Visitors will never guess what KC has in store for World Cup: Inside Open Doors! new shops

Bubble and slime play. Vegan Mexican cuisine. A jazz listening room.

The variety and depth of Kansas City’s wide-ranging small business community will pop when visitors near and far arrive for the FIFA World Cup, said Nia Webster, calling out a compelling list of entrepreneurs selected for the city’s Open Doors! program.

“The diversity of the group shows how intentional we are in our work and our partnerships,” said Webster, assistant director of the neighborhood services department for the city of Kansas City, Missouri, which administers Open Doors! as part of the broader City of Entrepreneurs initiative.

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Open Doors! is giving nearly two dozen small, local businesses, artists, and organizations a way to fast track expansion, try new markets and concepts, and create more jobs, while also filling empty spaces in high-traffic locations in the heart of the metro.

They sign short-term leases (three to six months), get working capital grants to support build-out and operations, and technical assistance in legal, marketing, finance, access to capital and business development.

Backed by grants from organizations like the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and a $100,000 investment by Airbnb, the program gives Kansas City residents and World Cup visitors unique home-grown options to explore, but it’s built for impact intended to last beyond this summer, organizers said.

An Open Doors! Spotlight event is planned for 5:30 p.m. May 27 at Distrkct with business owners featured in the program, as well as overview presentations for Open Doors! and the City of Entrepreneurs marketplace activation at Union Station. The event also will launch the Airbnb Small Business Guide.

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Out of the 463 applications that were started for the Open Doors! program, more than 52% of them were Black owned businesses and more than 13% were Hispanic owned businesses, Webster said.

“We have four Black-owned businesses going into the Historic 18th and Vine District, and Open Doors! is giving new homes to two Asian-led organizations that focus on uplifting local AAPI businesses and artists,” she detailed, noting the diverse mix of concepts, from music and art to retail, food/beverage to children-inspired concepts.

“Female artists stepped up in the final push, and are ready to show off their creative concepts, collaborations with other local artists, and custom apparels,” Webster said. “I can’t wait to see how our program outcomes compare to the cities we modeled this after.”

Organizers are hopeful for another Open Doors! round in 2027, said Brian Escobar, spokesman for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City (EDCKC), which leads the program alongside the City of Kansas City, Missouri.

Here’s a closer look at the inaugural Open Doors! Businesses and how they’re filling their new spaces:

Dressing rooms inside Birdies at 1800 Baltimore Ave.; photos by Joyce Smith

Birdies owners Peregrine Honig and Alexis Burggrabe; courtesy photo

Birdies, 1800 Baltimore Ave.

One of the first to get into their Open Doors-backed storefront, owners Peregrine Honig and Alexis Burggrabe jumped from a 600-square-foot Crossroads space to a 2,000-square-foot space across 18th Street.

“It gives us room to have larger and more beautiful dressing rooms, five compared to two before; larger windows for more light, and more flexibility in terms of hosting designers,” Honig said.

Just a few weeks after opening, sales have tripled, and they plan to sign a permanent lease.

Boxx Decor Co., 1710 and 1712 E. 18th St.

Owner Morgan Irvin Cox creates decor packages for business or residential clients — homes for sale, offices, living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms.

She started by helping family members spruce up their homes just before the pandemic.

“I went into my own world of learning interior design,” Cox said. “But COVID put a damper on going into people’s homes. So I created packages and sold them online. They could put them up themselves. And it went on and continued after COVID.”

Still, she said, consumers miss getting out and shopping. Her new storefront will sell sofas, curtains, rugs, wall art, vases — the entire “box.”

“Now they can see the full extent of what I do,” Cox said. “After 5 p.m. we will have wine and you can walk around and do that girly thing you love — which is decorate. You want to get out and enjoy.”

Brain Freeze Daiquiri, 408 E. 31st St.

James Thomas, Brain Freeze Daiquiri

Owner James Thomas calls his new storefront a “tropical oasis on steroids.”

The main floor of the former Sol Cantina space will specialize in daiquiris, burgers from Sauced., and chicken sandwiches. A rooftop lounge will serve specialty cocktails and more.

Brain Freeze Daiquiri has been a mobile operation in the Kansas City area, Lawrence and Topeka markets for four years. Open Doors gives Thomas the opportunity to expand the concept.

What gets him the most excited?

