TKC BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE NEWS!!! KANSAS CITY INSIDER REVEALS HAPHAZARD TOY TRAIN STREETCAR CONSTRUCTION KILLING CROSSROADS RESTAURANT BIZ!!!



TKC NOTE: Right now we have an important perspective with 1ST PERSON CONFIRMATION revealing the tragic consequences TOY TRAIN streetcar construction has inflicted upon crossroads biz. 

To wit . . .

THIS REPORT CONFIRMS A KANSAS CITY CROSSROADS RESTAURANT LOSING NEARLY HALF OF ITS BIZ THANKS TO TOY TRAIN STREETCAR CONSTRUCTION!!!

Most of the highlights are mine, Here's the word:

Kansas City Insider: Streetcar Construction Has Chased Away Crossroads Business



I just finished lunch at Affäre (pronounced "Affair”). 1911 Main. Modern German (which just means European). Owned by a mom and pop (Literally; Katrin and Martin Heuser early 45ish— Martin is a world renowned chef from Northern Germany, Katrin from Southern Germany -Bavaria)

The city promised the construction would last no longer than 3 months. They are at 9 months now. After 9 months the cross street (19th) is open, Main is still a nightmare.

They promised traffic would continue, uninterrupted. I guess it’s uninterrupted as long as you don’t want to turn.

It is so convoluted that after making the journey, most don’t want to return to the corn-maze like adventure, until the construction is complete (perhaps 2016).

The restaurants in that area used to DID a thriving lunch business. You have the Rieger (lunch closed), Extra Virgin (might as well be closed for lunch), Affare open, but barley making it. Michael Smiths, closed now for lunch . . . Anton's up the street varies.

According to the owners, most have seen their business drop 40% from a year ago. Two of the restaurants are James Beard finalists or semi-finalist… perhaps the best food in the city… Nothing to sneeze at….



Economic development — absolutely, if you are Leawood Kansas or anywhere else west of State Line… they must be giggling at the free billion dollar economic development for Kansas, Sly’s toy train to nowhere has delivered…

All of the restaurants chose the Crossroads area because it was urban / trendy. All of them wanted to be a part of that area. This is, of course,the same area the city had all but abandoned until the property became trendy… City then moves in for the ultimate kill.

The restaurant owners and Crossroads managers have met with the city. A lot of promises were made 3 weeks ago. None delivered. oh wait… tiny blue signs popped up saying "business are still open during construction” —



At this point, Restaurant owners believe the city wants to drive them out of business and franchise the area like they unsuccessfully have attempted with the Power and Lights (are off) District. — that worked out really well.

Adding insult to injury, city raised the health department fees…. Nice… let me help kill your business and add a tax on your way down...

Here is my prediction. Great restaurants will move to areas more accommodating a few block away. Guessing Ks….

Streetcar line will bring in chains, city will subsidize chains, and then chains will fold because NO ONE GOES TO DOWNTOWN TO EAT AT Wendy’s. Or the like.
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Comments

  1. The better headline here TKC, is that KC is committing economic suicide by throwing itself in front of the streetcar.

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  2. Just more and more voters not voting for Slime James.

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  3. The Truth and Nothing But The Truth11/7/14, 11:42 AM

    Where are the idiots that voted for James in the first place? I know, you're all on here crying foul but it's your fault. You dipshits would have voted for Cindy to be Mayor, you didn't care, you wanted anyone but the Funk. Now you have an idiot, who you all voted in and same story again, I hear nothing but screaming to get rid of this one. You assholes are no doubt some of the dumbest fucks walking on this earth. You will up and just vote for anyone not bothering to check them out, you just follow the idiot in front of you and do the same thing they do. Suffer in your pile of shit city, you created it now live in it.

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  4. These same dullards will be the ones voting to extend the e-tax.

    Just corn fed clod hayseeds who believe everything the local shuck and jive artists tell them.

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  5. NICE POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    HONEST representation of the hard-working private business people who continually get shafted by City Hall.

    Mayor James = personal injury attorney (see prior post concerning his history of suing the city)

    Mayor Pro Tem Circo = nail technician who's sold herself to corporate interests.

    Councilman Pastor Dude Brooks = X-rated predator of vulnerable women.

    etc., etc.

    Residents, business leaders, The Kansas City Star, and local TV media apparently think these are acceptable representatives for the public.....so why is anyone surprised that KCMO is a corrupt cesspool?

    Get thee out of Kansas City, and improve your well-being.

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  6. Excuse me for crashing another one of Tony's "woe is us" parties, but didn't these business owners vote to create the CID to build the streetcar line?

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  7. niggers FUCK UP everything, just ask Obama11/7/14, 12:34 PM

    nigger project management.

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  8. 12:24 is right. Many businesses have voted to raise their cost of doing business or should I say the cost of their customers' doing business with them. I hate to see any business fail but life is full of lessons. And one of those lessons has consistently been to not trust people from the government offering help. They have no incentive to do anything like they promise.

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  9. $120 Million waste of money.

