Youth Stories

Trio adds Asian fusion to KCK culinary cluster; new BYO ramen, poke spot opens by May

This little strip in Kansas City, Kansas, boasts some of the metro’s favorite restaurants: Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, 1889 Pizza Napoletana, and Gus’s World Famous Chicken.  Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop is just down the street in Westwood. Now an Asian fusion restaurant is joining the mix. Sannin — poke, sushi and ramen — plans to…

How a toy car can recapture a moment (and put a little cash in this student’s pocket)

Collecting toys is in Andrew Bates’ blood, the UMKC senior said — and now it’s in his wallet. A supply chain management student at the university, Bates was exposed to the hunt for nostalgia early, he said; his father was snagging Hot Wheels for him before Bates was born. “I was (slow) to embrace it,” the…

Why keep Betty Rae’s from the world? KC ice cream shop franchising brand across region

Matt Shatto wants to “create smiles across the country” — not just in the metro. His plan: scoop a pint of franchising into the handcrafted mix for Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, a shop that developed into multiple must-visit Kansas City destinations over nearly a decade. Betty Rae’s is now targeting seven cities in the region…

ProX calls on KC employers to help plant seeds; 1,700 student interns await program’s summer sunlight

For the fourth consecutive summer, ProX — one of the largest paid internship programs in the country — is giving Kansas City-area employers the opportunity to invest in the region’s future talent, Solissa Franco-McKay shared. The collaborative ProX effort pairs Kansas City students — from both sides of the state line — with area employers…

Rooftop Austin’s Bar & Grill just one step in unlocking Olathe’s ‘downtown renaissance’

A century-old building in downtown Olathe will get new life as an indoor/outdoor restaurant complex known as County Square Commons — anchored by the popular Austin’s Bar & Grill. LANE4 Property Group and Austin’s are redeveloping the 10,859-square-foot building, which is expected to feature four or five storefronts on the street level at 114 to 126…