Part-Time To Pizzeria

Events

Weekend Roundup

Happy Friday! The Weekend Roundup is a recurring segment where we’ll keep you informed on what events are going on around KC this weekend.

• Party On The Lawn: The Nelson-Atkins and KC Parks and Rec are throwing a huge lawn party Sunday from 4 pm to 8 pm.

• Third Fridays: Kansas City shows its fondness for odd-numbered Fridays by throwing 3rd Fridays (think First Fridays) on West 39th Street.

• KC Fashion Week: Check out the local boutiques and jewelers hosting events all weekend to celebrate KC Fashion Week. View the schedule here.

• Singles Welcome: J. Reiger is hosting a Single Mingle with Bingo tomorrow from 7 pm to 9 pm.

• Fourth Fridays in Lees Summit: Seeing a theme? LS will host a Fourth Fridays Art Walk next weekend from 5-8 pm.

• Christmas in July Party:  Tropical Santas will rock the block in downtown OP Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. DJ, food trucks, and more!

If you do participate in any of these events, feel free to tag our Instagram. Either way, have a great weekend, KC!

Events

Part-Time To Pizzeria

Fortunati, a pizzeria that started as a fun once-a-week event for a West Bottoms dive bar, is now opening its own location just two doors down from its original home.

• Pandemic Pizza: Justin Norcross, the co-owner of Lucky Boys bar in the West Bottoms, started making pizza as a hobby during the Pandemic, but when he added it to the Lucky Boys menu on Tuesdays and Thursdays, demand for his NY-ish style pizza exploded.

• Kneading More Dough: When the pizza nights became so popular that the Lucy Boys’ kitchen couldn’t keep up, it became apparent that the next step was to open a stand-alone pizzeria. Ironically, Fortunati is a mere two doors down from Lucky Boys.

• The Pizza: Norcross specializes in creating a hybrid of NY-style and Neapolitan pizza with a thin crust loaded with lots of proteins and less classic ingredients like jalapenos and vodka sauce.

You can visit Fortunati from 11 am to 10 pm Wednesday through Saturday at 1623 Genessee in the West Bottoms.

Development

Community Changing Groceries

A new grocery store is opening in Kansas City that may upend the industry by focusing on extremely fresh produce and cutting back on food waste.

• Community Groceries: Community Groceries is a grocery store that will feature only food sourced locally. With an emphasis on not buying bulk, you can simply walk in and grab exactly the amount of local produce that your family needs without worrying about spoilage.

• A Healthier Life: Partnering with local farmers to provide healthier produce, Community Groceries also passes on as much education as they can about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, starting with your food and including other aspects of life as well.

• Walk-In, Walk-Out: One cool feature they offer is the ability to simply keep a card on file, walk in to grab whatever you need, and walk out being charged for only what you purchased. You can either scan in with your card or simply let the palm reader identify you that way.

Community Groceries hopes to have a soft opening in August for their location at 3501 Troost Avenue. You can visit their test location at 640 East 18th Street in KC every day except Sunday.

Community

Rebuild KC Grants Almost Due

Rebuild KC, a government program administered by the Neighborhood Services Department geared towards giving grants to help citizens improve the city around them finishes accepting grants today.

• Rebuild KC: Rebuild KC is a reimbursable grant funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) that specializes in rebuilding neighborhoods through projects like Housing improvements, infrastructure projects, job creation, violence prevention, energy sustainability/efficiency programs, and activities that promote healthy communities.

• How Much Is Up For Grabs?: Grants can be awarded for projects of up to $1,000,000. All you need to do is to submit a detailed budget of expected expenses and be able to enter into a contract with the city.

• There’s Still Time: If you have an idea for a project that would benefit your neighborhood and make Kansas City a more beautiful, vibrant place- you can still submit an application until 5 pm today.

Grants are expected to be awarded by City Council at the end of August. Grantees will then meet with the Neighborhood Services Department for project review. You can read more about the requirements on their website.

KC Daily Picks

In Other News

• ☕Networking, But Caffeinated: Front Range in Waldo is hosting a networking event for locals.

• ✈️Airport Art: Two art installations in the recently-opened KCI won awards for design and architecture.

• 🔥Fire Proof: After a fire shut down OP’s location of Unforked last year, they are making a comeback.

• 🚉Progress > Perfection: It’s reported that the streetcar repairs have made significant progress as local pedestrians wait on bated breath.

• 📺Mahomes #1 Again: Netflix’s show ‘Quarterback’ featuring Patrick Mahomes is not only #1 on the site, but has already been picked up for season 2.