KC businesses prepping for NFL Draft’s arrival
By Joseph Hennessy
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Kansas City businesses are getting prepared for hundreds of thousands of people coming to town for the NFL Draft that is just one month away.
Cookie Bliss KC is a cookie design business that operates out of a commercial kitchen in the Hillside Christian Church. Karissa Todd, a lifelong Kansas Citian, is the owner and has three part-time employees and one intern working in the kitchen.
They make thousands of cookies, depending on the seasonal holidays, and anticipate making thousands more as they are now part of the NFL’s Business Connect Program. A program representative said they are just one of 100 applicants selected. They said they narrowed it down to 50 businesses that were highly recommended for having top-quality products.
Todd said she heard about the business connect program at the small business development center at UMKC.
“We would really like to get into a bigger space and our own space. It’s amazing here but we are ready for that so something like this just really helps us kind of get used to the next level in the business growth and scaling for that,” she said.
She doesn’t know how they’ll be utilized just yet with the draft here but says they are in communication with the business connect program about what they’ll be doing leading up to the week of the draft.
Chiefs’ fans, and every fan in the NFL, are getting ready for the draft. The NFL will start putting up a stage at Union Station showcasing a large banner, projector screens, and several fan engagement opportunities.
Todd opened up her shop inside her own kitchen in 2018 and now works in a commercial kitchen inside a local church.
They make cookies and design them – anything from basic chocolate chips to intricate Chiefs designs. She said they made more than 4,000 cookies in December and an extra 2,400 during the week of the Super Bowl.
“Obviously the Chiefs postseason is a lot of fun and we have a lot of exciting things going on with the soccer teams in town now,” she said. “This is just one more fun event. It’s always just fun and thrilled with the opportunity to help the city celebrate something like this and this is just a great opportunity for us.”
They already have businesses and residents reaching out for cookies.
“They’re having watch parties or just want to participate in it whether they’re going to the draft or home. It’s just such an exciting thing for the city to be a part of. People want cookies regardless so it’s kind of giving us a kind of push to get that ready and to meet that need,” she said.
The NFL Draft will be happening April 27-29. Admission into the 2023 NFL Draft presented by Bud Light is FREE and fans can register at nfl.com/draftaccess or download the OnePass app at nfl.com/onepass.
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