109 KC businesses apply for funds after break-ins; money not expected until December

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - On Friday, it will be one month since applications have opened for Kansas City’s Back to Business fund, a program to help small businesses recover after recent break-ins and vandalism, it’s seen a lot of interest.

Those with the City of Kansas City said they are processing 109 applications for the first round of disbursements.

There are two separate grants businesses can apply to:

• Vandalism Recovery Grant Funding Eligibility: Up to $3,000 per business. Funds can only be used as reimbursement for a vandalism incident that occurred from July 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025.
• Vandalism Prevention Grant Funding Eligibility: Up to $5,000 per business. Funds can only be used as a reimbursement for eligible security measures acquired between July 1, 2024 – July 31, 2025.

Brewer’s Kitchen & Corner is one of the many businesses that applied.

“I was waiting for it to open up I even set an alarm on my phone I was ready the day it was there and I applied the day it was there,” said Brewer’s Kitchen & Corner Owner, Chris Riggins. Adding, “One of these issues I’ve had is I still don’t have the funds from that so I would say that would be a little bit of a stress but you know I believe the city is going to take care of me I think that is the point of it.”

He said it hasn’t been easy since criminals broke into his restaurant through a glass door and stole the safe with $3,000 inside back in August.

“For me, I’ve just been feeling a little behind and I’m trying to get caught back up,” said Riggins.

He said he faced some hurdles when applying for the fund.

Riggins said the city denied his application about a week after he applied due to a zip code error and the door not being repaired yet as the city needed an invoice and pictures.

He said it took time to find the right glass for the door and get a crew to come fix it.

“I didn’t have the door fixed at the time I was going to get the three grand and fix the door then to get denied one of the reasons they denied me was the fact that I haven’t repaired the door but I don’t have the money to repair it but if that is what needs to be done I’m willing to do it. Obviously, I thank the city if they are going to cover just the cost of the door getting fixed I, of course, was hoping they’d cover more cause the insurance company is not going to cover the money that was in the safe,” said Riggins. “It was a little bit of a big ask to ask a small business to fork up that money when it was an unexpected expense.”

He was able to get the door finally repaired on Wednesday and is in the process of reapplying for the grant.

He said he understands there are processes to this and is thankful for any help the city can provide.

Mayor Quinton Lucas said any challenges business owners might face through the process are to ensure no fraud or mismanagement is happening and he recommends they call 311 for assistance from BizCare.

“Part of the reason you might run into roadblocks is very simply this government isn’t set up to give money away so we want to make sure that people are businesses in Kansas City that they are up to date on their taxes,” said Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas.

The Small Business Task Force is looking at funding for 2025-2026 to continue the program through World Cup 2026.

Riggins said Councilman Crispin Rea has been ive since his August break-in.

“I will at least say from that local standpoint I feel that love but it would be nice if my pocket felt the love,” said Riggins. He added, “It is disheartening when you apply for something and you feel like yes I’m finally going to get reprieve it has been months of negative and it would be nice to feel positive and then to immediately get denied that hurt.”

He hopes to see the money go out to his business and others soon so they can be here ready to be on the world stage in 2026.

“I’m going to always be resilient I’m always going to believe in the city because I love Kansas City and We keep trucking forward,” said Riggins.

The city has received inquiries from nonprofits and non-storefront commercial buildings about utilizing the prevention grants. They are looking at requesting the council and Mayor’s Office to possibly update eligibility.

Mayor Lucas is expecting city staff to make a recommendation to the City Council on who should get the funds in the next week or two.

If approved by the City Council, they’d expect the first round of money to go to businesses in mid-December.

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