Kansas
The Chiefs Industry: Kansas City’s sustained success has boosted small business bottom lines
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Anthony Oropeza still remembers the day Travis Kelce walked into his studio at the InterUrban ArtHouse in suburban Kansas City, where some of his acrylic and mixed media works were hanging from the walls.
Kelce was helping to deliver a grant for the community arts hub, and the first piece to grab his attention featured Satchel Paige, the Hall of Fame Negro Leagues pitcher who later played in Cleveland, near where the Chiefs tight end had grown up.
Then, Kelce saw Oropeza’s painting entitled “:13 seconds,” which depicted the dramatic finish to the Chiefs’ game against Buffalo in 2022. Kelce made a crucial catch to move Kansas City within range of a tying field goal in their divisional playoff game, then he caught the touchdown pass in overtime that sent the Chiefs back to the AFC championship game.
“That right there,” Kelce told Oropeza, “looks familiar.”
Oropeza’s work has caught the attention of more than just Kelce in recent years. He’s done commissions for Jarrod Dyson of the Kansas City Royals and the wife of former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols. But the vast majority of his work focuses on the Chiefs, which has helped him supplement his 9-to-5 job working for the local parks and recreation department.
“The success of the Chiefs, or more specifically the success and greatness of Patrick Mahomes, has definitely helped my career,” he said. “It helped me pay for my kids’ education. Helped me meet some of the best Chiefs fans around.”
Indeed, the sustained excellence of the Chiefs, who play the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday in their fourth Super Bowl in five years, has been crucial to the bottom line of dozens — if not hundreds — of small businesses such as Oropeza’s art studio.
In December, Econsult Solutions Inc. estimated the total annual economic impact by the Chiefs on team and Arrowhead Stadium operations, as well as ancillary spending of non-local attendees of games and events, at just shy of $1 billion.
“We are incredibly proud of our 60-plus-year connection to the Kansas City region,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said in a statement. “We know that the franchise and the stadium are key economic drivers.”
Not just for big companies but small T-shirt companies, bakeries and even local artists.
Take RAYGUN, an irreverent apparel company with locations across the Midwest, which has T-shirts that feature such cheeky sayings as, “I Cheered For Kansas City Before It Was Cool” and “Go Taylor Swift’s Boyfriend” — a nod to Kelce, of course, whose relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift has likewise proven to be quite profitable.
Charlie Hustle, another local apparel company, pays homage to her with hoodies and shirts that say, “In My Red Era.”
Dolce Bakery, in the suburb of Prairie Village, Kansas, has an entire “Swiftie Collection” of heart-shaped cakes, along with an even more extensive menu of Chiefs-related cookies and treats. Cakes are decorated to resemble Mahomes, complete with his signature curly hair, and coach Andy Reid, whose mustache and glasses are featured quite prominently.
“January and February are historically quieter months for us,” Dolce Bakery founder Erin Brown said, “but these Super Bowl years have allowed our creative team to churn out freshly baked Chiefs designs that the Kansas City community has loved.”
The very nature of small businesses allows them to pivot quickly, too. So when the Chiefs beat the Ravens to book their place in the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Dolce produced a cake that reads “Welcome to the Kingdom,” but in the styling of “The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign that has greeted visitors to the Strip for more than six decades.
“As devoted fans ourselves,” Brown explained, “it’s given us an opportunity to connect with our regular customers and reach new ones through our collective passion and support for the Chiefs.”
After the Chiefs beat the Bills in the divisional round, when Kelce’s brother, Jason Kelce, famously stripped off his shirt and hopped out of his suite to celebrate, the bakers at Eileen’s Colossal Cookies in Liberty, Missouri, took notice. They decorated a cookie cake in the spitting image of the Eagles center, and pictures of it posted to social media quickly went viral.
Another bakery, McLain’s, noticed when Reid’s bushy mustache froze during the Chiefs’ wild-card win over Miami, the fourth-coldest game played in NFL history.
So they began offering a slightly tweaked version of their own Reid-inspired cake called the “Andy Reidcicle Cake,” where his mustache looks as if it is icicles.
