Unique small businesses and planning visionaries are breathing new life into five Kansas City metro communities.
Where’s Waldo?
In 1841, David Waldo, a local physician, purchased 1,000 acres in what is now Waldo. Today, Waldo is home to over 300 small businesses ranging from the James Beard finalist Waldo Thai, Front Range Coffee & Provisions, bars, McLain’s Bakery, and shops with a distinctly eclectic vibe.
Sisters Dawn Van Kleeck and April Brennan recently opened Heartist Alchemy. “By January 2020, we were longing to have a space where we could do all the things that light our souls,” says Van Kleek, an aesthetician, reiki practitioner, and crystal jewelry maker. In an affordable location, “We were finally able to get our long-awaited spa and shop.” By appointment only, the spa offers full facials with a little bit more—crystal or energy healing, sound therapy, and card readings.
Emilie Jackson, a native of Nantes, France, and her husband, Alex Jackson, combined their businesses under the same roof in a former bridal salon where Emilie had purchased her wedding dress. Emilie’s French Teas channels the charm of a French tearoom, with looseleaf teas and tisanes. At Centered Spirit, Alex’s practice is rooted in ancient Mayan health tradition; you can enjoy a sauna to detox or a massage. “We chose Waldo to live and work because it has an eclectic spirit, it’s still affordable, it’s growing, and is very supportive to local businesses,” says Emilie.
All Trails Lead to Shawnee
Shawnee, once a stopover on trails headed west and then a sleepy business district, has become a place designated by WalletHub as one of 2019’s Best Small Cities in America. It’s vibrant and fun. At the intersection of Johnson Drive and Nieman Road, the walkable downtown beckons young professionals who live and work at the new Blume development.
In the old stone Masonic building, Pascal and Brianne Larcher are expanding their French catering company Velouté into a restaurant. Courtney Servaes brews up not only signature beers but also craft sodas at Servaes Brewing Company, which features themed trivia nights (Ted Lasso or Taylor Swift, anyone?). Across the street in the century-old hardware store, Brent Anderson and Nathan Ryerson opened Friction Beer Company.
Night-lifers can take in a classic movie like Errol Flynn’s Captain Blood in the iconic Aztec Shawnee Theatre, then enjoy food truck goodies, in a revamp that was a three-year renovation project by Jeff Calkins, his late brother Chris, and Bruce Young, all lifelong Shawnee residents. “I grew up here,” says Calkins, “and I was drawn back after college. In 2017, we had an opportunity to buy the theater. When I saw an old photo of the marquee all lit up in the night, cars parked along the street, people out and about, I thought ‘how cool would it be to have that again?’” Around the same time, Transport Brewery was going in. “We all seemed to have the same vision of a place with a hometown feel, but new and fun.”
At the James Beard finalist Drastic Measures and no-or-low alcohol Wild Child, majority owner Jay Sanders says several things combined to make this business happen: Johnson County lifting its requirement to sell food with alcoholic beverages, the vision of the city of Shawnee, and a landlord agreeing to an equity share in lieu of rent. “My grandparents lived in Shawnee when I was a kid. When I was looking for a location, the city made their plan very clear, with the existing architecture and infrastructure. They sold us on it,” he says. “It’s a good town with good people who want to make these experiences happen.”
The View from Briarcliff
When Sarah Nelson and her husband, Louis Guerrieri, searched for a landing spot for their new restaurant Ombra Small Plates + Libations, they had already operated in downtown Kansas City’s Parlor and the Northland’s Iron District. For this new restaurant with its house-made charcuterie and plant-forward shareables, “I was looking for a place in the Northland that could support a concept where people could make it what they wanted—dressing up for a date night, having a casual business lunch, or just bringing the family out for Sunday brunch,” says Nelson. “There are so many places out south and downtown to get dressed up, go out, and have small plates/libations, but far fewer places like that existed north of the river prior to 2020. Briarcliff was one of few areas that gave us the opportunity to execute Ombra’s vision without needing to worry about guest parking or valet!” Ombra joins 15-year restaurant stalwarts Piropos and Trezo Mare in Briarcliff Village.
