News & Issues
Revocup to Rev Up Coffee Scene in Underserved Corner of Downtown
By Kevin Collison Coffee lovers in the underserved northeast corner of downtown are about to get a place to call their own: Revocup expects to open by early summer at the historic Pickwick Building at Ninth and McGee. Revocup is a locally-based chain that specializes in Ethiopian coffee, a “high-caliber” bean known for its sweeter…
Downtown’s Revival Fueled by Youthful Energy
GUEST COMMENTARY By Kevin Klinkenberg About nine years ago, I made a decision to leave Kansas City and move to Savannah, Georgia. It wasn’t an easy decision. With so many personal and professional connections here, I knew I’d be giving up a lot. But, I felt I needed a change of scenery in the depths…
Blue Valley Looks To Forge New Path
In the United States of the late 19th century, iron works personified the strength and grit of an emerging industrial power. Pittsburgh became the Steel City, but far to the west, another corner of the industry was growing along the banks of the Blue River — on the eastern outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri. From…
“Estelle’s Diner” Opens in Former Cascone’s in River Market
By Kevin Collison If there’s such a thing as a healthy diner, that’s Anton Kotar’s plan to reinvent the soon-to-close Cascone’s Grill in the River Market. Kotar intends to serve plenty of his trademark grass-fed beef at what he’s calling “Estelle’s Diner,” named after his six-year-old daughter. He raises the cattle on a spread near…
Church Is Ray Of Light In Urban KC Neighborhood
The Sheffield Family Life Center, a 6,000-member Assembly of God church, is a sparkling diamond in an urban coal mine. It’s big, diverse and a key center of life in Kansas City’s distressed Blue Valley area. “We are in a location where we kind of get left out,” says Sheffield’s pastor George Westlake III. “We’re…