Tag: Startland News Year 2021

Elvin Liu, Magic Noodle

A dough master brought Chinese hand-pulled noodles (拉面) to South JoCo; a robotic cat delivers them to your table

By Tommy Felts / September 18, 2021

Hand-pulled noodles were a staple in Elvin Liu’s childhood, he shared, joking that the traditional noodles could be found on any street corner in China — just like Starbucks in the United States. “I moved to Kansas around the end of the year of 2010. I saw a lot of noodle soups, like pho and…

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TJ Roberts, Kinship Cafe

Why KCK’s ‘dopest, 7-fingered, adopted, biracial business owner’ is serving kinship, coffee at his new cafe

By Tommy Felts / August 18, 2021

When a new coffee shop in KCK’s Strawberry Hill neighborhood opens this fall, the space is expected to feature more than just specialty roasts — with financial literacy programming, community workouts and hip hop yoga sessions on the menu. “It’s never been about, ‘How can I make the most money the fastest?’” said TJ Roberts,…

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Carson Ross, Blue Springs mayor

Why Blue Springs, KC are so hungry for Whataburger: You have the brand; We have the people

By Tommy Felts / June 26, 2021

When Whataburger arrives later this year in Kansas City, the popular Texas-based restaurant chain is expected to bring more than its spicy ketchup and an iconic burger that takes two hands to hold. Company and city officials on Thursday emphasized a local hunger for both the 70-year-old brand and the 700 jobs it plans to…

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Father-son restaurant partners Carlos Mortera and Carlos Mortera, Poio

‘Not Mexican enough, not American enough’: How a KCK restaurateur found his identity through food, family

By Tommy Felts / May 22, 2021

Born in Mexico, Kansas-raised Carlos Mortera is defined by two, sometimes-conflicting cultures, he said — a contrast that led him to question his own identity, but ultimately answer with culinary creations that reflect a diverse Kansas City experience. “When I was younger, I struggled with feeling like I’m not from either place,” shared Mortera, who…

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Jayaun Smith and Steven Blakley, Sauced

Get sauced: Meet the hungry duo at the forefront of KC’s premier urban lunch counter

By Tommy Felts / April 24, 2021

Jayaun Smith spent his free time as a kid watching “Iron Chef America” and creating his own unique recipes with what was available, he shared — noting it didn’t take him long to fall in love with cooking. “I spent a lot of time alone growing up,” recalled the 25-year-old chef, who now leads the…

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