KC Daiquiri Shop closing Dec. 1; iconic duo behind the party vibes plans to ‘regroup, reflect, and rebuild’

The good times roll through the weekend at KC Daiquiri Shop as the well-known Mardi Gras-themed getaway on Grand Boulevard shuts down its years-long revelry.

KC Daiquiri Shop; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“This decision has not come lightly,” Kinley Strickland and Calvin Vick, owners of KC Daiquiri Shop, said Monday in a social media post announcing the business’ plans to close Dec. 1. “We have faced a slow economy, challenges with local and state government, and ongoing legal battles with neighboring businesses that have been less than supportive.”

The news follows the closures earlier this year of Soiree, The Krave, and Privee — Black-owned restaurants that each became a staple of Kansas City’s evolving food scene.

KC Daiquiri Shop opened in 2019, building its colorful, music-wrapped brand from the storefront at 1116 Grand. Strickland and Vick were at the front of the line in 2020, pushing for restaurant industry and city ordinance changes to allow establishments like KC Daiquiri Shop to offer cocktails to go during the pandemic — a move aimed at saving their livelihoods, as well as helping out customers in search of an escape back to normalcy.

“We developed a special product. It’s not like you can go to a restaurant or a bar and get it,” Vick told Startland News in 2020, describing the ways KC Daiquiri Shop innovated and advocated for itself in the face of COVID setbacks. “People come to us from St. Joseph, Wichita, Iowa.”

Kinley Strickland and Calvin Vick, KC Daiquiri Shop; Image courtesy of The Man Listen Show

Strickland and Vick left their corporate careers for entrepreneurship in 2018, driven by Vick’s daiquiri shop concept. With support from their sister company in Dallas with owners from New Orleans, they wanted to offer a taste of the city in the Midwest.

“We knew we’d be successful. A lot of people didn’t believe in the concept in the Midwest, but we know it would work,” Strickland told Startland News earlier this year. “No one has the authentic New Orleans experience with the frozen daiquiris, Cajun and Creole food, the atmosphere, or the vibe.”

Riding a parade of post-pandemic success, KC Daiquiri Shop later opened a seasonal ballpark stand at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kansas, home of the Kansas City Monarchs, along with a standalone Cajun restaurant — KC Daiquiri Shop: Bistreaux — in 2021 in Overland Park.

The Bistreaux concept closed in October 2023.

KC Daiquiri Shop; courtesy photo

Kinley Strickland, KC Daiquiri Shop; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“Throughout our journey, we have been proud to provide not just delicious food and drinks, but also a place where our community could gather, connect, and celebrate,” Strickland and Vick said in Monday’s social media statement. “We have created jobs, offered opportunities to second-chance felons and our displaced citizens, and continued to foster a sense of belonging that we hope has enriched your lives as much as it has enriched ours.”

The business partners’ next steps: regroup, reflect, and rebuild, they said, emphasizing it’s not the end for them.

“We believe in the resilience of our community and the power of support we have always shared. We trust that this moment will lead to new beginnings and opportunities for us all,” they said. “Thank you for the love, support, and memories over the years. We will carry the spirit of the DaqShop and the connections we’ve made into whatever comes next. Keep an eye out for what lies ahead — we are excited for the future!”