Joyce Smith

Pop star Taylor Swift was spotted during the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC Championship run in 2024 wearing an EB and Co. piece. The exposure helped the Kansas City brand rapidly expand.

After surviving cancer, Kansas City restauranteur Shawn McClenny is opening Lilico's Taverna in the former home of The Pairing. The Spanish-inspired cafe will specialize in sangria, charcuterie boards, caviar, and an array of imported tins of seafood.

At Ding Dong Dogs just west of UMKC, you can get The Roo-Up Dog, a jumbo dog topped with pulled pork, pickled red onion, sport peppers and barbecue mustard. Or bite into The Big Salvy, the same jumbo wiener smothered with caramelized onion, giardiniera, tots and mustard.

Taste of Brazil Express, a quick-serve kiosk with a limited menu, plans a late September opening in the food court of Oak Park Mall. It will serve fan-favorite snacks like coxinhas, acai bowls and cheese bread.

After Kansas City native Brett Janssen met his fiancé Genisis Mejia in Colombia, the couple bought a 50-acre farm in the Andes Mountains. Now Janssen will make the 2,700-mile journey bringing coffee beans back to Janssen's Place Coffee, which opens in October.

The food hall, just up the hill from the Plaza, is set to open Monday in the Cascade Hotel, 4600 Wornall Rd. Plaza Provisions takes the place of the Strang Chef Collective, which closed in December after just a year.

Silvia Miguel started Pan Caliente in 2012, making alfajores, empanadas and other baked goods from her native Patagonia. After leaving her teaching job to focus on the business full-tmie, she now sells at cafes across the Kansas City metro.

Wendell Hooks Jr., spent 10 years catering parties and tailgates with his brisket, pulled pork and wings. His new brick-and-mortar restaurant, Off the Hook BBQ, opened this month in Gladstone — and almost immediately sold out.

Cosmo Burger XR has a grand opening slated for July 7-11. The smash burger joint first launched in October 2020 out of a tiny kitchen in a Waldo bar, and is now joining a vibrant restaurant scene in the Crossroads.

Chef Jonathan Justus and his wife Camille Eklof were widely known for their Smithville eatery, which won national acclaim. For the last few years, they've been hosting intimate pop-up dinners and consulting while dreaming up their next Kansas City restaurant.