Our Brookside shops and restaurants are ready to usher you into the holiday season with some fun and festive events starting tomorrow evening! Here’s a quick rundown:
Thursday November 12, Cocktail Crawl
Several merchants along 63rd St will be open late, offering sips, snacks and holiday deals for shoppers; restaurants will have themed specials as wellfrom 5-8pm.
Friday November 13: Tree Lighting
Join your neighbors as the Brookside tree is lit up for the season at 6pm in front of BKS Nails. Live music starts at 5pm and watch for a visit from Santa!
Saturday November 14: Cookies, Cocoa and Crafts
From 11am-2pm, various shops will offer hot cocoa, cookies and holiday crafts for the little ones while you browse the aisles for unique gifts and goodies…taking advantage of the friendly, personal service our local merchants offer.
In addition, Brookside’s newest shop, Hydrangea House, will have a soft opening Thursday night from 5-8pm. It’s located in the old fire station, previously Fiddly Fig, at 22 W 63rd St.
How many times per month do you visit the Waldo Quik Trip?? It’s my preferred pit spot to fill up the gas tank, and grab a snack. It took years for QT corporate to take over the former Burger King location and build a new, expanded store for our community that opened in June. I stopped in recently to talk with store manager Tyler Zoeller and learned some quick facts about our new Quik Trip!
Tyler Zoeller
We started off talking about Tyler’s background with the company: he’s been an employee for the past 21 years, and became a store manager 5 years ago. Tyler lives in Waldo, and so do most of the employees at this location. “We try to hire people for the stores that live close by. They know the area and often know the customers, too–especially the regulars.” The neighborly philosophy comes from the corporate office: because Quik Trip is a privately held company, it invests more in it’s workforce instead of serving shareholders. Benefits include having its own medical insurance program–QT hires staff doctors so employees have fast access to health needs. They also offer profit sharing bonuses and emphasize promotion from within the company.. “Our first job is servicing customers; the second job is keeping our employees happy” says Tyler. They are always hiring, yet turnover is low because of the benefits and advancement opportunities. “Everyone who works here knows how to do every job in the store. And because we are a high volume store, shifts tend to go by quickly” says Tyler. Indeed, whenever I stop in, there is always a short line to check out at the register, with a couple of friendly staffers offering a sincere greeting and superfast service.
Here are a few of those fun facts I learned about this particular Quik Trip location:
*The kitchen food items they sell the most of: chicken tenders and wings. The chicken bacon ranch sub is also very popular.
*They sell A LOT of fountain drinks.
*Gas prices are changed at the corporate level, and software automatically makes the updates at each location.
*There are five massive underground fuel tanks beneath the building.
The busiest time of day is usually 11am-1pm.
*Although this store is larger than the previous one, they still carry the same selection of items. The aisles are wider, and the bathrooms–which are checked at least every hour–are larger. Customers appreciate the extra parking available to the side of the building to use when not buying gas.
The next time you stop in the Quik Trip–say hi to Tyler! He’s there almost every day, usually perched behind the counter or checking on the kitchen area. This Quik Trip, at 72cd St and Wornall, is open 24 hours, and is a welcome and useful addition to Waldo!
Saturdays in Brookside are always busy with shoppers: having breakfast at HomeGrown; picking up unique gifts at Stuff; grocery shopping, a stop at the bank, watching football at Hoopers. Here’s your reminder that the kids will be out trick or treating tomorrow all along 63rd St, from 4-6pm.
Even if you don’t have errands to run at the shops, it’s fun to go by and watch all the costumed children–and their parents!–stroll along the street collecting treats. Be extra careful if you are driving in the area late afternoon on Saturday as 63rd St will be packed with extra people of all sizes!
This is the big one…the Kansas City Marathon happens tomorrow October 17, and vehicles will not be allowed along the route for several hours, starting at 7am through early afternoon. Take a look at the course and plan accordingly!
It’s time to think about plans for the weekend!!! and the first weekend of May always brings us the Brookside Art Annual! It seems like this year, the date snuck up on us quickly! Yes, May 1st is tomorrow so plan to visit the art fair sometime this weekend.
This is the 40th anniversary of the Art Annual and the theme is….Back to the 80s! Over 100 artists will be showcasing their work–you’ll find everything from jewelry to pottery to painting to photography to sculpture to ….hmmm, what is this? There will be snacks, food and beverage to purchase plus children activities on Saturday. You are sure to see someone you know while browsing through the booths.