“Being able to go into a huge space like Sol Cantina and give a brick-and-mortar a try,” Thomas said. “Doing drinks seven days a week versus a pop-up style so I can try different cocktails and beer.”

Bubbles & Goo Fun Factory, 512 Delaware St.

Owners and sisters Antoinette Redmond, Ashley Johnson and Arielle Houston will open Kansas City’s first combination bubbles and slime play experience in the River Market.

The sisters have dreamed about the concept for more than three years. In their travels to other cities, they took their young families to immersive bubble play centers and slime studios, but they were always separate operations. They wanted to bring them together in one spot.

The Open Doors! program jump-started their business, moving up the timeline by a couple of years, and they hope to stay on after the six-month lease. They liked the surrounding apartments that many grandparents call home, as well as the City Market area, which draws families on the weekends.

“We looked at several of the different Open Doors! spaces but this seemed the best for long-term sustainability,” Redmond said.

Cut & Sew Production KC owner Paige Beltowski stands with merch designed for touring musicians; photo by Joyce Smith

Cut & Sew Production KC, 510 Delaware St., Suite 2.

Owner Paige Beltowski offers custom sewing including commemorative wear for the World Cup, as well as costumes for such touring musicians as Sabrina Carpenter and Cardi B.

Beltowski’s business has always been a mobile operation, packing three suitcases — sewing machine, supplies and a change of clothing — and hitting the road.

“Most of my business has been traveling,” she said. “Now I can anchor my business in Kansas City. I want to work at home with my cohorts.”

Racquel Rodriguez, owner of El Cafe Cubano, inside City Hall; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

El Cafe Cubano, City Hall, 414 E. 12th St., rotunda.

Owner Racquel Rodriguez has had a coffee trailer for nearly two years, but wanted to test out a permanent spot. She will sell premium Cuban coffee drinks, pastries, and other treats, along with World Cup-themed jerseys.

“Everything will be inspired by Cuban cuisine,” Rodriquez said. “We honor our heritage with everything we do.”

The Golden Goal by JVB Swim, 3907 Main St., A.

Owner Jillian Beyer plans to feature small retailers selling apparel, accessories, tournament-themed fan merchandise, and art. The site is near a KC Streetcar stop and will have a lounge for a quick respite.

“I wanted to create something that represented the city’s hospitality and to bring us together,” she said. “And to highlight local small brands and artists on an international level.”

Beyer started JVB Swim in California, offering pop-up activations (temporary, immersive brand experiences), and she also sells the merchandise online. She recently moved back to the area (she grew up in Mission) and has her headquarters in the West Bottoms.

Grind, 1708 E. 18th St.

Justin Boudreaux has a six-month lease for a retail clothing store selling his own line of athletic wear for women and men.

“I think it will give my supporters more of an experience. They can feel the designs,” Boudreaux said.

He has been selling online for about 15 years, starting in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He moved to the metro in 2016.

Laura Pham and Béty Lê Shackelford outside Hella Good Deeds’ space in Columbus Park; courtesy photo

Jade Market by Hella Good Deeds, 913 E. Fifth St.

Béty Lê Shackelford is opening a collective of local Asian-owned businesses selling tea, ceramics, mixed media, jewelry, language books, and more.

Members of the inaugural Jade Market Cohort beginning early days in the program; courtesy photo

“And because we are in Columbus Park we want to be a value-add to the neighborhood,” she said. “So we will feature grab-and-go items. Because this is so new we are literally figuring out what that looks like. How it aligns with our mission of sharing Asian culture.”

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Her non-profit, Hella Good Deeds, offers support to the local Asian community including mental health resources, archiving Kansas City’s Asian culture and history, and Heritage Series events.

Jade Market will be part of the program while also earning money to support it.

The Open Doors! program gives her a consistent space for both, and while the subsidized rent and money to build-out the space was vital, so is the ongoing support for someone who doesn’t have a business background.

“Like a business licence. I think I have everything I need but I want professional eyes to look at it,” she said. “We see this as a launching pad to stay here indefinitely.”

Erica Muñoz, Madrina Vegana Taqueria; courtesy photo

Madrina Vegana Taqueria, 1881 Main St.

Owner Erica Muñoz and Jason Smith-Mendez will  offer vegan versions of the dishes she grew up on — quesadillas, loaded nachos, burrito supremes, bowls and tacos including an Al Pastor (with shitake mushrooms, marinated in ancho and guajillo chiles, onion and cilantro on corn tortillas and topped with cilantro-avocado lime cream).

