Even a visitor can become a repeat customer, said Dulcinea Herrera, stressing the importance of Kansas City businesses making their establishments a destination — not just a one-time stopover or accidental find — for international fans and other out-of-town guests when the FIFA World Cup arrives next summer.
The goal: Win them over with intentional moves to field a global customer base, the Café Corazón CEO said.
Tracy Whelpley, director of regional impact for KC2026, right, speaks during a GEWKC panel conversation about World Cup preparations for small businesses; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
“We’re going to start reaching out to language schools and people that we can hire for that time so that people feel really comfortable,” she explained, noting once the FIFA World Cup completes its final draw Dec. 5, the business — Kansas City’s first Latin and Indigenous coffee house and roastery — should have a better idea of the home countries of some fans headed to the region.
“At the end of the day, you want people to walk into your store and you want that transaction to be very seamless and fast and easy, so they keep coming back,” said Herrera, speaking during a panel conversation on the first day of base camp programming for GEWKC in the Planetarium at Union Station. “Then you are their spot for when they stay here in Kansas City.”
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With just over six months to go, now — the calm before the storm — is the time for Kansas City area small business owners to be preparing for the influx of visitors for the World Cup, added fellow panelist Alan Kneeland, owner of The Combine KC.
“You know that when you go to a movie and there’s so many different previews and everything’s just coming at you all at once?” explained the former president of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association. “And then you hit that docile area where things start to calm down right before the movie starts. That’s exactly where we’re at right now. [The noise is] starting to die down.”
“The conversations are starting to get a little bit more quiet,” he added, “because we’re starting to really put in the work on the back end to make sure we’re ready for this World Cup.”
Herrera and Kneeland — joined by Tracy Whelpley, director of regional impact for KC2026, and Laurie Pieper, assistant director for Global Resources in International Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce — shared steps they’re taking to ensure their businesses are equipped to handle — and capitalize on — the projected 650,000 visitors from different cultures that will descend on Kansas City in June and July 2026.
Dulcinea Herrera, Café Corazón, center, speaks alongside Alan Kneeland, The Combine KC, and Tracy Whelpley, KC2026, during a GEWKC panel on World Cup preparations for small businesses; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
Among proactive steps businesses can take: produce QR codes for menus in multiple languages; offer limited-edition, touristy merchandise for sale; and get familiar with WhatsApp and Tripadvisor, two apps that are popular throughout the world, Herrera said.
Collaborating with other small businesses is also crucial, she noted.
“There’s going to be a lot going on, so there’s a lot of competition,” Herrera explained. “So if you gain collaboration with your neighbor, other businesses, you’re getting their followers and you’re making more noise together. You want to start doing that.”
Researching and training staff on cultural expectations is also important for success, she shared.
“People who are around the world, we have different ways of being,” she added. “And we have to be open to that. So something that might be deemed rude here isn’t deemed rude there.”
Alan Kneeland, The Combine KC, center, speaks during a panel conversation in the Planetarium at Union Station during GEWKC; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
Different tipping cultures remain top of mind for Kneeland, he noted.
“A big conversation that’s being had right now is, do we raise our prices?” Kneeland explained. “Do we charge [automatic] gratuity on every single order? Because at the end of the day, we want to make sure our staff is taken care of, and we want to make sure that everybody in our business benefits from this World Cup.”
“So you’ll start to see restaurants educating their patrons on how much they’re charging during that timeframe,” he added.
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Right now, Kneeland said, The Combine KC is also performing stress tests at the Troost Avenue restaurant by taking on bigger events to see what needs to change to accommodate an influx of large crowds and he is taking a look at his menu and making sure he has items that can cook quickly.
“I’m not looking to conform my menu to whatever teams come because I want to give them exactly what we do on an everyday basis,” he explained. “That’s what Kansas City should do. You should make sure that you’re doing what you do at a high level, but don’t change it up for whatever team is coming in here. People — just like us when we go out of town — want to experience that city. We want to taste that city.”
Kneeland also encouraged small businesses owners to join a group like the restaurant association or one of the local chambers of commerce for visibility.
“So your name or brand is out there a little bit more than what it usually is,” he said. “You want to be seen from the airport all the way to downtown.”
But while planning for these visitors from all over the world, Kneeland noted, it’s also important to remember the Kansas City neighbors who keep businesses afloat year-round.
“Not only plan for the out of towners, but plan for the people who are here in this city,” he explained. “We want to welcome these people to Kansas City, so make sure you plan for them as well. Don’t stay at home, don’t, you know, stay away from the festivities, but be a part of it, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime event.”
