A great way to celebrate Black History Month is to shop local and support Black business owners. Historically, Black business owners have faced systemic oppression and obstacles. They deserve our support every day and play a vital role in the local community. There are lots of great restaurants and small businesses in the Liberty and Kansas City area that offer a variety of products to locals. By shopping at Black-owned businesses this month, you might just find your new favorite stores.

Ruby Jean’s Juicery

Ruby Jean’s Juicery was created with a passion for health and longevity. They serve healthy beverages and snacks in a relaxing and inclusive environment. On the menu, they have handcrafted juice, smoothies, performance shakes and made-to-order lunch and breakfast items. You can visit the website here. 

Wingz & More Liberty

Wingz & More is located in the historic Liberty Square. They serve wings, burgers, fish and more. They have a variety of menu items and dessert items. You can visit the website here.

Soirée Steak & Oyster House 

Soirée serves Southern-inspired, handcrafted cuisine such as oysters, steaks and cocktails. It is located in the 18th & Vine District and features live jazz music on Sunday nights. You can find the website here.

Jones BBQ

Famously featured on the Netflix show Queer Eye, Jones BBQ serves delicious barbecued food from homemade sausages to entire racks of ribs. Jones BBQ has been featured in The Wallstreet Journal, Refinery29 and Woman’s Day. The founders, Deborah “Little” and Mary “Shorty” Jones, are important business figures in the Kansas City area. You can visit the website here.

Kaleidoscoops Ice Cream

Kaleidoscoops Ice Cream serves waffle bowls and homemade ice cream flavors in Kansas City. Their mission is to provide an enjoyable experience to the community through the different flavors of life. You can find the website here. 

The Blue Room

The Blue Room is a local jazz venue where you can enjoy music in the 18th & Vine District. It provides a platform for the best local and national jazz talent in an intimate environment. You can visit the website here.

Bliss Books & Wine KC

Bliss Books & Wine KC is a local bookstore for wine enthusiasts. Their mission is to provide an environment for enjoying wine, books, and conversation. Due to COVID-19 they are currently only based online but have a storefront coming soon in 2022. You can visit the website here.

Soul Rebels Jewelry

Lashon Mack is the local artist and jewelry designer behind the Soul Rebels Jewelry. They make various bead, stone, wire and leather jewelry for men and women with an Afrocentric vibe. The beautiful jewelry has been worn by many celebrities. You can visit the website here.

Calming Canvas

Calming Canvas specializes in private art parties and the owner, Nikita, is a self-taught visual artist from Kansas City. There are lots of party options for a girls night in, couples night, team building, and kids’ parties. You can visit the website here.

Harvest Moon Women’s Collective

Harvest Moon Women’s Collective is a holistic self-care shop that offers a wide selection of all-natural, non-toxic body products and services. Within the collective, there are over 10 different artisans and service providers. They sell handmade products including loose herbs, body oils and tinctures. You can visit the website here.

Verdant

128 W 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108

Tucked into a row of shops in the Kansas City Crossroads district is a small botanical gift shop that sells flowers, plants, ceramics and gifts. Verdant opened in the fall of 2020 and is quickly becoming one of my favorite small businesses. 

Verdant was first conceptualized in 2018 by Chantell Shannon, the owner and designer of Convivial – a design and manufacturing company that creates ceramics wares for the home, table and garden. Connvival’s deliberate, ethical and beautiful concept is extended seamlessly into Verdant’s mission of thoughtfulness and gifting.  

As I write this, the plants that I’ve purchased from Verdant are sitting on my windowsill making my room look like an oasis. My candle – also purchased at Verdant – is making the space smell like heaven, if heaven smelled like teakwood and clove. Every time I step into Verdant, I am inevitably compelled to buy a candle, a plant or bouquet of flowers in the hopes of bringing a piece of the calm and beautiful space home for me or for a friend.

As a college student, I don’t really have an excess of money to spend, but luckily for me, Verdant has a wonderful selection of affordable and gorgeous plants. 

Jackie Bartholome, the shop manager at Verdant, explains that Verdant is very intentional with pricing. 

“We have items ranging from $3.50 to $100. We want our plants, flowers and gifts to be accessible to everyone while also offering something special for those who want to spend a little extra on themselves or their loved ones,” said Bartholome.

Many of these plants are also very simple to care for. In addition to the lovely staff members who are always very helpful, Verdant has an easily accessible care guide for all of their plants.

I bought a Bowstring Hemp Snake plant over two months ago and have been following the instructions on the website and – as far as I can tell – my plant is alive and well. If I am not careful, this shop is going to convince me that I have a green thumb, which may be dangerous territory. 

The botanical gift shop is located in the space that used to be YJ’s Snack Bar – a once beloved Kansas City classic. While the space has been transformed, Verdant has kept certain features as a tribute to YJ’s. 

“We cleaned up the green wall that bore witness to all of YJ’s years here and we restored the old benches to offer a place for guests to sit down, hang out and write a letter to a friend in one of our cards,” said Bartholome. 

Shannon and her husband, Stephan, regularly frequented YJ’s and loved its warmth and homey atmosphere. When the space became available, they wanted to create something that continued the community atmosphere that YJ’s started. 

