Some Kansas City businesses cash in on World Cup crowds, others lag
By Andy Alcock
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — The World Cup is bringing thousands of fans and extra cash to Kansas City.
For some businesses, it’s been a winning formula.
But not everyone is scoring big.
Nicholas Grunauer, dressed in a Team Austria jersey, cheered Monday after Lionel Messi missed a penalty kick for Argentina early in the match.
While Grunauer was disappointed with the end result, his Austrian restaurant, Grunauer, within walking distance of Fan Fest, has seen plenty of foot traffic.
“Extremely busy at times we’re not normally busy. And so I it’s definitely a net positive,” he said after opening his restaurant bar area early Monday so fans could watch the Austria match against Argentina.
World Cup scarves and international flags are part of the decor at Cinder Block Brewery in North Kansas City.
But despite advertising, a location between the Netherlands and Argentina’s hotels, and a few minutes’ walk from a shuttle bus stop to Fan Fest and Arrowhead, business has been disappointing.
“If you compare the past three weeks to last year, same time, we’re down about seven percent,” said Chandler Hottenstein, Cinder Block Brewery general manager. “We thought there was going to be a big influx of visitors throughout the entire month of the World Cup. After the first week, we saw that not only are we not seeing a lot of international travelers, but our locals are kind of dialing back, I think probably just anticipating that the crowds are going to be crazy parking semi crazy. But, it’s not that way,” she said.
Thursday night, the “Kicking It in KCK” watch party for Mexico’s game against South Korea had a crowd of about 600 people on a night when World Cup match tickets were given away.
But other watch parties, like Mexico’s opening afternoon game on June 11, didn’t have many people show up.
As a result, the final three watch parties have been canceled.
By contrast, on a night when Fan Fest was closed, KC Live! was so overwhelmed with fans Thursday that a seemingly endless line stretched around the Power & Light District for blocks.
It’s all part of an ongoing World Cup adjustment process.
“We have to be nimble and flexible. We knew that it would be a risk, but we’ll just keep on adjusting week by week,” Hottenstein said.
“It’s going to be great long term for Kansas City,” Grunauer said.
Short term, Grunauer already has reservations for Team Austria fans for Friday night in advance of their game against Algeria on Saturday night.
One area business had a large and unexpected group of international guests.
After checking with ChatGPT on the best place to get barbecue, fans from Ecuador made the 40-mile drive east on I-70 to Blue Smoke BBQ in Odessa, Missouri.
According to a social media post from the business, only one person spoke English.
But ultimately, the Ecuadorans left the restaurant “with full bellies and smiles on their faces.”
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