Itching for something to do while waiting for warmer weather to come around? One of our favorite places to take out-of-town guests is Kansas City’s River Market. During the summer, Farmer’s Market vendors from all over the midwest offer produce, flowers, food items, and other homemade treats you can’t usually get in your grocery store. But the City Market is not limited to summer!
The shops and restaurants lining the perimeter stay open year-round, and many weekend-morning vendors continue to bring their hand-made baked goods, cheeses, soaps, and other crafts to sell – even before Spring has sprung!
Shops & cafés line the market’s perimeter KC Skyline in the Distance
Bond over a Bite to Eat
A wide variety of restaurants call the River Market home. Bo Lings (Chinese), Blue Nile Cafe (Ethiopian), Hien Vuong (Vietnamese), Tikka House (Indian/Eastern), Beignet (New Orleans-themed), and Taste of Brazil (Brazilian) are just a few of the internationally-inspired cafés and restaurants offering authentic cuisine from around the world. For a more familiar menu, Minsky’s Pizza, Burrito Brothers, Bloom, and Pigwich are in the market’s vicinity, as well. If it’s something sweet you’re after, head to Betty Rae’s, Kansas City’s local ice cream parlor at 412 Delaware!
Share some Shopping
There are some really fun places to shop in the River Market! Even when the Farmer’s Market is not active, some very unique brick and mortar stores are open!
The Chinatown Food Market offers authentic, unique foods from Asia – rice noodles, teas, moon cakes, pantry items and more – and the prices are much lower for your typical Asian-branded food items that you probably buy at your local grocery market!
I love going into Carollo’s Italian Grocery and Deli for a taste and feel reminiscent of some great vacation memories – the gelato alone is worth the visit! My son Jonathan’s favorite City Market specialty grocer is the Al Habashi Mart – the spices smell AH-mazing, and they have quite reasonable pita bread for sale!
Level One Game Shop, inside the same building as the Steamboat Arabia Museum, has more board games, roll-playing games, dice, and cards than I knew existed. Some of the games are the kind that can go on for days! Be careful if you enter – you may never be seen again!
Steamboat Star Attraction
Speaking of Steamboat Arabia, if you have not yet been to the museum, it’s definitely worth a visit! On display are the contents of the titular steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in 1856 & was found and recovered in 1988. Two hundred tons of clothing, fine china, carpentry tools, guns, dishes and children’s toys — as well as the world’s oldest pickles — showcase a time capsule of life in the 1800s. Arguably the most impressive piece on display is the steamboat’s waterwheel, which continues to turn today.
Allow at least 90 minutes to tour the museum, which costs $5.50 for children (ages 4 – 14), $14.50 for adults, and $13.50 for seniors (60 and older). Children 3 and under are free! Plan your visit here!
And Then There’s Summer
Of course, the River Market Farmer’s Market is unrivaled in Kansas City. Operating from April to October, the season’s freshest fruits, vegetables, flowers, and more are yours for the purchase from our local small business owners. But that’s a post for another time.
What is YOUR favorite place to take out-of-town guests coming to Kansas City? Comment in the boxes below and let me know what KCMO locations I should review next!
Looking to get out of town? Email Kimberly@nextadventurevacations.com or call/text 816.866.8883 for the latest getaways for your family!
