Kinship Cafe owner paves plans to take ownership of his coffee shop (with a little help from his community)
In April, TJ Roberts was at risk of losing his coffee shop to a parking lot. Now, Roberts is standing his ground, with the help of his community, to purchase the building that houses Kinship Cafe. “It was a very dark couple of weeks, but now there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Purchasing…
Read MoreNorth KC’s new ‘Bob’s Burgers’ tribute bar: It’s what happens when theater kids get together to drink
The grand re-re-re-opening of Vignettes Cocktail Bar as a pop-up tribute to the animated TV series “Bob’s Burgers” is a well-seasoned homage to yet another cult classic, said Edward Schmalz, co-owner of the North Kansas City nightspot. “We wanted to pull upon that wholesome — yet still a little raunchy — vibe that is ‘Bob’s…
Read MoreBetty Rae’s sells to Shatto: Why the ice cream brand’s young steward is stepping away from the scoop (for now)
An announcement this week that Betty Rae’s Ice Cream could open new shops and push its popular products into grocery stores is exciting growth to envision, agreed Alec Rodgers, the brand’s steward since 2021 when he bought and reopened its two storefronts amid challenges of the ongoing pandemic. Rodgers just won’t be the man behind…
Read MoreEntrepreneur meets with VP Harris; surprised DC already knew about KC’s first Black-owned brewery
Word travels. A roundtable discussion this week with Vice President Kamala Harris gave Kemet Coleman an opportunity to put his city, and specifically the 18th and Vine neighborhood, on an elevated platform, the Kansas City entrepreneur and musician said. Coleman — one of three co-founders of the soon-to-be-opened Vine Street Brewing, Missouri’s first Black-owned brewery…
Read MoreThis startup’s AI, Bluetooth tech could push traffic to businesses, boost equity when World Cup comes to KC
This spring’s NFL Draft served as a beta test for Kansas City’s implementation of Jonathan Ruiz’s bluetooth technology, he said, noting that the tech and data could help better prepare the city for the World Cup in 2026. “We wanted to start collecting this data for our partners in Kansas City’s Downtown and City Market,…
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