Minority-Led Stories
French-Inspired Paris Baguette bakery sets timer for downtown KC opening; B&B shutters historic theater down the block
As one high-profile set of doors closes, another is expected to open by year’s end, the Power & Light District announced Monday, teasing the late-2026 arrival of a viral scratch bakery that already has kneaded its way into Johnson County with immediate word-of-mouth success. Paris Baguette, a global franchise-based bakery with more than 4,000 locations…
A blank slate for whimsy (and work): Elevator opens doors to KC co-warehousing concept
A new co-warehousing space in North Kansas City is providing entrepreneurs like LaToya Ebony Sirls a manufacturing-ready environment that supports production — features the surging small business owner can’t get in a typical co-working setup, she said. Elevator — launched in 2022 in Omaha, Nebraska — expanded into the Kansas City market late last year….
Kansas’ bracket-style pitch competition just revealed 32 startups vying for its $25K prize
An innovation-led startup tournament taking Kansas by storm is just built different, said Conor Adler, announcing the nearly three-dozen contenders featured in this spring’s competition. “One of the most inspiring facets of Gamechangers and Champions is seeing founders from rural Kansas standing alongside entrepreneurs from our largest cities,” said Adler, investment manager for Wichita-based NXTUS,…
Her family helped bring Argentine comfort food to KC’s masses; World Cup base camp kicks open new doors
As Kansas City prepares to become the FIFA World Cup base camp for four national teams — amid an expected influx of hundreds of thousands of fans from across the globe — Dulcinea Herrera is still reeling from news that Argentina’s roster will be among those calling the region home this summer. “We’re so excited. When…
Basketball helped him survive poverty; now Adeola Ajay is rooting for other children to rise in his home country
When school let out each day, young Adeola Ajayi didn’t get to go home or outside to play. Instead, he clocked in for a job he created for himself, selling seasonal produce with his brother by an African roadside so their family wouldn’t go hungry. “Survival was the daily priority,” Ajayi said of his upbringing…
