At the Top of the Food Chain

The restaurants and bars are filling up again; the stores are open, in most cases, without restrictions. Thanks to
the economic drag of a global pandemic, Kansas City, alas, started saying goodbye in 2020 to some long-standing enterprises that had become reader favorites over the years.

One of those, in fact, was our traditional reader voting for Best of Business Kansas City in 2020, where Ingram’s opted instead to walk down more than three decades of memories and spotlight the companies that have lived in readers’ minds rent-free for so long.

This year, we continue to build momentum with balloting for everything from Wining & Dining venues to Best Entertainment & Cultural settings, Best Business Products, and Best Business Services. To the surprise of precisely no one, some long-time Gold-medal winners have again asserted their dominance of reader preferences. 

But there are some new corporate faces in the crowd with upstart companies making their first splash into these waters. 

Hundreds of reader ballots, with thousands of individual-category votes, made for some interesting races this year, and none more so than our signature award for Best Barbecue, where the voting was heavy, and the competition was ferocious, with but a handful of votes determining the difference between Gold, Silver, and Bronze. 

So whether you’re new to Kansas City and still trying to figure out where to be and be seen, or you’re among the long-time residents who know this roster almost by heart, sit back and enjoy the pages that follow. You’ll see which companies are setting standards of excellence, whether with a plate, a wine glass or stein, with non-profit vents or family outings, with relevant business services of all types, or with products from clothing to jewelry to fine wines. 

A toast, then, to our Best of Business Kansas City winners for 2022. To one and all: Cheers!

Wining & Dining

Entertainment & Culture

Business Services

Business Products