Muñoz has operated a New York food truck since 2021, but always wanted to have an operation in her hometown of Kansas City as well.

Precious Frivolities, 1712 Main St.

Owner April Madden will have merchandise by Kansas City area clothing and jewelry designers, fine artists, curated vintage and antique dealers, botanical creations, and body and face oils. The space is more than 4,000 square feet.

Madden has been a clothing designer for three decades including a dozen years in the metro.

She currently sells her clothing in Donna’s Dress Shop in Midtown and online at aprilmaddenstudio.com. She also is a tailor for film and commercial projects that come to town, including Ted Lasso (the acclaimed Apple TV+ comedy-drama series), as well theater and ballet productions.

“I’m hoping that with Open Doors! I can get back to doing what I love — building really crazy beautiful things for people,” she said.

Raw Art Creative Studio, 3004 Troost Ave.

Owner and artist Remy Wharry will sell her prints, and original paintings, as well as small gifts, candles, art supplies and more. The studio also will sell works by other artists, and it will offer workshops — painting, knitting, refurbishing apparel for sustainability, and more.

She’s had a couple of spaces in local artist studios, but this will be her first storefront.

“With me expanding my product offerings, and going around the city doing workshops, I wanted one central location,” she said.

The Silk Road by NAAAP (The National Association of Asian American Professionals) in the Westport Presbyterian Church, 201 Westport Road.

Hao Quach, president of the local chapter of NAAAP, said it will be a market for different vendors such as artists and makers in the metro, who believe in its mission of building leaders and advancing careers in entrepreneurship.

The name is in homage to ancient routes for trading Chinese silk and spices, as well as Westport’s trading post history.

“A place where we can all come and gather and share our ideas,” Quach said. “It is pretty exciting. I can’t wait to shop at the other locations as well. I hope they continue with this program.”

Studio Cheeks, 2004 Grand Blvd.

Project manager Kyra Gross said it will be a collaborative art studio that also will offer workshops to the public, painting parties and more.

She previously had a startup grant to open a studio in the Pendleton ArtsBlock for three years but it ended in December.

 

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The Studio Shop by @meghmakesart, 108 Missouri Ave.

Artist Megh Knappenberger has had a studio for five years in the West Bottoms, and has been selling her work online. Open Doors! is fast-tracking her long term plan of a gallery and retail shop.

“This summer marks my 10th year as a full-time artist,” Knappenberger said. “Now I will have a retail component where people can come and see the work in person. I’m excited to meet the people who have supported my art over the years.”

LaRonda Lanear, Safi Fresh; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Safi Fresh, 1512 E. 18th St.

Owner LaRonda LaNear has a location in the new Kansas City International Airport and a new to-go, healthy foods operation in Waldo. Now she will share the former Soiree restaurant space with Haus 1512.

Haus 1512, 1512 E. 18th St.

Erica Harris, owner of Cupcakin bakery cafe, plans to do a pop-up cocktail lounge. Haus 1512 will serve loaded hot dogs and fries, and a variety of wings. It also will have live music and TVs for watching games. She hopes to stay beyond the six-month lease.

“I’ve always wanted to be part of 18th and Vine,” she said. “I would check in and out throughout the year but the spaces always had a lease on them.”

Emily Behrmann, board treasurer with KC Jazz Alive and project lead for 515 Music Hub, stands inside the space at 515 Southwest Blvd.; photo by Joyce Smith

515 Music Hub, 515 Southwest Blvd.

KC Jazz Alive and Music Across Borders, nonprofits supporting musicians and programming in the metro, are sharing this barrel-roof building, circa 1929.

Lindsey Jarrett, executive director and co-founder of Music Across Borders, and Emily Behrmann, board treasurer with KC Jazz Alive and project lead for 515 Music Hub, said the space will offer performances showcasing local musicians, music education including panel discussions, rehearsal space, and other resources.

“We’ve heard from musicians that they want a listening room where the music is the main focus of the space,” Behrmann said. “Give the musicians a space where they can be the center of attention.”

And will they keep playing after the six-month lease?

“That would be the dream, that would be the hope, to stay on,” she said.

Tommy Felts, Startland News editor-in-chief, contributed to this report.