As summer begins, here are some of the new things to see and places popping up in Missouri’s largest metro. 

Lowes Kansas City Hotel – 1515 Wyandotte St. – LowesHotels.com/Kansas-City-Hotel

After delaying its April grand opening due to COVID-19, the Lowes Kansas City Hotel welcomed its first guests on June 1. The 800-room hotel, which includes forty-seven suites, features an aviation theme that mixes modern and retro design elements. There’s also a state-of-the-art fitness center, luxury spa, an indoor saltwater lap pool and 60,000-square-feet of meeting and event space.  The hotel is pet-friendly, providing perks like gourmet room service menus for cats and dogs, dog-walking route maps, specialized bedding and more. As the first full-service hotel to open in the downtown in more than thirty years, the property is a major boom for tourism and conventions. Later this summer, Lowes will open its three-meal restaurant that has a wraparound balcony overlooking downtown and the Power & Light District. For now, you can enjoy a cocktail in the lobby bar or pick up a caffeinated beverage in the grab and go coffee shop next time you’re looking for a place to stay in KC. 

Billie’s Grocery – 3216 Gillham Plaza, Ste. 100 – BilliesGrocery.com

At this new eatery, you can start your morning off with a breakfast bowl loaded with creamed eggs, sautéed greens, mushrooms, bacon, quinoa, roasted tomato, and avocado with a gluten-free baguette on the side. Organic, wholesome dishes, inspired by California and Australian cuisine, make up the breakfast, brunch, and lunch menus at this establishment in Midtown Kansas City. In addition to nutrient-dense dishes, Billie’s offers hands-on cooking classes and wellness workshops. 

Nimble Brewing – 1735 Oak St.- NimbleBrewing.com

Located in the East Crossroads neighborhood, this small, family-owned brewery is the latest to join downtown’s vibrant microbrewery scene. Owner Kevin Gittemeier has over twenty years of homebrewing experience and prides himself on developing Nimble’s handcrafted beers one barrel at a time. He experiments with fresh ingredients like locally sourced fruits, herbs, new world hops, coffee and spices. His creations include sour ales with flavors like mango, blackberry, strawberry guava with coconut and cherry with basil, as well as a variety of India pale ales.  

“Tightrope” at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art – 4420 Warwick Blvd – KemperArt.org

More than two dozen works by Ethiopian artist Elias Sime will be displayed from July 21, 2020 to January 31, 2021. In Sime’s first major solo traveling museum exhibition, he showcases his figurative and abstract modern style that explores the impact of life in a post-consumerist world. His “Tightrope” series consists of repurposed circuits, keyboards and other electronic components fashioned into topographical maps and aerial landscapes.

Art Alley, 1701 Locust St.

This urban street museum serves as gallery space for Kansas City’s most talented muralists and graffiti artists. Running through the Crossroads District, this colorful half mile corridor is best explored by foot. The most recent addition to this ever-changing hidden gem is a piece by artists Alex Eickhoff (Eye Cough) and Thomas Richmond (Sabertooth) that pays tribute to the Black Lives Matters movement.