Loews Exec Says Unfinished Hotel Bringing Fresh Business to Downtown
By Kevin Collison A top Loews executive attending the topping off of his firm’s 24-story convention hotel project Wednesday said its bringing fresh business to Kansas City, downplaying concerns about filling a surge in new downtown hotel rooms. Alexander Tisch, executive vice president of Loews Hotels & Co., said he was familiar with the recent…
Kansas City No Violence Alliance Reboots
As mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Sly James has grown accustomed to phone calls from the police chief about yet another homicide. Sometimes James goes to the scene, and the details of one, from a Sunday morning, are seared into his memory. A wailing mother, still in her nightgown, was kneeling in the middle of…
Blue Milkshakes, Rooftop Bocce & Other Weekend Possibilities
We can’t all afford an island vacation, but you can have a moment when you feel like you’re gazing out at the ocean with an umbrella drink in your hand. TikiCat, the tiki cocktail lounge in the basement of HopCat, celebrates its second anniversary from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday. They’ll have commemorative…
The Curious Case of The Animals at The Landing Mall
It’s been 60 years since Jac T Bowen’s sculptures were seen, so where are they?
Bar + Rec Plans Lively Entertainment Center in Old KC Star Building
By Kevin Collison Bar + Rec, the first tenant announced for the ongoing redevelopment of the old Kansas City Star building, has a year-old pile of sand and months of work ahead before its planned opening at year’s end. Partners Mark Musselman and Luke Wade continue to push forward with their ambitious plan to create…
Walk, Turn, Walk: Backstage With a Makeup Artist
Kansas City Fashion Week audiences see stunning models walking the runway. But what they don’t see are the hours and hours of preparatory work before the show. Backstage is where people like the makeup artists and hair stylists really shine. See for yourself how one makeup artist goes about her work during Kansas City Fashion…
Reducing Kansas City’s Violent Crime
This time, Danelle Williams and Vito Mazzara arrived prepared. The two Kansas City, Missouri, police officers didn’t want to be overwhelmed, like a previous evening last winter, when passersby at 35th Street and Prospect Avenue snapped up their inventory in less than 15 minutes. On this evening, Williams and Mazzara stationed themselves on a corner…
Thou Mayest Returns, Buys Quay Coffee and Plans New Concept
By Kevin Collison Thou Mayest, the popular East Crossroads establishment that shut down in December, is returning downtown, but with a new game plan. The coffee shop, roaster and cultivator of creative thinking is opening an outlet called “Thee Outpost” next month inside a building housing a new “creative collaboration space” called Collective Ex at…
Construction Trades Offer Solid Careers Right Out Of High School
With thousands of skilled-trade workers retiring every day across the nation, the construction industry is in need of the next generation workforce to help build Kansas City and communities throughout the country. And those are good-paying jobs that are available to people straight out of high school. It will take some grit for folks willing…
Tap List | Welcome to Beer Festival Season
This is why you drink on Tuesdays. And why you drink that beer you find in the back of the fridge. This is why you drink out of crowlers, growlers and really whatever beer-filled vessel someone hands you. Welcome to Beer Festival Season. Spend an afternoon in downtown Lee’s Summit with the Strother Beerfest, so…
KCAI Launches Liberal Arts Project, Part of $30M Campus Overhaul
By Kevin Collison The Kansas City Art Institute kicked off construction of a new liberal arts building last week, part of a $30 million campus building program that’s creating a new future for the 134 year-old school. “This is a pivotal moment in our college’s history,” said Tony Jones, the Nerman Family President of KCAI….
Wind Shift Brewing Offers a New Spin on Making Beer in The Garage
Tony DiPlacito’s hands and forearms are smudged black, the streaks stretching nearly to the cuffs of his auto technician’s shirt. When he sees a visitor walk into the bays of the Jefferson Service Center in Blue Springs, Missouri, he half-waves and cracks a big smile from beneath a sedan that’s on a lift a few…
Broad Strokes: “We Make Artwork Too”
Blanca Herrada says she’s painting a space for more people of color in the art world—in and behind the canvas.
New River Market Restaurant ‘Chicken Please’ Goes Beyond Brazil
By Kevin Collison Two Brazilian volleyball buddies who brought a “Taste” of their home country to the River Market six years ago are opening a new restaurant aimed at a larger audience, “Chicken Please.” “We always wanted to expand,” said Cristian Maciel. “Taste of Brazil is doing great, but we talked about what we could…
Eric Person is Working to Create a Culture of Agriculture at East High School
It’s Saturday — the first warm day of spring — and there’s work to be done in the gardens at East High School in Kansas City, Missouri. Eric Person, owner of KC Aquaponics and a community partner with East’s agriculture program, is here with a friend to tend to the grounds just north of the…