rOOTS KC grows into third location, planting shop in River Market ahead of World Cup
November 4, 2025 | Jocelyn Heckman
Initially setting its roots as a pop-up plant shop in 2020, Dee Ferguson’s leafy business has grown to three Kansas City locations. The secret is in the soil, she said, describing a strategy for cultivating customers through free, evergreen plant care support and “community-rooted spirit.”
The name rOOTS comes from Dee Ferguson’s surname: Oots.
Born and raised in Kansas City, she earned an appreciation of plants at a young age alongside her grandparents. Branding for the business allows her to honor their contribution to her life.
“2025 has been a difficult year for all of retail,” said Ferguson, who first launched rOOTS KC as a brick-and-mortar storefront in Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood before expanding to both Zona Rosa and The River Market. “So we’re rolling with the punches and ensuring we are always customer experience focused. That’s really been our success story.”
The stores specialize in matching each customer with the right plant for their lifestyle, she said, noting the team offers free in-store potting, professional repotting help, plant health checks, and expert advice so plants can thrive in their new homes.
They even make their own special soil — Plant Bimbo Potting Soil — using compost sourced in Kansas City.
Click here to shop rOOTS KC.
Place also is important to the woman-owned venture, Ferguson said, describing an intentional push to create space for neighborhood engagement in each store. The Westside location, for example, doubles as an art gallery, featuring work from local artists, which rotate each month. The stores also host workshops and seasonal events like terrarium-building nights and holiday crafts.
Such gatherings bring people together physically, but also show how plants can help plug people into their communities in a deeper and more meaningful way, Ferguson said, noting the most difficult element of expanding into more stores is balancing growth and maintaining the personal and neighborhood focus that makes the brand successful.
“Even though we’ve grown into storefronts, we’ve never stopped being a pop-up at heart,” she said. “It’s always been about people helping them find a plant that fits their life and bringing Kansas City together.”
The rOOTS KC store in River Market at 412 Delaware St.; photo by Jocelyn Heckman, Startland News
The brand’s newest store in River Market is growing squarely within the shadow of the the coming FIFA World Cup, a region-redefining moment that’s set to bring as many as 650,000 visitors to Kansas City in June and July 2026.
RELATED: Here’s how KCMO plans to turn empty storefronts into a World Cup stage for local talent
“As Kansas City works to revitalize retail spaces ahead of the World Cup, rOOTS KC stands as a proud example of local resilience, reinvestment, and helping KC grow — in every sense of the word,” Ferguson said.
Click here to follow rOOTS KC on Instagram.
Jocelyn Heckman is a Park Hill South High School journalism student and an intern for Startland News.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Park capping I-670 gets an official name: South Loop project to honor longtime Republican bridge-builder
Kansas City’s high-profile South Loop Project — a proposed sustainable urban park capping a portion of I-670 — now has a name that pays homage to a leader who played a key role in launching the project: Roy Blunt Luminary Park. “As a working title, the South Loop Project has served us well,” said Jeff…
Not just a pet project: Why this KC e-commerce team adopted a dog supplement brand as its own
The Morgans — the family behind Marknology, a bootstrapped digital marketing firm specializing in Amazon sales — are taking a dog supplement brand that they built as a client to the next level now as owners, they shared. Waggedy — veterinarian-formulated supplements to keep dogs healthy and active, launched by Ben Bellinson in 2015 in…
She’s the mixologist of melt: Jess Priemer blends a cocktail of Kansas City into candle scents
With niche blends like 18th & Vine (whiskey, tobacco, and rose) and KC BBQ (hickory, oak, and BBQ sauce), Jess Priemer evokes memories and local landmarks with the lighting of each wick. Her candles are the best part of what makes Kansas City uniquely home, she said. “I love this city, like everybody else around…
Inside grantmaker’s ‘major shift’: Here’s how dreaming big could help rural communities thrive
The Patterson Family Foundation is committed to helping rural communities in Kansas and western Missouri thrive, said Chris Harris, noting the foundation’s new grantmaking strategy expands that access more broadly across its priority region. The Kansas City-based Patterson Family Foundation — founded in 2007 by Neal Patterson, the late Cerner CEO and co-founder, and his…