Recent Stories by Joyce Smith
Olathe restaurateur brings comfort food home from the Mediterranean (starting with falafel bowls)
Summer Salem looked around her city for an authentic Mediterranean restaurant and found a gap in the Olathe marketplace. So a year ago she began planning one of her own. She teamed with her husband, Abraham, who also is a partner in a downtown Kansas City Mediterranean restaurant. But the recipes would be Summer’s own….
How this founder’s hobby (plus a little trouble) became Oak Park retail incubator’s biggest success story
“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…
‘Invest with women we know’: This $1.4M wellness hub project is redeveloping one neighborhood from within
It’s an old real estate adage: “Buy the worst house in the best neighborhood.” Longtime Kansas City commercial broker Sheryl Vickers said it also applies to business properties, “one thousand percent.” Like twin mid-century office buildings just over the Missouri/Kansas state line in Prairie Village. “I drove by it, what a sad state,” said Vickers,…
BKS Artisan Ales plans Crossroads nanobrewery, tapping additional location closer to KC’s hub of activity
BKS Artisan Ales — dubbed a “little beer heaven” by industry insiders — is bringing its award-winning operation to the Crossroads, adding a second, smaller brewery location near what founders Brian and Mary Rooney see as a downtown tourism market that also is easily accessible to some of their business’ biggest local fans. The space…
Crows Coffee expanding to Troost with on-site roasting, wholesale bakery (and eventually a new social activation)
A decade after opening the first Crows Coffee and two more cafes later, owner Zach Moores is undertaking a major expansion — this time with a project encompassing more than 10,500 square feet on Troost Avenue. While much larger than he planned, the two buildings Moores recently purchased pushed him to expand his vision for…
Pegah’s expands its family of restaurants to Martin City with new faster-service concept
A locally owned restaurant chain is putting a drive-thru emphasis on breakfast with its newest location in Martin City — offering “hand foods” handed directly to hungry diners. “We’re trying a fast-casual drive-thru focusing on coffee and beverages — tea and juices — and fast-casual meals,” said Rameen Sharifi, owner of Shawnee-based Pegah’s Family Restaurant….
Northeast Pizza shop bakes KC’s most accessible food into a new restaurant for all, owner says
Rising from a family of restaurateurs, Noah Quillec is striking out on his own — with the help of some culinary friends — to bring a new pizzeria to Kansas City’s Northeast; it’s a move he hopes will bring unity by the slice. “This neighborhood is very accessible, so diverse and so all over the…
How this Andre’s Valentine collaboration celebrates the friendship that sparked Kate Spade
The favorite hometown chocolate of one Kansas City’s best-known fashion designers and entrepreneurs serves as just one ingredient in a new Valentine’s Day collaboration from André’s Confiserie Suisse. The local chocolatier just rolled out a limited edition line alongside Frances Valentine to mark the holiday, as well as celebrate the friendship between Elyce Arons and…
Mildred’s new South Plaza spot serves brothers opportunity to scale brand’s cozy legacy
It already has one of downtown Kansas City’s best breakfast sandwiches. Now Mildred’s is opening another home-spun spot in the South Plaza neighborhood. Mildred’s — a breakfast, brunch and lunch operation with locations downtown and in the Crossroads — plans a 7 a.m. Friday opening at 5060 Main St., in the former Mission Taco Joint…
Irish favorite won’t reopen after chef’s killing; Brady & Fox could never be replicated, building owner says
The restaurant space previously home to East Brookside’s Brady & Fox is now available for lease, its owner confirmed, noting the building has been dark since the shooting death of beloved Kansas City chef Shaun Brady, a steadfast leader within the local Irish community. “We’ve been working with the family and we have all agreed…