Leawood Businesses Prepare for World Cup Visitors with Grants

Johnson County marks 100-day countdown to 2026 FIFA World Cup

Published on Mar. 4, 2026

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Leawood, Kansas businesses are receiving grants from the city to prepare for an influx of World Cup visitors in 2026. Revocup Coffee is among the recipients, planning to use the $10,000 grant to create multilingual menus, upgrade seating, and expand grab-and-go options. Meanwhile, Shawnee is hosting an Americana and Ales festival on June 20 to coincide with the World Cup matches in nearby Kansas City.

Why it matters

As a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Kansas City metro area is expecting a significant boost in tourism and economic activity. Local businesses are proactively seeking ways to welcome international visitors and provide an enjoyable experience, with the help of municipal grants.

The details

Leawood awarded a total of $50,000 in grants from its transient guest tax fund to local businesses to prepare for World Cup visitors. Revocup Coffee plans to use its $10,000 grant to make its offerings more accessible to non-English speakers and improve its in-store experience. In Shawnee, a music and beer festival called Americana & Ales is being organized to coincide with the World Cup matches, with a total event budget of $110,000 funded by the city's transient guest tax.

  • The Leawood business grants must be completed by May 30, 2026.
  • The Americana & Ales festival in Shawnee is scheduled for June 20, 2026.

The players

Revocup Coffee

A coffee shop in Leawood, Kansas that received a $10,000 grant from the city to prepare for World Cup visitors.

Brandon Jordan

The co-owner of Revocup Coffee.

Americana & Ales

A music and beer festival being organized in Shawnee, Kansas to coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches in nearby Kansas City.

Eddie Crane

The organizer and executive director of the Americana & Ales festival.

Aztec Shawnee Theater

A venue in Shawnee that will host some of the musical acts performing at the Americana & Ales festival.

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What they’re saying

“What we saw it as is an opportunity because a lot of small businesses operate on small margins.”

— Brandon Jordan, Co-owner of Revocup Coffee (kshb.com)

“If you are English as a second language or not at all, in the title it describes what it is. Americana music and ales, music and beer.”

— Eddie Crane, Organizer and executive director of Americana & Ales festival (kshb.com)

“We have the sound system. We have the means to present it in the way that I think it really should be.”

— Jeffrey Calkins, Co-owner of Aztec Shawnee Theater (kshb.com)

What’s next

The Leawood City Council will decide on Tuesday whether to allow the full $50,000 in grant funding to be distributed to local businesses.

The takeaway

As the Kansas City region prepares to host matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, local businesses are proactively seeking ways to welcome international visitors and provide an enjoyable experience. The grants and events organized in Leawood and Shawnee demonstrate the Midwest hospitality that the area is known for, which will be on full display during the global soccer tournament.