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Theresa “Ting” Santos, Ting’s Filipino Bistro

Ting’s takes a page from grandma’s cookbook, bringing Filipino fare to KC; second ‘dream’ location coming to 39th Street 

Filipino food goes hand-in-hand with Theresa “Ting” Santos’ fondest memories, she said. Wherever her family gathered to celebrate or just simply be together, food followed.  “It’s always been a passion of mine to feed a lot of people. My grandma in the Philippines had her own little eatery. When I was little, I would go…

Amos King, Binary Noggin

Binary Noggin triples headcount, relocates to North Kansas City office in latest growth spurt

Binary Noggin is tripling its growth efforts with added headcount, an office relocation and a new consulting service line for clients, the surging software developer said Tuesday. “We’re extremely excited to be able to deepen the expertise within our services — and to increase value offerings for our clients,” said Amos King, CEO and founder…

TJ Roberts, Kinship Cafe

Chamber’s new ‘Superstars’ roster brings exposure to 2,000+ KC small businesses 

Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program. An excited TJ Roberts took a quick break from shoveling snow Friday in the parking lot of his Kansas City, Kansas, coffee shop to post his elation…

Shonta Dabney, CoffeeFreshAF

‘My soul is being fed’: Shonta Dabney sips the small wins in her round-the-clock quest to bring Black-roasted coffee home

While most kids were drinking milk, juice, or plain old water — Shonta Dabney held a warm mug in her hands, sipping coffee at the kitchen table with her grandparents, she recalled.  “I have to be one of the very few Americans whose grandparents gave her coffee as a toddler,” Dabney laughed, looking back on where…

Just funded: First wave of Alchemy Sandbox grants aim for ‘snowball effect’ in KC

A new grant program has selected its first five awardees — with 15 more to come in 2022 — aiming to create rolling momentum for Kansas City’s main street businesses, said Miranda Schultz. The Alchemy Sandbox Program on Friday announced its first quarter grantees with entrepreneurs selected to receive as much as $5,000 for their…

Neelima Parasker, SnapIT Solutions

SnapIT scores lucrative government contract with $50B ceiling in emerging tech space

An Overland Park IT firm’s selection to deliver technology solutions to federal agencies is the latest evolution of the Johnson County business, which has seen rapid growth over the past three years as it expanded its focus. SnapIT Solutions, a high-tech services and tech training firm headquartered in Johnson County, was tapped for the second…

Paradise EDU at Paradise Garden Club

Just another day in Paradise (EDU): Urban nursery turns soil to nurture STEAM students

When learners dig into the Paradise Garden Club STEAM program, they unearth non-traditional learning opportunities in a classroom cased in chlorophyll.  “It starts on a very base level — using your hands to work with raw soil,” said Jessica Teliczan, owner and operator of Crossroads-planted Paradise Garden Club, teasing the newly launched effort — formally branded…

Jason Taylor, Matchless Cabinet

Tech meets Amish craftsmanship for a ‘matchless’ DIY home experience dealt by this KC engineer

From Kansas City-coded Stackify to his dream job at Microsoft, working in tech is a labor of love for Jason Taylor. But it couldn’t keep him from hanging a side hustle.  “I’ve always been a do-it-yourself project type of person,” Taylor said, noting numerous remodeling projects he and his wife, Lindsay, have taken on over…

LeAna Flores, H&R Block

It’s a ‘movement, not just a moment’; H&R Block audits impact of Black excellence, businesses

Reading is among the best way to learn about Black history, said Willa Robinson, the founder and owner of Willa’s Books & Vinyl. “I’m grateful to be able to educate people about what’s going on in the Black community through books. There’s so much history on what we have experienced, what we have accomplished,” said…

New Reconciliation Services rendering; image courtesy of Reveal Strength campaign

Final capital push expected to bring $13M rebuild to Troost, replacing building held together by ‘duct tape, plaster, and prayer’ 

Decades of dreaming are coming to an end, said Father Justin Mathews, announcing the final phase of a $13 million capital campaign that’s expected to realize a long-held plan to magnify the impact of Reconciliation Services.  “We’ve been in the building since 1987 — and its been held together with duct tape, plaster, and prayer,” Mathews,…