Wyandotte County

In the Dotte dispatch: Reopening of KCK grocery store gets green light

The Merc Co+op is shutting down in Kansas City, Kansas.
The Merc Co+op is shutting down in Kansas City, Kansas. jthompson@kcstar.com

Editor’s note: The following is from this week’s In the Dotte newsletter, published weekly on Tuesdays. You can sign up here to get them delivered to your inbox.

Hello, Wyandotte County!

Plenty of us who spend most of our weeks in downtown KCK have felt the effects of the Merc Co+op grocery store’s closure.

But one KC-area man said he’s on a mission to solve KCK’s downtown food desert.

I’m Sofi Zeman, your guide through all things KCK. Let’s get to it.

Anthony Estrada, who has worked at, managed and consulted on grocery stores throughout his life, has plans to open a new grocery store, named United Market, where the Merc formerly operated.

Estrada, who has local ties to KCK, is also behind the reopening of a grocery store in place of a former Sun Fresh Market off KCMO’s Prospect Avenue. That store is scheduled to open in mid-May, he told me.

In KCK, he envisions a full-service store, with an expanded bakery, meat and produce selections.

And, he said he’s selling food and goods at prices people in the neighborhood can actually afford. Here’s how he hopes to restore food access in downtown KCK.

Enjoying this newsletter? Share it with a friend. If it was forwarded to you, sign up here.

And, if you have questions about Wyandotte County or a tip about what else I should look into, please email me at szeman@kcstar.com

Development in the Dotte

🌉 The Rock Island Bridge connects KCK to the West Bottoms — but it’s only accessible from the Missouri side. Here’s when the west side crossing will be open.

Sofi’s selects

⚖️ A KCK state senator and BPU board member wants the local government’s insurance fraud lawsuit against him, dropped.

🍼 The University of Kansas Hospital will soon close its pediatric intensive care unit at its KCK location, the hospital confirmed to my colleague Kendrick Calfee.

Save the date

🍎 Learn how to tap into local services during this Thursday’s Senior Resource Fair in Midtown KCK. It’ll be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Eisenhower Community Center, 2901 N. 72nd St.

Thank you for reading. See ya back here next week!

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Sofi Zeman
The Kansas City Star
Sofi Zeman covers Wyandotte County for The Kansas City Star. Zeman joined The Star in April 2025. She graduated with a degree in journalism at the University of Missouri at Columbia in 2023 and most recently reported on education and law enforcement in Uvalde, Texas. 
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