The road to North Kansas City used to lead to ... well, not much. But now you could say it's hopping now, thanks in part to the brewery that started it all.
"We're one of the first to open up a new business here in North Kansas City in a while," said Sarah Hearn, the operations manager at Cinder Block Brewery, which opened three years ago.
Since then, many other business sprouted up around it. Places like Chicken N Pickle, which is sort of like TopGolf for pickleball; Shock Treatment, which combines an escape room with a haunted house; and Restless Spirits Distilling Company all opened recently in a small area near 18th and Swift.
"We're well located right here in the middle of the metro," said Sara Copeland, North Kansas City's community development director. "It's easier to get to and there are lots of fun things going on, so all the things to do are attracting more people to start their projects here."
The latest NKC addition will open in the coming weeks. Called iWorks, it's a shared communal space or incubator for small businesses.
"These are for people who are either starting up a brand new business or they've grown and they're moving out of their basement or their garage," said Copeland.
City leaders say it's hard to measure NKC's growth because it's happening so fast, but they're hopeful sales tax revenue will increase in the coming years.
"I think that this will continue to snowball," said Copeland. "I think the next big thing for us in town will be new residences."
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Justin Wilfon can be reached at justin.wilfon@kshb.com.
