KSHB 41 News anchor Rae Daniel covers stories across Kansas City with a focus on community groups and highlighting fun things to do on the weekends. Share your idea with Rae by email.
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Flipping through the pages of Kansas City G.I.F.T.'s creation of black and yellow passports, you'll find 30 different black owned restaurants, art venues, coffee shops and more.
"People kept asking us, 'who are the black owned businesses,' basically," Kansas City G.I.F.T. co-founder and CEO, Brandon Calloway said. "This is another way we can leverage our resources, to help grow the revenue of these Black owned businesses by helping to drive traffic to them."
Calloway says these passports are a way to highlight the organization's mission.
"We're trying to increase spending and dollars in black owned businesses in Kansas City, so that they can grow their business, hire more people, and close that racial wealth gap," Calloway said.
"There's a lot of places in the passports that I've seen that I didn't know anything about, but I think it's helpful for a lot of different people," Urban Cafe chef and co-owner, Justin Clark said. "People that want to support or want to try something different and those passports give them that and somewhat of awareness too."
Urban Cafe on Troost Ave. is one of the restaurants listed in the passports.
"I put something here on Troost that's needed, and people are coming, so that's good," Clark said.
It was a busy Sunday afternoon at the restaurant.
"It lets me know I'm doing something right, I ain't crazy," Clark said. "Cause you gotta be crazy to open up a restaurant. You gotta be nuts!"
I asked Clark what he recommended on the menu.
"I recommend everything! You don't want to ask me that," Clark said.
He mentioned it depends on the time of day for which dishes are the most popular.
"Our shrimp and grits is popular day and night," Clark said.
Inside the passports, there is a notes section, recommendations, thoughts section, standout moments, favorite items, a brief description of the business/restaurant and their social media. Calloway says it's a simple way the community can easily find local spots, without the hassle.
"It has been made easy for them to be able to go around and support black owned businesses in a way that is fun for them," Calloway said.
The passports are free to anyone who wants one. You can pick them up at the Kansas City G.I.F.T. office at 5008 Prospect Ave., Kansas City, Missouri, 64130.
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