Kansas City businesses prepare for Chiefs Super Bowl parade, rally
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If last year’s Super Bowl parade is any indicator, downtown businesses are in for a day’s worth of impact.
Some are closing for the day, while others plan to soldier on. They’re all preparing for a midday Wednesday crowd that will likely deliver hundreds of thousands of people.
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Watching downtown Kansas City get gussied up for a Super Bowl parade is getting to be an annual ritual. On Monday afternoon, Kansas City Public Works crews could be seeing installing red and white banners along the Grand Boulevard parade route.
The 2023 edition of this Super Bowl parade saw hundreds of thousands of Kansas City Chiefs fans packing the sidewalks to cheer on the Super Bowl Champions. A year later, an even larger crowd might turn out, since Wednesday’s forecast includes temperatures in the 60s.
“We usually have a line coming from the door and it’s to-go orders. We’ve learned throughout the years to be fully stocked,” Yehimi Dela Pena, who works at City Diner, said.
City Diner sits two blocks north of the parade route’s starting point at 6th and Grand. Dela Pena recommends customers who want to eat there to show up early. Her restaurant will also serve some goodies to go in the parking lot.
Wednesday is parade day and Valentine’s Day, too. Some downtown merchants, including those who need to deliver flowers, are planning around the parade.
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Hy-Vee is among the florists who’ll be on the streets with deliveries.
Karla Quandt, who manages Hy-Vee’s Shawnee, Kansas location, said managers will try to make deliveries when streets aren’t as busy. Quandt also said making Valentine’s Day purchases ahead of time is a smart move.
“I highly suggest going into Hy-Vee and getting your orders today or tomorrow. It will help you and it will put our delivery drivers a lot more at ease, more or less,” Quandt said.
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Another florist based in downtown Kansas City told FOX4 the store has three thousand floral orders to satisfy this week, and managers weren’t sure how to navigate the crowds — since hundreds of thousands are expected to pack the streets.