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  10. Interior, Mayor's office.

    Mayor: Here's what we'll do. We'll inconvenience restaurant owners so badly they'll want to go out of business!!!

    Everybody: Yeah! Amen! (etc)

    Mayor: It's part of my nefarious plot to drive local businesses out of the Crossroads!!!

    Everybody: Damn straight! You bet! (etc)

    -------------------

    In other words, no. "Restaurant owners believe the city wants to drive them out of busines" is a ludicrous proposition.

    In fact I just talked to a restaurant owner yesterday who said his business hadn't been affected because since his customers were adults they weren't goddamned fucking crybabies about a little inconvenince like construction, and they look forward to it being done and know it will be a benefit to the area once it's finished.

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    Replies
    1. You're a sewer mouth 1:10! My goodness. I very much doubt your supposed conversation with a restaurant owner, but even if it happened, I don't think he used those nasty words, and you shouldn't either.

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  11. When you're on a limited schedule for lunch during a workday you don't have time to put up with a hassle just getting to a restaurant, Mensa boy. On the other hand, if you're a politician who is termed out and needing a job come next year, why you've got all the time in the world.

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  12. Business should remember this when they try to railroad the extension.

    Can your business afford to take a 40% hit for 2 years?

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  13. So will MENSA man make up the difference?

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  14. Sly has no principles.

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  15. Well this is the price of bad weather and progress both.

    The Streetcar will probably be good for business on its route.

    SW Blvd could probably use one.

    And another one from Redbridge to Antioch or farther west.

    And 75th cross town.

    And plaza all the way to 435 through johnson county.

    And barry Road stop where the Metro station is. On up to the airport.

    And others.

    If they just run it North and South for starters, and have crosstown buses, that will be a good start. MTA could make the buses prettier.

    I think Waldo, Mission, 95th and other places could use a Jitney bus system.

    That would really link a lot of venues, wouldn't it?

    I dont' know that the streetcar thing is that important but along tourist traps...but an efficient bus system would be good if it accomodates workers from all parts of town, downtown, college blvd, 87th, etc.

    Just has to be fast and well organized and easy to connect with KCMO, JOCO, and WYCO.

    Probably not hot to trot with gas prices low, but that won't last as we know.

    I'm surprised the cab guy hasn't gotten into mass transit. Cabs are pretty inefficient in a city like ours. But with proper parking, it could be a very cheap way for us to get around, especially to work, school, and back.

    So what about private enterprise, anyway? I think the streetcar's fine for tourist trap venues, like Main, Plaza, airport, hotels, casinos and entertainment districts.

    But otherwise, buses are just so much more efficient and flexible to changing times.

    Tony...you should quit whining and help them make it efficient. Mass transportation really IS a good idea.... or do you get a subsidy from the car, energy and insurance industries? Think beyond your childhood, chico!

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  16. Those restaurants voted against the Toy-Train, IF they lived in the district. It was the local population, of the well carved out district, that were allowed to vote.... property owners that do NOT live in the district, CAN NOT VOTE ON THIS --- whom ever above said they should have been more careful, needs to understand the FACTS.

    Renters, who mistakenly thought they'd get a free ride, and voted for this can leave. Property owners (that don't live in the area) CAN NOT VOTE ON THIS.

    IN other words... bend over.

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  17. Milton Berle11/7/14, 3:51 PM

    Anywhere in this town where a fellow could get a good Steak Diane?

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  18. A KCMO project taking way longer to complete than promised??

    NO WAY.

    I wonder if their traffic and economic benefit projections will be higher or lower than promised...

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  19. Good news for Johnson County people who love good food. Once all those restaurants are driven across the state line, JoCo folks won't have to risk their lives driving into Killer City after dark ever again.

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  20. It's sad this site is complaining about getting what it wants. Water and sewer work.

    Because the track work isn't at this location. What you're seeing is water services doing work. You know, that work people wanted done instead of the streetcar.

    If you would bother to know what you're looking at you would know the track work has stopped a block away. It's waiting on this to finish.

    Oh, and there's a 100 year plan to replace 100% of water mains in the city and there's another 25 years to go on the overflow control project. Hope you're ready for more not streetcar work to tear up streets, because it's going to be nearly continuous for the rest of everyone's lives.

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  21. Too much sniveling from people who live nowhere near the construction.

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  22. You lost. Get over it. And get used to it. Because you lost in midtown to. Sorry, Sue. Only eastside, low information race-baiters fell for your lies. Weren't you supposed to move to kansas like a year ago, when the city didn't allow you to vote in where you didn't live and Filter Queen didn't get to use a public road as a loading dock anymore?

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  23. A small business going under is seen by the big people as collateral damage. A veritable pawn and pawns are always sacrificed.

    This isn't a big story in the scheme of things. Imagine the pawns being sacrificed by Republicans for their political dogma! you might as WELL imagine them... they won't be appearing on Fox!

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  24. Someone tell 12:24 to go back to sleep until he has a relevant comment to make.

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