Visitors to some Kansas City restaurants will soon be able to eat on improved patios. The city awarded $200,000 to 20 restaurants to improve their outdoor dining spaces.
Grant winners received up to $15,000, depending on the scope of their project. The Outdoor Dining Enhancement Grants come out of the Convention and Tourism Fund.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said the idea for the grant came from pandemic outdoor dining, which boosted restaurants during indoor capacity caps. City officials hope the grant will bring more customers to restaurants and grow the city’s dining scene.
“Our goal is to fund projects that help businesses not just get more support year-round, but to also say thank you,” Lucas said at a press conference for the grants. “They are the backbone of our small business community and, largely, our business community in Kansas City.”
Italian restaurant Cupini’s in Westport expanded its outdoor dining area in 2022. The restaurant plans to use its grant to add heat, fans and fire pits.
The grant requires restaurants to be up to date on all their permits and licenses and to use the funds to increase the total number of tables for outdoor dining. The restaurants also must have previously worked with the city’s Public Works Department for outdoor dining.
Cindy Romo owns Tacos El Gallo, which currently has a small patio with a few tables outside the Westside restaurant. She says the grant will allow her to put a roof over the patio and add heating and cooling.
Romo said she hopes the improvements will attract more people to her restaurant, especially during the World Cup.
“Any business I can get to my shop will also affect and help promote the businesses that are right next to me,” Romo said. “I'm very thankful that Southwest Boulevard got this grant. (People) can come see me, and then they can stop and see the other shops that are on the boulevard.”
Ev Mathurin owns Vye Cocktail Lounge, which opened in the Crossroads this June. He said the bar was busiest in the summer when customers could spend time on its rooftop. He plans to weatherize the rooftop bar so it’s available in the winter.
“I’m excited to see what the future brings,” Mathurin said. “Business has slowed down, obviously, due to the wintertime in Kansas City. We’ve been keeping steady but this will help us continue to grow.”
The city will monitor the patio expansions over time and plans to follow up with the restaurants about how the implementation went. The restaurants will likely receive the money in January, after the full city council approves the grants.
Kansas City Councilmember Wes Rogers co-sponsored the grant ordinance with Lucas, and it passed in May. Rogers, who is chair of the small business task force, said the city may consider lowering permit fees and expediting its process to make things easier for small business owners.
“There's an enormous appetite in the small business community in Kansas City for outdoor dining,” Rogers said. “We saw that in the pandemic, we're going to see more of that in the World Cup next year. I think we're just getting started.”
The other grant recipients are:
- Blip Roasters
- Browne’s Irish Marketplace
- Buffalo State Pizza Co.
- Café Ollama
- DoubleTap KC
- Grand Street Café
- Grinders
- Kobi-Q
- Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop (Crossroads location)
- Nick and Nino’s Pub
- Novel
- Oddly Correct
- OurHouseKC
- PH Coffee
- The Brick
- The Combine
- Urban on Armour & Troost