Hours for the Art Annual are Friday 5-9pm; Saturday 10am-9pm and Sunday 11am-5pm. The location is 63rd and Brookside Blvd; be extra careful driving in the heart of Brookside this weekend as there will be many, many pedestrians and some street closures.
Thank you for supporting the artists and our local Brookside merchants!
Property values in Brookside keep rising…so far this year, the median price is up almost 10% over last year. Here are the details for single family home sales, in the main Brookside zip code of 64113:
october 2025
october 2024
Median list price:
$665,000
$475,000
Median sales price:
$665,000
$477,750
Days on market:
3
6
No. of homes sold:
19
22
That’s a pretty high jump in the median sales price-40%!– more expensive homes sold last month than a year ago. The highest closed price last month was $1.7 million ($50K over list price) and the lowest was $325K, also over the asking price. Here are the year-to-date numbers:
Jan-Oct 2025
Jan-Oct 2024
Median list price:
$599,975
$549,975
Median sales price:
$624,500
$568,000
Days on market:
3
3
No. of homes sold:
218
220
So far this year, prices are up 9.8%; about the same number of homes have sold; most going under contract quickly and often selling for more than the asking price.Currently there are 20 active single family homes for sale in Brookside, with a median price of $585,000 and 44 days on market. The lowest asking price is $379,000 and the highest is $2,950,000.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
Good news for homebuyers..it looks like home prices are dipping down somewhat in Waldo compared to 2024. Still, this is the busy homebuying season and there is still quite a bit of demand. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
february 2025
february 2024
Median list price:
$284,000
$275,000
Median sales price:
$282,450
$281,000
Days on market:
18
6
No. of homes sold:
12
19
Prices were slightly higher this year, by .5 percent–last month, homes sat on the marekt a bit longer before going under contract. The lowest closed price was $210K, the highest was $585,000. Below are the year-to-date numbers:
jan-feb 2025
jan-feb 2024
Median list price:
$283,000
$280,000
Median sales price:
$277,500
$283,000
Days on market:
23
4
No. of homes sold:
33
30
So far this year, prices are running about 2% lower than 2024, a few more units have closed. And again, some homes linger on the market longer. There is a positive aspect to that: buyers can take a little more time to look around and decide if a house feels right to them, rather than having to immediately jump into a bidding war.
Currently there are 13 single family homes for sale in Waldo, with a price range of $160K on the low side to $515 tops. The median asking price is $275,000 and 60 days on market.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
A new year and possibly…a new home?! Most buyers want a property well under the 1 million dollar price tag; however Brookside had several high dollar properties close last month, which pushed up the median list price. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
january 2025
january 2024
Median list price:
$799,000
$437,500
Median sales price:
$793,000
$445,000
Days on market:
39
4
No. of homes sold:
11
16
Some perspective on that median sales price approaching $800K–of the eleven homes that closed last month, five homes were over the million dollar mark. That’s why the median price is 78% higher than last year. The highest closed price was $2.6 million and the lowest was $378,000. The longer days on market also reflects the fact that the $1 million plus homes can often take longer to go under contract.
Currently there are 11 homes for sale in the Brookside zip code of 64113; five of those are asking over 1.2 million dollars. That brings the median list price way up to $679,000. Just two homes are listed under $500K.
(All stats taken from Heartland MLS; deemed reliable but not guaranteed.)
It’s time to celebrate our wonderful and unique Waldo neighborhood with the 10th Annual Waldo Week, starting tomorrow and running through Friday Feb 28.You are also welcome to stop by the kick off event tonight at 75th St Events, from 5-8pm.
Several businesses are participating this year, including Pizza Tascio, Eclectic’s Gallery, Genter Pest Management and Hemma Hemma. Find the complete list at Waldokcevents.com. These locally owned businesses are offering special discounts and deals for you –just ask about the specifics when you visit the vendor. Also a portion of all proceeds this year will go towards D.A.V.E.’s Place, a community impact center with a food pantry, counseling and education services.
Thank you for supporting Waldo–one of KC’s most unique and interesting neighborhoods!
The annual Brookside Trick or Treat Street event is happening this afternoon between 4 and 6pm. There will be hundreds of little ones and adults walking along 63rd St between Wornall and Main, stopping by our local shops for treats and goodies. Please watch for extra pedestrians in the area!
