We believe the heart of our KC culture hangs in the balance. Small businesses, innovation and growth, the sense of community: these are things that make Kansas City what it is. We want to specifically draw attention to our local food & beverage vendors. Currently, many of these businesses have no way of attaining a simple permit to allow them to participate in KCMO pop-up events.

In fact, there is not even a permit offered by the Health Department to allow this sort of event. Businesses are making the decision to take their pop-ups beyond KCMO city limits in order to maintain their income and continue selling legally.

Pop-up events have become crucial to the KCMO small business community, and these events are in turn crucial for the community. They allow entrepreneurs to take a chance on their passions, they are the vehicle that drives new business relationships, and have often times been able to breathe life into areas that were previously underutilized.

Many metropolitan cities across the country have recognized this need such as Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit, Overland Park, etc.. We now need Kansas City to join this list, to support our small businesses, and our community. Failing to do so would only stifle our Kansas City culture and way of life.

We believe that Kansas City can set a powerful example of the resilience of small business in the wake of the pandemic, but we cannot do this alone and we cannot do this without your support.

We are calling the Kansas City Health Department and the Kansas City Councilmembers to come together and make the change that our city needs.