With the 1957 Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Bott House nearby, and views of the Kansas City skyline attracting upscale homebuyers, Old Briarcliff is also a mecca for home design. Since 2007, Nell Hill’s has been part of the mix, relocating from the small, original store in Atchison, Kansas, to 16,000 square feet of interior design bliss. When Katie Laughridge took over in 2019, she expanded the design side even more, adding baby and nursery décor and a design lab, which offers client customization to furniture, bedding, and more.
“Being located in Briarcliff means we are a bit closer to our company’s roots in Atchison, and I’m close to my own roots, just a few miles away from where my husband and I grew up. It just feels like home!” says Laughridge. “The Village at Briarcliff is accessible and a great place to spend the day shopping and dining with friends, which also speaks to our origins as a destination experience. We want our customers to come in and stay awhile, and our community certainly helps with that!”
Mission: Possible
Somewhat surprisingly, Mission has also become a destination for design businesses. Says Kat Benson, a principal and designer at Nest Interiors, “I love that Mission is centrally located, so we can get to all our clients easily, wherever they live. Mission has a quaint, urban feel but with good parking. It feels a little like downtown Overland Park back in the day, and we like that.” Their showroom on Johnson Drive is just blocks from the new Victor’s Home & Upholstery showroom full of wallpaper books, lighting, accent pillows, and more.
Tucked away on Martway is the by-appointment-only Tran + Thomas Design Studio. “We love our office here in Mission,” says Carmen Thomas. “All of the business owners are so friendly, and the area is very accessible and walkable. Mission just felt like the right city for us with its support and nurture of small businesses . . . in fact most of the businesses on Johnson Drive are small businesses. We are also conveniently located very close to several of our multifamily projects, with three underway nearby. The central location of our office makes for quick and easy trips to our construction sites!”
Mission has also been a good spot for serial entrepreneurs. The Jason and Julie Hans family started out with Mission Board Games on Johnson Drive, their son Mason now in charge. When the property next door became available, “We thought why not adjoin the two?” says Jason, a trial and business litigation attorney. The family created the Urban Prairie Coffee shop in 2018, so you can buy a beverage and go play a game. Another idea bubbled up. “My wife and I like to go to Drastic Measures and Swordfish Tom’s for a craft cocktail,” says Hans. When yet another space became available, they decided to open The Primrose cocktail bar in September of 2022. There you can sip an Urban Prairie Cold Brew Martini before you make your next move, chess or otherwise.
Taking the Long View at Longview
A new vision for Longview is also taking shape. In 1914, Kansas City lumber baron Robert A. Long, whose city house is now the Kansas City Museum, bought 150 acres with the aim to create “the world’s most beautiful farm” in Lee’s Summit. Today, the farm and its historic buildings provide the cornerstone for a community focused on New Urbanism, a walkable neighborhood. The U-shaped Show Horse Barn has been repurposed into Longview Farm Elementary School. The former Longview Mansion is now a wedding and event space. “And we’re open to ideas” about new uses for the two large dairy and calf barns, says Mark Moberly of Sunflower Development Corporation, which owns the historic buildings.
Such a unique property requires unique thinking, and Lee’s Summit has done that. Tax revenues from new commercial business in New Longview, such as the B & B Theater, will go to fund new ventures that maintain the historic integrity of those farm buildings, but in creative new ways, says Bryan Parrish, real estate agent for The Village at New Longview. The village offers townhomes that evoke the past with brownstone and Queen Anne Victorian designs in a neighborhood “where people can walk to get coffee and donuts or an ice cream or pizza,” he says. “We want to get that mix, similar to downtown Lee’s Summit.”
Hometown feel, contemporary mix. It’s a formula that’s working in Kansas City.