Those are just some of the small businesses that have benefited from what has become a robust Chiefs industry.
“It’s helped me help my community, too,” added Oropeza, the artist whose studio Kelce visited that day. Along with original work, he does live paintings for charity fundraisers, and some of his Chiefs-related pieces have gone for thousands of dollars.
“The biggest highlight of it all,” Oropeza admitted, “was when my daughter met Travis that day, surrounded by all of my paintings. Her meeting him put the biggest smile on her face that I had ever seen. And as a dad, seeing your kid smile that wide made all the late nights — 4-hours-of-sleep nights — and all the other sacrifices for the past 10 years well worth it.”
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Colorado-based chicken restaurant Birdcall is expanding into Kansas.
The company announced Friday its plans to expand into Kansas and five other Midwestern states over the next five years. Birdcall plans to add six to eight fast-casual restaurants in Wichita and Topeka.
“The Midwest represents a tremendous opportunity for Birdcall,” CEO Mark Lohmann said. “From our award-winning chicken sandwiches and other handcrafted menu offerings to our commitment to innovation and community, we believe Birdcall offers an experience that resonates with today’s guests and is a natural fit for the region.”
Other locations announced are:
- Indiana – 10 to 15 restaurants across Indianapolis, Bloomington, Evansville and Fort Wayne
- Missouri – Up to 18 restaurants across St. Louis, Columbia, and Kansas City
- Nebraska – Seven to 10 restaurants across Omaha and Lincoln
- Ohio – Up to 20 restaurants across Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo
- Wisconsin – 10 to 15 restaurants across Milwaukee, Madison and Appleton
Birdcall’s menu features a variety of chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers and nuggets, salads, tater tots, fries, and more. The restaurant also makes its own in-house sauces and serves up draft beer and house-made margaritas, with happy hour specials.
The company said each restaurant will use self-service kiosks and occupy about 2,300 square feet, with indoor and outdoor seating that can serve up to 150 people.
Birdcall currently operates 17 restaurants across Colorado, Arizona and Texas.
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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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A video shared by a viewer, shows a resident speaking at the Osawatomie, Kansas City Council meeting being escorted out by police on Thursday evening.
The video shows a man holding a “Hell No Alcove” sign, while commenting about a blighted property, which according to public records is owned by Pacific Apartments, LLC, operating out of the same address as Alcove Development in Lawrence, Kansas.
KSHB 41
Alcove Development is behind the effort to build a $1 billion, 283-acre data center development in Osawatomie’s northland property.
The video, shared by a viewer, goes on the show two law enforcement officers approaching the individual, who is Lee Brewer, at the podium, after he begins to yell, while the crowd joins in behind him. Lee Brewer reached out to KSHB 41 late Thursday night, identifying himself as the person who was escorted out.
Osawatomie, Kansas Police Chief Dave Stutteville is seen in the video also approaching the man.
Fabian Rosales/KSHB
KSHB 41 Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa reached out to the Police Chief, City Manager, and Mayor Nick Hampson for comment late on Thursday night and is waiting on a response.
Residents in contact with Gamboa attending the meeting shared the meeting was still in session after 9:30 p.m.
Thursday night’s meeting was the city and Alcove Development’s attempt at sharing potential benefits of a data center for the community.
Gamboa has long covered the data center project in Osawatomie, Kansas — and neighbors to the project have voiced their opposition to the proposed development.
Brian Luton/KSHB
This is the first time Alcove Development has approached the public, but not the first time it has worked with the city of Osawatomie.
In late 2025, Alcove Development approached the city with the project and weeks later, a pre-development agreement was signed giving Alcove exclusive rights to the development for three years.
But city council meeting records from 2023 show, the city of Osawatomie entered into a pre-development agreement with Alcove Development to redevelop a property known as Old Swenson School.
Alcove Development had six months to asses the condition of the property and determine a course of action for redevelopment, and the overall agreement would last 18 months, according to public records.
Will Shaw/KSHB
The pre-development agreements states, Alcove would consider asking for tax breaks on the project, including utilizing the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.
At the time, the property had sat in disrepair since 2016, according to the records, and was frequently found in violation of city code.
