KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abundis covers Kansas City, Missouri, including neighborhoods in the southern part of the city. She also focuses on issues regarding scams. Share your story idea with Megan.
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Davis Roethler doesn't just clean windows — he tells the stories behind them.
Roethler, the owner of Window Wolf, has been approaching small businesses in the Kansas City area, offering to clean their windows for free and then interviewing the owners on camera.
The videos shared on social media have helped businesses reach thousands of viewers, and in some cases, sell out of inventory entirely.
"It's a window into their store, their story, their life," Roethler said.
The idea grew from a simple connection. Roethler stumbled upon two restaurants in Grandview and asked to clean their windows — what followed surprised even the business owners.
For Gerald Dunn, pitmaster at Dunn Deal BBQ, the offer was easy to accept.
"For free? Free is good," Dunn said. "Little did I know I was in for a treat."
The results were immediate. After Roethler posted his video featuring Dunn, the response was significant.
"Wow, this social media thing is where it's at," Dunn said. "This has really impacted me in a big way — it helped me understand that anything is possible if you work together."
Mary Kay Bader, owner of Simply Grand, described a similar experience after Roethler visited her business for breakfast and cleaned the windows.
"Within 30 minutes of the video being posted, I had a few people that had come in and said, 'Oh my gosh, I just saw you on Instagram,'" Bader said. "On Friday when I opened, there was a line at the door at 11:30 a.m."
Bader said she prepared extra inventory in anticipation of the response.
"I had triple prepped," Bader said.
It was not enough.
"Within two hours, I was sold out, completely sold out," Bader said.
For Bader, the videos did more than drive foot traffic — they gave her customers a deeper look at who she is.
"I don't talk very much about myself, so getting it out, even some of my regulars were like, 'I had no idea any of that about you,'" Bader said. "It becomes everything for a small business owner who is struggling."
Roethler said the personal element is exactly the point.
"Every video I do, I want someone to walk away and learn something from it — something about the owner, something about what they sell. To me, that's way more interesting than watching me clean a window," Roethler said.
"I feel like I'm giving them that opportunity to really shine," Roethler continued. "I pride myself in it being as good as possible because maybe that's their only shot at reaching a customer. If we want to be a local business, we need to have a connection with the people of Kansas City."
Dunn said the experience changed his perspective on collaboration.
"Working together and finding each other's strengths," Dunn said. "Definitely say yes to a window wash for sure."
Roethler also starts GoFundMe campaigns for businesses, raising thousands of dollars. While he does not charge small businesses for his services, he does charge commercial buildings to keep his work funded.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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