Country Club Plaza’s new Black-owned retail shop greeted with ‘overwhelming’ support
Tynesha Matches knew the Country Club Plaza was the place to launch her first retail store.
She has long shopped the iconic district with her family and worked at an ice cream shop there during high school.
Her Matches Boutique collective opened Oct. 1.
“I was just looking for the foot traffic,” she said. “But a lot of people come in wishing me success and the support was overwhelming at first. I’m starting to understand the significance of being the first Black retailer on the Country Club Plaza.”
Matches, who works in purchasing for the post office, started Matches Boutique online in 2017. This summer she expanded with pop-ups to keep overhead low. Now she has a one-year lease for the Plaza spot at 320 Nichols Road. MAC Cosmetics closed in the space in July.
Matches Boutique carries just a few pieces in each style.
“I want the customer to feel exclusive and it also creates a frenzy for people to buy it now,” she said.
Currently the store has such items as skirts made entirely of zippers, distressed jeans with fringe on the sides, see-through vinyl jackets, and shaggy-knit knee-length cardigans.
The three other retailers in the collective are:
▪ Kilarndkistylesss. Kierra Johnson and Micheala Nixon are stylists and sell vintage T-shirts.
▪ Rhelease Lingerie & Shapewear. Rheana McRoy is the owner.
▪ Privilege Shoes. Matches’ mother, LaTysha Temple, sells “creative footwear.”
The Plaza’s owners couldn’t confirm that Matches Boutique was the first Black-owned retail shop.
In a statement, the Plaza’s general manager Kasey Vena said: “Taubman does not collect information related to race or ethnicity during lease transactions. Many businesses have a complex structure or multiple owners, and even if this information was collected, it would be proprietary unless the tenant chose to share the information or identify in a specific manner.”
A Black-owned retail shop on the Plaza could not be found in a search of The Kansas City Star archives.
However, a Black-owned apparel and accessories retailer, Cherry Co., recently opened a section in Made in KC Marketplace on the Plaza.
Vena said, “We continue to introduce great new brands to our customers, which helps the Plaza remain the market-dominant shopping, dining and entertainment destination.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.