The budding romance between pop superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce is propelling the city from a national destination to an international hot spot and boosting small businesses along the way.
“Everybody loves a love story,” said Jessica Palm, the vice president at Kansas City Area Development Council, which is responsible for bringing businesses and talent to the area. “Kansas City is the backdrop to this love story unfolding.”
On the map, Kansas City lies at the heart of the United States on the Missouri-Kansas border. And for the past 150 years, the two-state community has used a heart as an icon and “Sharing the KC Love” as a motto, capturing the hospitality visitors find among locals.
“When I started in this role we were talking about Dorothy and Toto,” said Palm, who has been in the role for 13 years. “Now we are talking about global stages and the international entrepreneur, pop star hanging out in Kansas City.”
According to Visit KC, the Eras Tour pumped $48 million directly into the city. Couple that with Swift dating Kelce, and the city is abuzz about all of the hangouts the two are frequenting and the businesses they are supporting.
“It is a time to be in Kansas City,” Palm said. “If you’re trying to get a reservation at Prime Social, good luck.”
Prime Social is the Cameron Mitchell restaurant where Swelce (the fun portmanteau the internet is using for the couple) dined following Swift’s first NFL appearance. The trendy spot has received 4,900% more Google searches since the September hangout, and it’s only one of the many businesses receiving a Swift boost.
