KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The world is watching as the Kansas City Chiefs embark another Super Bowl run, and it’s helping fuel an industry that typically see a lull in business this time of year.
“This weekend has definitely helped because it was a bump that we weren’t necessarily expecting, but it was a direct result of them winning," said Kierra Washington, store manager at Shop Local KC.
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A Chiefs win is a win for all of Kansas City, according to businesses in the area.
“The people around us want to celebrate. The people that are coming to Kansas City want to celebrate — they want to bring something back that brings them memories of their time here," Washington said.
Washington said the team is leaving their mark not only on the field, but on local businesses.
“It definitely gives artists, makers, and just businesses the opportunity to play around a bit more, to make more chances to play on trends and get into the talk that's happening in real time," Washington said.
Brian Roberts, owner of the Black Pantry, says a boom in business isn’t typically seen at this time of year.
"January and February for small businesses is usually a challenging time of year, but consecutively, win after win after win, especially coupled with good weather during this time of year, people are out and they are spending money," Roberts said. “We have things other than Chiefs gear; we have Vine Street Brewery Beer, we have Kin Seltzers, we have a lot of the snacks and goods, and people are having parties; they are doing other things around football that do not necessarily impact Chiefs sales.”
For someone like Charles Williams, owner of Aphiliated Apparel, this type of consecutive win is a positive as he does not have a brick in mortar, but sells his merchandise out of the Black Pantry.
“They’re always winning, they are always in the news, they are always posting on social media, so content is coming in every single day," Williams said. “So it makes it pretty easy to find pictures; whether it’s about Swifties or Travis Kelce or Patrick Mahomes winning, just trying to figure out what things are going on, they make it pretty easy for us with all the winning.”
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