Large developments in South Kansas City and Grandview seem to have spurred some smaller development in our community, just as we were promised. With Cerner, Oxford on the Blue, Honeywell and more, we have seen the redevelopment of Truman Corners and now Red Bridge Shopping Center, along with some big announcements like Gateway Village. With all of these comes new retail, new restaurants and new places for us to do business.

Just over a year ago, Local Roots Market in downtown Grandview on Main Street opened their doors, offering a unique farm-to-grocer experience for shoppers to indulge in. The anticipation of Local Roots was astounding, as the owners spent quite some time getting their store ready and ordering merchandise to stock their shelves.

Recently, Local Roots held their one year anniversary celebration. And, more recently, they announced they’ll be closing their doors for good come the end of July. With the announcement on Facebook this week, I saw many people upset and disappointed, and I don’t blame them.
Here we sit, on the brink of great development happening in our part of the city, for once, and yet, we can’t support our local mom and pop businesses like Local Roots. I, too, was disappointed to hear the news that they were closing.

But, hopefully, this will be motivation to beef up our support of our locally-owned businesses, especially those that continue to invest in this great community. We can only thrive with your support, and you can help me out by reading the Jackson County Advocate and shopping in downtown Grandview Main Street’s business district. While all the new retail coming to our community is fantastic, we can’t forget about the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into the businesses at the heart of our town.

We can’t patronize them only when Small Business Saturday comes around. When I need a watch battery, I go to Crews Jewelry. When I want a smoothie, I go to Songbird Cafe. My favorite tenderloin is at Paul’s and I got my Kentucky Derby hat at The Hat Store in Martin City.

I understand that sometimes we have to visit the WalMarts and Targets of the world for the things we need, but at what cost? The cost might be of another local family who invested so much of their lives into this community closing their business doors. Shop local. Eat local. Drink local. And, most importantly, read the local paper.