Restaurants filling KC stores for World Cup see big opportunity — and challenges

James Thomas had a dream of one day opening his own daiquiri shop, serving the refreshing rum cocktails to celebratory Kansas Citians. But opening a business in a storefront, he said, felt too risky.

So he put his business idea into a mobile truck, one that allows him to move across the state line from event to event. Since opening four years ago, Brain Freeze Daiquiri has popped up at food festivals in Topeka and markets in Lawrence to charity events hosted by Travis Kelce.

Business is good, and, in a lot of ways, easier in a mobile truck. So Thomas put a pin in the idea of having his own brick-and-mortar space.

That is, until city leaders announced an initiative that would get business owners into Kansas City’s empty storefronts. For Thomas, it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“I knew it would be the one chance to shine my business in a brick-and-mortar location, but also see what it’s like to have a brick-and-mortar location and how a true bar is operated,” Thomas said.

After applying last year, Thomas became one of 22 business owners accepted into the pilot program of Open Doors. Being chosen got him a restaurant space for six months, a $10,000 grant and 60% of his rent subsidized.

The city’s BizCare office, in partnership with the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, made a splashy announcement earlier this month that unveiled a mix of artists, retail business owners and restaurant operators as the first class of participants in this inaugural program.

Open Doors aimed to match each business with a landlord to prop up a business in a vacant space, at least temporarily during the FIFA World Cup. Business operators entered into six-month lease agreements with their landlords, had at least 80% of their rent subsidized and received a grant of up to $10,000 to open, according to an email from the city’s neighborhood services department.

Each business should be open during the World Cup, so most will have lease cycles that run from June to November. It’s a pilot program, too, one the city hopes to glean its successes and failures and possibly turn into a permanent economic development tool for small businesses, similar to programs that exist in Seattle and San Francisco. But in an email, the city was clear: It would take additional funding — like the $1.4 million in economic development funds and more in grants for this trial period — to carry on.

Even more clear: There is no guarantee that these businesses stay in their new spaces. After the city is done subsidizing their rent, it’ll be up to the landlord and business on whether to extend the lease and how much rent should be.

For the restaurant operators, like Thomas, they hope this program results in a new permanent home for their concepts. But it’s a risky bet for owners of food businesses, one of the most challenging small businesses to run. To make it work, Open Doors’ restaurant operators said they’re pouring in a good chunk of their own money, often more than the grant they received.

“There’s a lot of pressure on us to make sure we’re at the scale of other businesses, but also keep in mind that you don’t have the same long-term luxury that other businesses have to stay and finetune things,” Thomas said.

Open Doors hiccups

Thomas was one of only a few to get a standalone former restaurant, the former Barrio Taqueria space. It will be one concept called Daiquiri District, but Thomas is getting help from Steven Blakley, who’s bringing burgers and menu items from District Biskuits and Howlin’ Fowls so that there’s food service.

The space is about 3,000 square feet, and even though it used to be a restaurant, the kitchen needed new equipment like fridges and sinks. The space also came with two bars, one inside and one on the rooftop. Whatever equipment and bar stock Thomas had to purchase, he had to purchase it twice.

One daiquiri machine cost him $7,000.

None of that includes the cost of aesthetics — a fresh coat of paint, light fixtures and menus — as well as product.

Luckily Thomas, who’s eyeing an opening date of June 11, hasn’t run into any major building issues. That was not the case for Racquel Rodriguez, owner of El Cafe Cubano, a Cuban coffee business that has primarily operated as a mobile pop-up like Thomas’ daiquiri truck.

Her Open Doors move-in task was smaller, as she began operating a kiosk out of City Hall on June 1. Still the space they moved her to had electrical issues, which needed to be fixed so her staff could operate coffee machinery.

“We have quite the amps coming in for espresso machines,” Rodriguez said. “Where we were delegated to go (in City Hall) … it didn’t have any power.”

When the issue arose, Rodriguez said the EDC was able to cut a check for $10,000. That’s a sigh of relief, she said, because her equipment, set up, labor costs and product was going to also cost her much more than she got from the program, also a $10,000 grant.

And in some cases, finding a suitable building fit for a food concept almost shut participants out of the program, like Erica Muñoz, born and raised in Kansas City but who now owns New York-based Madrina Vegana.

Looking to franchise her vegan taqueria food truck business and get into brick-and-mortar spaces, she saw Open Doors as an opportunity to move into a more traditional restaurant space and bring her concept to her hometown. She also received a $10,000 grant, and 80% of her rent will be subsidized.

It took her several months to find a space to land her vegan taqueria kiosk — one that was already fit for a restaurant — then even more time just to get into the Crossroads spot. She wasn’t handed the keys until mid-May, less than a month from when she opens the week of June 8.

The operators who spoke to The Star all got their keys around the same time in May, with an expectation that they open before June 16, the first World Cup game to take place in Kansas City, Muñoz said.

“Three weeks to be open from nothing to greatness is a serious crunch time,” Thomas said.

A few vendors, like Muñoz and Thomas, have also felt the usual pains of jumping through licensing and permitting hoops — processes that can take months for restaurant operators — all while trying to build out a restaurant in less than a month. Muñoz is still waiting to get an inspection from the city’s health department, the green light she needs to officially serve food to the public.

Thomas is used to dealing with the pesky processes of liquor licensing in multiple Kansas City-area municipalities. But it’s the building permits and licensing that were his biggest hurdles when coming into the former Barrio space, a system he could have used some guidance from the city — or more time to figure it out.

An opportunity worth the risk

Despite the hiccups, the benefits weigh heavier for these operators.

Thomas was ultimately paired with an operator outside of the Open Doors program through his landlord. Blakely, who also ran his own concepts before like Sauced, has helped Thomas with those permitting troubles. He said he also feels like city departments have moved more quickly to get Open Doors operators their approved permits.

Muñoz, who’s also busy running her business in New York, said Open Doors has helped tremendously with visibility and publicity.

When smaller spaces quickly became unavailable for Open Doors operators, it was the city that came through for LaRonda LaNear in providing her a space for her third location of Safi Fresh.

The healthy fast-casual concept is coming to a part of the Revive the Vine redevelopment the first week of June, in a space with an outfitted kitchen space that used to be part of the Soirée Steak & Seafood House. She felt lucky that the only unexpected expense was a kitchen hood cleaning service, in addition to furnishing the space and paying for plumbing.

The Vine Street spot is a 6,600-square-foot space shared with another Open Doors participant Cupcakin, which will operate as a bar called Haus 1512. The two business owners would love to find three more vendors to operate in the space with them as a food hall.

“I’m big on seeing opportunity,” said LaNear. “I understand that the World Cup is one of the biggest sports events in the world, and I know that my business will be able to be recognized on a global level.”

And there’s already one potential success story to come out of this: Rodriguez of El Cafe Cubano is already in talks with City Hall to extend her kiosk’s stay there.

“Within three to five years, our goal was to have some sort of walk-in space,” Rodriguez said. “Open Doors gave me the courage to do it (now) — your entire city is backing you.”