Friday rain didn’t keep the Churchill’s from celebrating their sixth anniversary in City Market.
“We love the atmosphere,” Wendy Churchill said. “We love the people and it's just a great place to experience new food and get some fresh vegetables and pick up some things at the China Market, so a good time.”
Leaders say one of the reasons they’ve seen so much growth lately is the street car addition passing through the River Market District.
“We've had a real significant increase over the past year in terms of attendance,” City Market Director of Marketing & Events, Sue Patterson said. “We also have a lot of residential projects in the neighborhood that are being built, in the works, and have been completed and that's contributing a lot to our activity.”
To meet the needs of the growing community, shops and restaurants will now be open later.
“We're really excited about that because locals can now enjoy shopping and restaurants later on weekdays,” Patterson said. “The minimum set of hours goes until 6:00 for retail shops and then for restaurants at least until 8:00, some of them are even later.”
Hawthorne 109 just opened its doors this month.
“We love the local appeal. We love the market feeling,” Owner Robin Luther said. “We love the community. People have really embraced us just in the few short weeks that we've been here.”
Local restaurants, like Taste of Brazil say these extended hours will allow them to make more of what they love for the people of KC.
“It's fun to share with the community you know,” Co-owner, Cristian Maciel said. “Mark and I, we couldn't keep our minds away from City Market. We wanted to be here because we saw the growth, the potential and the growth around City Market as well.”
The Bite, located right next door, has been open for three years. Owner Carlos Mortera said he’s seen quite the change through the years.
“I knew that we were going to have a rough first year, but once the street car came up, boom, and we haven't stopped since it started,” Mortera said. “It has helped a lot. It has brought more night activity here -- which before it was a ghost town in City Market.”
Operating hours vary for each business, however each will stay open longer on weekdays.
Restaurants:
Tuesday – Saturday: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Breakfast and Coffee Shops:
Tuesday – Saturday: 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday: 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Retail Shops:
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
City Market said more evening events and entertainment will also be in the works this summer:
June - August Wednesday Market: weekly from 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Free live local music: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. on final Thursdays of June, July and August.
Monthly cooking classes: May, June and July.
Monthly BBQs in City Market Park: 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. May through September.
