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Kansas City business owners who enrolled in a pre-World Cup readiness program say the preparation paid off.
The program, called KC Game Plan, was organized by KC2026 and offered seminars and consultations with businesses in the months leading up to the World Cup to help them prepare for the influx of tourists.
Racquel Rodriguez wanted to take the guessing out of her World Cup strategy.
She took her business, El Cafe Cubano, from a food truck to a permanent fixture inside Kansas City, Missouri, City Hall through a city-funded World Cup readiness program called Open Doors.
Her coffee was a hit when Dutch fans visited City Hall with their orange bus.
Rodriguez also used the KC Game Plan handbook as part of her preparation.
"Providing this kind of backbone to entrepreneurs like myself. We're so forever grateful for something like this," Rodriguez said.
KC Style Haus on the Plaza also signed up for KC Game Plan in October. Owner Deserae Minor said they've had a great June.
The owner said what prepared them best was speaking with other business owners and coming into the World Cup with a mindset of flexibility.
Not every business is seeing the same results. Jims Desauguste, owner of Black Garlic, noted that some visitors were unfamiliar with local customs.
"Not everybody knows about tips in general," Desauguste said.
Other business owners have faced uncertainty about decisions such as whether to include a tip line, keep the bar open until 5 a.m., and participate in vendor fairs.
Amy Reik, co-owner of Lottie and Lou, said the crowd did not match expectations.
"It's not this crowd we anticipated," Reik said shortly after the tournament began in mid-June.
Rodriguez said she is thankful for the work she put in before the World Cup began.
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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