Joyce Smith

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.

Marwan Chebaro is no stranger to 39th Street's restaurant row. With a new space at Park 39 in midtown, Chebaro set a June opening for a new concept named after his daughter Nour. The restaurant has a small shrine to her in its corner, and encourages patrons to bring in mementos of their own loved ones.

Tennille Lampe grew up in St. Louis, and started baking as a side hustle in Kansas City. After a few years of pop-ups gained her a following, she opened Oh My Gooey as its own shop in the Northland.

Holy Brunch KC, which began as a food truck before ending up in Westport, is now scheduled to expand this summer into the Westport Ale House building. The pub closed in 2024, two years after a deadly shooting.

The first Betty Rae's franchise opened in Omaha, Nebraska, in September. The ice cream brand's Kansas City-based ownership wants to see it expand to Arkansas, Tennessee and Colorado, as well.