Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Reporter, Startland News
Nikki brings to Startland News both community journalism and entrepreneurship experience and she loves being able to tell the inspiring stories of fellow creatives and risk-takers.
Before joining Startland News, she worked for over 10 years writing and editing for daily newspapers in Lawrence, Topeka, Duluth, Minnesota, and Park Hills, Missouri. She took a short hiatus from journalism to pursue her dream of becoming a pastry chef and starting her own baking business.
Recent Articles by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Global flavors layer together as 200+ chefs serve up their best dishes for KC Restaurant Week
Kansas City Restaurant Week serves as a sampler for curious diners to satisfy their taste buds with an array of delightful dishes — and chefs from more than 200 local eateries showing off their culinary creativity and most visual see-food specialties, said Andrew Fontes. “It’s a great opportunity to go outside your comfort zone and…
‘Superstars’ opens the door to KC Chamber, making room for small biz, startups: Apply through Feb. 1
Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program. Recognized as a Small Business Superstar twice in the program’s first two years, More Than a Meal earned a sense of validation from the Chamber’s initiative for…
Just Walk Out: Crossroads Market features Amazon tech for checkout-free convenience
Grocery shoppers in the Crossroads can now skip the checkout line. Newly outfitted with Amazon’s Just Walk Out and Amazon One technology, Community Groceries Crossroads Market reopened to the public Friday. The Crossroads Market — owned by Kortney Lee at 640 East 18th St. — is the first store in Kansas City and the first…
This 11-year-old’s lemonade sells out in hours at Hy-Vee; Here’s how he hopes to extend the shelf life of his young family business
The all-natural, fresh-squeezed lemonade made by 11-year-old Tre Glasper and his family in a Manhattan commercial kitchen is making its way to Kansas City thanks to a tart partnership with one of the Midwest’s leading grocery chains. Tre typically sells about 100 bottles of Tre’s Squeeze — an amount that takes two to three hours…
Cherry enters the endorsement game, scoring NIL deals that also boost female college athletes
Partnering with college athletes is a natural elevation of sports apparel company Cherry Co., said Thalia Cherry. The KC-based brand signed agreements with 18 athletes for NIL (name, image, likeness) endorsement deals, shared Cherry, founder and CEO. “It’s a perfect alignment,” she continued. “We were already working with professional athletes in some capacity. So when…
Savvy duo builds their brand on embracing natural hair; Here’s how the salon chain is creating healthy space for stylists, clients alike
Savvy Salon KC — one of Kansas City’s only Black-owned salon chains — is all about creating a better experience for both the customer and the stylists, said founders Rickey and Lenora Leathers. The salon — which specializes in curly- and coily-textured hair and creating sustainable career opportunities for women of color — opened its…
These iconic hearts are blank now, but a parade of artists is set to bring the KC landmarks back in 2023
Molly Burd acknowledges she applied for the KC Parade of Hearts on a whim. A week before the deadline, the Kansas City artist and Hewn sewing shop production manager saw applications were being accepted for artists to design the big hearts art pieces for 2023. “Once I got an email saying that there were over…
How a Worlds of Fun data internship shaped this teen’s cookie cutter subscription box business
Every cutting-edge business idea has a season, said Alex Santoro, baking the details of his 3D printing venture: a subscription box that delivers a set of Kansas City-made holiday-themed cookie cutters — and showcases the teen’s enterprising ambitions. When he turned 18 in August, the Lee’s Summit West student and Worlds of Fun intern celebrated…
2023 Startups to Watch: CryptoSlam sorts out junk NFTs to show real value of digital assets
Editor’s note: Startland News selected 10 Kansas City scaling businesses to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. Now in its eighth year, this feature recognizes founders and startups that editors believe will make some of the biggest news in the coming 12 months. The following is one of 2023’s companies. Click here to…
2023 Startups to Watch: AskSAMIE builds momentum as young caregiving startup defies aging issues
Editor’s note: Startland News selected 10 Kansas City scaling businesses to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. Now in its eighth year, this feature recognizes founders and startups that editors believe will make some of the biggest news in the coming 12 months. The following is one of 2023’s companies. Click here to…