — is a timely reminder of the purchasing power in each diner’s hands, said Brandon Calloway.

As ICE threat scares customers, Kansas City businesses urged to ‘protect people working for you’

admin — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:40:40 +0000

Editor’s note: The following story was published by KCUR, Kansas City’s NPR member station, and a fellow member of the KC Media Collective.

read more

In Good Company: This ‘hidden gem’ offers escape from club chaos, KC’s corporate nightlife

admin — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:26:53 +0000

A new East Crossroads venue on McGee offers no clues of what’s inside.

The black facade out front features no marquee. No neon lights.

It’s the first indication that In Good Company is something different from neighboring Power & Light District hot spots.

The goal: Good people. Good drinks. Good vibes.
read more

Protein-packed pallets: Sam’s Club deal pushes SimplyFUEL balls to record production (and Mitzi Dulan is rolling with it)

admin — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:08:35 +0000

Juggling more than 50 million protein balls in 2024 is paying off for SimplyFUEL, Mitzi Dulan said, noting production quadrupled during the past year after adding retail giant Sam’s Club to its wholesale lineup.
read more

Kansas City HR tech startup earns $9M defense contract to help hire skilled workers for nuclear subs

admin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:43:50 +0000

Meeting the U.S. Navy’s aggressive hiring goals requires collaboration across thousands of contractors in all 50 states at a time when America is already experiencing a shortage of skilled workers, said Ray Dick, co-founder of a talent assessment and hiring software platform developed specifically for manufacturing and skilled trades.
read more

Fifth & Emery rebrand puts local in control; Isaac Lee Collins’ next move: add handmade chocolate

admin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 17:13:43 +0000

Taking his businesses independent is the cherry on top for Isaac Lee Collins, following more than a decade building his credentials as one of Kansas City’s most consistent and resilient entrepreneurs. A rebrand of Collins’ frozen yogurt ventures adds a further twist to his story.
read more

Building a movement: How empowering one small business can change their world (and ours)

admin — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:02 +0000

Editor’s note: The perspectives expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Brandon Calloway is CEO and Co-Founder of Generating Income For Tomorrow (G.I.F.T.), and now writes a weekly blog, The Equity Advocate.
read more

She made kitchens her classroom; now this young foodie has her own Olathe bakeshop

admin — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 19:43:40 +0000

Oreo cheesecake cookies. Take-and-bake cinnamon rolls. Pina Colado sodas. After seven years as an home-based business in Olathe, Cake Loft now has a storefront and even more attention-grabbing offerings.
read more

Meet KCSourceLink’s trio of ‘navigators’ now embedded in KC business support hubs

admin — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 18:33:24 +0000

A new initiative from KCSourceLink that places three experienced business leaders in strategic locations across Kansas City will help aspiring entrepreneurs better connect with the resources and answers they need to start and grow businesses and side hustles, said Becca Castro.
read more

NXTUS launches bracket-style pitch competition for Kansas startups with $20K in prizes

admin — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 16:34:03 +0000

A new, high-energy pitch competition is expected to help startup founders collide with angel investors and innovation leaders from across Kansas — all set against the excitement of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this spring.
read more

Lawmakers redeploy bill to boost veterans as entrepreneurs; targeting easier access to capital, credit

admin — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 15:16:20 +0000

Bipartisan legislation to help veteran small business owners and entrepreneurs overcome barriers on the home front is back in Congress, with backing from two area lawmakers who say the time is now to get resources to those who served.
read more

Chris Boyle wants you to reach for kombucha on instinct; his plan: make it as accessible (and tasty) as your favorite beer

admin — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 14:19:30 +0000

Daily Culture Kombucha’s expansion is not quite as effortlessly self-replicating as the scoby that powers the Kansas City brand’s bold, full-bodied flavors — but a commitment to consistency and authenticity has fermented a strategy founder Chris Boyle said keeps his company on the tip of consumers’ tongues.
read more

Olathe restaurateur brings comfort food home from the Mediterranean (starting with falafel bowls)

admin — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 19:17:25 +0000

Summer Salem looked around her city for an authentic Mediterranean restaurant and found a gap in the Olathe marketplace.
read more

Cook to CEO: Chad Offerdahl sticks to Big Biscuit basics as breakfast industry trends funky — ‘That’s not us’

admin — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 13:55:10 +0000

Chad Offerdahl’s journey with The Big Biscuit didn’t start in an office — it began in the kitchen, explained the CEO of the fast-growing, locally owned breakfast brand. That’s where he first learned the classics that define the company, its mission and the menu.

“I started as a cook,” said Offerdahl. “I trained in the original two restaurants for months, cooking, serving, rolling silverware, and setting tables.”
read more

How this founder’s hobby (plus a little trouble) became Oak Park retail incubator’s biggest success story

admin — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:13:58 +0000

“Big Chunky Blankets” — soft as a baby’s cheek and custom knitted in any color of the rainbow — folded into the foundation of what would become Maryann Nzioki Hult’s resilient, nearly pandemic-proof foray into entrepreneurship.

They put local Tabu Knits on the online map of must-have-items, and then became the seed of two Johnson County retail shops.

Nzioki Hult took up knitting as a 9-year-old at her mother’s side. She was top-notch by her teens and even learned tailoring.
read more