If the re-development were to fall through, the city would be on the hook to purchase the property from the developer for $25,000, with unclear total costs for infrastructure improvements.
KSHB 41
KSHB 41 will follow up on the status on this project at a later date.
Earlier this week, Miami County Reporter Ryan Gamboa, sat down with Donna Ingram who doesn’t live far from the data center site.
Ingram expressed her concerns about the amount of infrastructure that would be built to operate a data center, and how it might overtake the land around her home.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
She expressed concerns because the City of Osawtomie changed the public comment guidelines of a promise town hall with the developer.
“Watching this process play out is disheartening,” Ingram said in an interview on Monday. “A town hall was promised that didn’t come to fruition… I don’t believe it’s the definition. This is a city council meeting. We’re the ones that are gonna live next to it. We’re the ones that live in the path of the infrastructure.”
The city told KSHB 41 on Monday in a statement, they changed the format to prioritize the voices of city taxpayers, as county taxpayers have dominated the public comment periods over the past couple of months.
Brian Luton/KSHB
Mayor Nick Hampson also told Gamboa in an earlier interview he was hoping to have a productive “town hall” — instead, the first meeting with the public and the developer of the project was during a formal and regularly scheduled city council meeting.
The city also required residents to submit questions ahead of time, and the city would filter questions to the developer, while limiting public comment to three minutes.
“We have been and will continue to hear from the residents that are in the county and closest to this project,” Hampson told KSHB 41 in an email on Monday.
Miami County, Kansas
Residents shared a record to KSHB 41, submitted to the city for a formal investigation into 1009 Pacific Avenue in Osawatomie, which is owned by a company operating out of Alcove Development’s address.
The dilapidated property is the a former school house, that sits with broken windows, and other parts of the building breaking down.
The Miami County Republic reporting on Thursday, the city launched an investigation into the building.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
Residents cite the buildings deteriorating condition and potential danger to the public, and lack of property maintenance.
Lee Brewer issued a comment regarding the incident at Thursday night’s meeting, stating he was escorted out after the Mayor closed public comment, and he was not on the list.
Brewer told KSHB 41, he has a time -stamped email of pre-submitted questions ahead of the meeting. KSHB 41 asked Brewer to review the email, and is waiting for an answer.
I am severely disappointed in our Mayor and the city council. They told us we were required to send in an email with our questions and our address to prove we were citizens of the town by Wednesday the 24th at noon. I have my email which is timestamped at 10:26 a.m. Wednesday the 24th. They shut me down and first told me I didn’t put the email in and then once I was kicked out of there I was told by people coming out that they were told I turned in my email too late. I’m not a math teacher but last time I looked at my clock 10:26 a.m. falls just over an hour and a half before noon. I mean correct me if I’m wrong. I thought because the mayor and I were having decent conversations on Facebook Messenger, whereas I would ask him questions and he would answer to the best of his ability. And I would thank him I thought we were pretty cordial. So to basically call me a liar in front of the entire town on video recording, take away my freedom of speech My first amendment right, and have me removed from a public building was completely wrong I am very disappointed in our city council and mayor. When I approached the podium all I was trying to do was point out that resolution number 1169 in Osawatomie Kansas refers to Alcove development LLC being the owner of the old Swenson School at 1009 Pacific. As I pointed out in these earlier messages to you Alcove has left this building dilapidated in ruins and a danger to our community. Our great city council and mayor seem to have other plans for me being able to speak though.
Lee Brew, via Facebook to KSHB 41 News
KSHB 41 reached out to Alcove Development late on Thursday night, and is waiting on a response.
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Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify information about cleanup information.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A tanker transporting 8,000 gallons of ethanol crashed in El Dorado on Thursday.
It happened at the intersection of Kansas Avenue and South Main Street.
According to dispatch, the vehicle overturned, causing the fluid to leak out and spill into the storm sewer system.
City Manager David Dillner said traffic is being diverted in the area while crews work to clean up the ethanol.
Nearby residents have been evacuated to the El Dorado Civic Center due to the pungent smell of the fuel, Dillner said.
No injuries have been reported.
This is a developing story.
For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here.
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