If you’ve driven by Martini Corner lately, you may have spied The Black Pantry—a new shop in burgeoning Midtown. The store, which is set to fully open this Saturday, is a collaboration between owner Brian Roberts and the squad at Made in KC. Roberts’s new store features an eclectic blend of local Kansas City products alongside home goods, specialty foods, and daily necessities from Black-owned companies and brands.
This storefront is the first location for The Black Pantry, which strives to lift Black voices by giving Kansas City shoppers a centralized place to support Black-owned brands from around the country. Roberts got his start as a pop-up shop alongside Made in KC. He intends to continue to host pop-up events throughout the metro area in conjunction with his ambitious brick-and-mortar venture. (And we love that the website’s tagline is “Kansas City’s Dopest General Store.”)
In the same space, which is also Made in KC’s new flagship location, the open-concept floor plan will showcase local apparel, gourmet food, household goods, and accessory brands. The building will also house a Made in KC Cafe (complete with drive-through), and a new Made in KC-owned shuffleboard bar, Ludo’s. The locale will also serve as Made in KC’s corporate headquarters which operates seven retail locations throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area.