December 14, 2011

This crafty li’l newspooch has just learned that a noted chef who previously cooked up some tasty vittles at the trendy R Bar downtown will soon be bringing a full line butcher shop to the long maligned and largely ignored East Bottoms area.

Local Pig is the name of the shop which will be located at the corner of Guinotte and Chestnut, the site of a turn of the 20th Century saloon.  According to a recent article in The Pitch, the shop will sell mostly pork products in a traditional butcher shop setting, along with seasonal vegetables grown on-site as well as sausages and such.

This hungry canine can’t wait ’til the shop opens, possibly signaling a re-birth of the EB.

Frank Hicks, Knuckeheads Saloon proprietor has done a stand-up job on his own, creating the region’s premier Blues and Honky-Tonk joint. From the looks of things right across the railroad tracks, though, Frank has finally gotten some help in the form of Local Pig owners Phil Kline, Alex Pope and Matt Kafka. This nosey newshound can’t wait! WOOF!

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Kansas City’s Special Committee on Small Business has been meeting at area businesses across the city for several months now with the goal of garnering small business input and making it easier for small businesses to thrive in Kansas City.

Those meetings came to a culmination Dec. 8 when committee members held a “Cut the Red Tape” ceremony at City Hall. The committee compiled a report, which included 67 specific suggestions to make it a little easier to do business in Kansas City. One of the suggestions was allowing business owners to renew or secure permits and licenses online.

Committee member Scott Taylor said small businesses are drivers of the economy and we agree; Historic Northeast wouldn’t be the same without all of our small business owners.

We’ve been assured the suggestions in the report won’t go to waste. A number of the suggestions are already being implemented and the committee plans to meet with the department heads every quarter to receive updates on the implementation process.

We’re crossing our fingers the city actually cuts through the red tape and makes the lives of small business owners significantly easier.