Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Keith Bradley is co-owner of Made in KC, a brick-and-mortar and online retailer of locally made goods with neighborhood, marketplace and cafe locations downtown, on the Country Club Plaza, in Lee’s Summit, Lenexa, and across the metro.
“We do not love Kansas City because it is great. Kansas City is great because we love it.”
This is a quote I’ve borrowed and reworked from the British author and theologian G.K. Chesterton who once said, “Men did not love Rome because she was great. She was great because they had loved her.”
Keith Bradley, Made in KC
When I first read this, it struck me how much this resonated with my love for Kansas City. By many, maybe most metrics, Kansas City is a middle of the pack American city. But yet when you talk to those who live here, or have visited, they don’t talk about it like it’s middle of the pack. They talk about it like it is … well, great!
What makes our city so great? I believe it is because we love it. How does someone express their love for a city? Is it by the T-shirts they wear or the bumper stickers on their car? Through showing up hours and hours at the stadium before a sporting event begins? I believe one of the primary ways we show our love for Kansas City is by showing up for and supporting small businesses.
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Small businesses are what make a city unique and special.
Think of the last time you ventured outside of Kansas City. Maybe you went to Chicago, New York, L.A., or … St. Louis. Most likely if you spent some time there, when you returned home, you were most excited to share with your family, friends or co-workers about the great little restaurant you went to, or the local cafe you stumbled across or the cute boutique or indie bookstore. You likely weren’t raving about how great the service was at the Chicago Chili’s or Outback Steakhouse, or Starbucks. What made your trip special, different, unique, enjoyable was more than likely a small business.
This year at Made in KC, we’ve been celebrating 10 years in business. We started as small 300 square foot store, back in the spring of 2015, carrying the work of 15 Kansas City artists, makers, and designers. Today we have 11 retail locations, 12 if you count the store at the airport, and carry the work of over 250 other great Kansas City small businesses. This growth is not due to the entrepreneurial or retail prowess of the three of us owners, who prior to starting Made in KC had a combined retail experience of three weeks at Williams-Sonoma, one summer at a restaurant, and zero business ownership experience.
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No, the growth and success of Made in KC has everything to do with Kansas Citians like you and me, understanding and believing in the importance of small businesses in a community. That when dollars are spent in locally owned and operated businesses, a higher percentage stays local, rather than leaves the economy. That when they get excited to show off Kansas City to their out of town friends, relatives, and colleagues they are talking about and taking them to small businesses; restaurants, cafes, stores, that are locally owned and operated, and that represent their city to the fullest.
That is why we love Kansas City, and that is why Kansas City is great. So on behalf of my business partners, and the 250 plus small businesses carried at Made in KC, we say thank you for showing up, for shopping local, for making Kansas City great this holiday season and for many more to come.
Keith Bradley is co-owner of Made in KC.
