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Waldo is taking Small Business Saturday to the next level this year with six days of holiday cheer—prizes, discounts galore, and a holiday lights competition between participating shops from November 26 through December 2 during the Shop Small Crawl.
The crawl officially begins on Small Business Saturday (November 26) with a Waldo pop-up hosted at KC Bier Co. from noon – 3 p.m. Pop by to shop winter merch, enjoy fun holiday photo experiences, plus bier and bites at the KC Bier Co. bier garten.
We chatted with three Waldo business owners about what they have planned for the week.
Bicycle Depot KC | 220 W 75th Street
Dave Reinert rolled into Waldo last March and opened Bicycle Depot KC, a full-service bicycle repair shop, with the help of mechanic Bruce Homstad.
In addition to comprehensive biking repair services—wheel building, ebike repair, tune-ups, mountain bikes, and more—cyclers can find biking essentials such as helmets, lights, locks, bags, and new bicycles.
Do you have a cycler on your holiday shopping list? During the Small Business Crawl, you can purchase Cosmo rear lights—perfect for riding safely during the darker winter months—for half price, get $25 off a bicycle tune-up, or $10 off Air Force1 tire pumps.
“Supporting locally owned businesses means your money stays in the community,” says Reinert. “Both I and my employee live half a mile from where we work and our motto is, ‘If it can’t be bought in Waldo, do we really need it?’ Your money stays and works for you more than it would at a big box store.”
Centered Spirit and Emilie’s French Teas | 8131 Wornall Road
For six years, Centered Spirit has offered Kansas Citians a wellness haven anchored with cultural, holistic health using traditional Mayan and Chinese medicinal practices. In the middle of the cultural center sits Emilie’s French Teas, a tea room with a selection of over 70 loose-leaf teas and tisanes.
Emilie’s French Teas and Centered Spirits will host a Holiday Open House from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the release of the limited-edition holiday tea collection on November 26, and there will be tastings of rare and precious teas available. Through Centered Spirits, shoppers will receive 20% off individual infrared sauna sessions.
Emilie’s French Teas is the place to go for the tea lover on your shopping list. The tearoom’s holiday tea line is all organic and is packaged in pretty tins. The mulled wine spices blend is made with a recipe that originated from the Alsace region in France—perfect for a holiday party. You’ll also find a variety of tea accessories from teapots to tea mugs and infusers. If you’re looking for a stocking stuffer, we’d recommend the organic white chocolate bar with matcha and sencha tea.
“It makes me happy to see that so many people care about locally owned businesses. The fact that people make a point to shop in small stores like ours makes the entrepreneurship journey worth it,” says Emilie Jackson, wellness director and herb/tea specialist at both businesses. “The Waldo Small Business Crawl helps put the Waldo District on the map and showcases the diversity of businesses in our neighborhood.”
Co-Op Fitness + Health | 7201 Central Street
When Co-Op Fitness opened earlier this summer, Waldo immediately felt like home to the budding business.
“We picked Waldo because historically this community has supported locally owned businesses,” says Emily Clark, founding partner and general manager of Co-Op Fitness. “One of our goals is to serve a diverse community of people. We think Waldo has that: diverse and eclectic—the very coolest people.”
From group fitness classes to personal training, yoga, meditation, workshops, and private and public events, Co-Op Fitness is ready to answer any fitness needs in the Waldo community. For the fitness junky on your list, you can gift an unlimited membership, packages of 5, 10, or 20 classes, personal training sessions, a selection of hats, tees, and travel tumblers, or a totally customized fitness package you can create with Co-Op Fitness.
During the Waldo Small Business Crawl, see for yourself what Co-Op Fitness has to offer. Classes will be free all week long, and you can take an unlimited number! Those who sign up for an unlimited membership will also get a free tee, or start now with an unlimited membership and get the first month for $50.
The full list of businesses participating in the Small Business Crawl includes Lynn Ziegler Allstate Agency, Bicycle Depot KC, Co-Op Fitness, CoWork Waldo, Cheveux, Eclectics Gift Gallery—purchase a $25 gift card for $20, spend $25+ and get a handmade glass art magnet— Emilie’s French Teas, Centered Spirit, Gunter Pest, Hawthorne & Ivy–25% off excluding sale items—KC Bier Co., Lew’s Bar & Grill, The Well, and Waldo Pizza.
Visit waldokc.org/new for a complete listing of merchants and promotion details and follow the Everything Waldo Facebook page for event updates.