“We want to continue to be a place that everyone in the neighborhood feels welcomed,” said Bartholome. 

Verdant does just that. The deliberation and care that went into Verdant is immediately apparent when first stepping in the shop. If you are having a difficult week, there is a surefire way to fix it. Go down to the Crossroads, stop by Mildred’s Cafe to get some sustenance and then go to Verdant to purchase a new plant and/or candle. Any remnants of a difficult week will be immediately forgotten.

The Hilltop Monitor sat down with Patti Stark, owner of Serenity on the Square, to discuss her lifestyle in the health and wellness sector, the best part of owning and operating a business on the Liberty Square and her love for all things yoga and meditation. 

Stark fondly recalled her journey to her current holistic lifestyle in a warm yoga studio on a Friday afternoon. She credits high stress levels as what led her to this new lifestyle thirty years prior. 

“I worked in a nonprofit at the time and one of my friends was a therapist… we were talking one day and she said, ‘ you don’t necessarily need therapy, you need meditation,’” Stark said. “She got me hooked up with some classes, and the first class I went to [I thought] ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve been missing this my whole life.’ I was supposed to be doing this.”

Stark noted that after meditation sessions, she felt her anxiety and heart palpitations decrease. 

“It seemed like every three or four months something else would be introduced that was different from what I was doing, it was more natural or holistic,” Stark said. “Every time something new came in and I did it and it worked, I was like, ‘I have to share that,” 

After Stark’s epiphany, she began leading meditation, life coaching and energy balancing. The previous owner of Serenity on the Square invited her to teach classes and, shortly after, decided to sell the business. It seemed only natural that Stark take over. 

“[Everything] happened too easy… I felt like it was my calling, you know, to create a place where people could come and really discover who they are,” Stark said. 

After taking charge of Serenity on the Square eleven and a half years ago, Stark noted that her favorite aspect of her business is still teaching and helping others. 

“I still love to teach a meditation or a yoga class or do a life coaching session with someone,” Stark said. “I love teaching because then I can really see people, the lightbulbs go on and I remember what that felt like.” 

Serenity on the Square offers a plethora of health and wellness services available to Jewell students accompanied by a Jewell-specific student discount. Additionally, Stark revealed that a collaboration between Serenity on the Square with yoga and coffee is in the works. Updates are available on their Facebook page.

Opened in September of 2018, Wingz & More’s Liberty location is the second of its kind. The founding team conceived the idea for Wingz & More in 2016 and decided to open the flagship restaurant in Grandview, Missouri, in March of that year. Since then, the team has been working hard to expand their franchise, creating a five-year plan to open four more locations. Independence, Missouri, and the downtown Kansas City, Missouri, area are two prospective sites for future Wingz & More locations.

The Hilltop Monitor sat down with one of the owners of the franchise, Chris Murray, to learn more about Liberty’s reception of the restaurant, how to expertly navigate the menu and what makes Wingz & More unique.

When asked how patrons of the Liberty location have reacted to the restaurant, Murray readily answered that their reactions have been largely favorable despite its low profile.

“A lot of people still don’t know about us. Somebody came in yesterday and said, ‘You’re Liberty’s best secret,’” Murray said with a smile. “We’ve only been open a few months – it was a pretty slow winter with all the complications with weather. We started to deliver recently, and that’s kind of branched us out a bit, but for the most part, it’s going really good.”

Unsurprisingly, the restaurant specializes in chicken wings, though their menu extends far beyond that. Four main groups of food dominate the menu, with “wingz” heading the pack and “wrapz & saladz,” “sandwichez & dogz” and “burgerz” rounding out the “& More” of the promised culinary offerings. Entrees tend to hover around the 6-10 dollar mark.

Murray shared his tips on getting the best out of the Wingz & More menu.

“You gotta try the wings [sic]. Whether you do the boneless or the bone-in, it doesn’t matter. Burgers are a big hit because we patty them fresh here every day. Our philly cheesesteaks, our po’ boys – just things you can’t get in a normal run-of-the-mill [restaurant],” Murray said.

Wingz & More also offers unique comfort food specials on Sundays.

“One of our big sales is on Sunday. You can do what we call ‘Grandma’s Sunday Dinner,’” Murray said. “So every Sunday it’s something different. It can be anything from meatloaf to lasagna. For Easter, we did an Easter dinner. It was smoked chicken, cordon bleu dressing, macaroni & cheese and green beans.”

Murray emphasized that Wingz & More is one-of-a-kind and eager to serve their customers to the best of their abilities.

“If there’s something you want that you don’t see on the menu… we can always work it out. I like to say that if you have a flare for something – just ask! We won’t tell you ‘no’ – we’re gonna give it a shot. We try not to be so structured to where we can’t step outside of our own comfort zone,” Murray said. “We try to make it feel like home.”

And a home it is to several Wingz & More patrons, who laud the restaurant for its affordable and delicious meals, friendly staff and chill atmosphere. Contributing to this success, perhaps, is Murray’s personal philosophy, and the reason he loves what he does.

“Food kind of binds people together. Whether you have a little or you have a lot, [it] is just one of those things that brings people together,” Murray said.  

Wingz & More Liberty is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. It’s a quick 15 minute walk from the William Jewell College campus for any students looking for a restaurant that feels like a second home.