Happy 2020! Hope you had a festive holiday season. I’m looking forward to bringing you more informative blogs this year…and I appreciate all my readers! Let’s start off by telling you about a recently opened senior center just off Troost.
The lounge area at St Anthony’s.
This new retirement community for seniors is on the east side of Brookside: St. Anthony’s Senior Living, located at 1000 E 68th St. Many years in the making, the Catholic community finally opened in November, welcoming new residents of all faiths. I recently stopped by to take a look at this new community for adults 62 years of age or older.
Nancy Majors, seated in one of the apartments at St Anthony’s.
St Anthony’s is a dream come true for owner/developer Mark Ledom. It is important to Mr. Ledom that people of faith have a place where they can worship and call home. I recently toured the property with Director of Sales and Marketing, Nancy Majors. This place is beautiful! As Nancy explained, they stress a “certain type of lifestyle; a vacation type lifestyle” with lots of socializing and activities available. The common areas and floorplans are named after local parishes; for example, St Peter’s Pub, the St Monica bedroom suite, St. Elizabeth’s Bistro. Every space has a warm, inviting, comfortable feeling. This independent living community offers 120 apartments total, divided between one and two bedroom options. Each unit offers a full kitchen and fireplace and each floor has a sunroom. Prices start at $2900, and include a certain number of meals each month in the restaurant style dining room. Next spring, assisted living and memory care support apartments will be available—they are currently under construction next door. The gated community also offers covered parking.
Kitchen area in a St Anthony’s apartment.
As baby boomers age, there will be more demand for this type of apartment community. Nancy said “We are excited to bring this style of senior living to Brookside. It’s a beautiful place, but it’s really the customer service that sets us apart”. Other amenities include a daily happy hour, gym, salon, transportation runs to grocery store, Target and doctor appointments. And, of course, an on site chapel. St Anthony’s also likes to get involved in the surrounding Brookside community—they hosted students from University Academy for Halloween on October 31, and during the holidays, supported a food drive for Catholic Charities. Keeping current with today’s technology, all residents have access to the LifeLoop, which enables them to use their smart phones to sign up for transportation and events.
If you are interested in more information about St Anthony’s Senior Living, check out their website and sign up for a tour!
I stopped by this week to take a look –I haven’t eaten there yet and I’m not a food critic anyway! I was impressed the first thing I saw was four employees, including assistant general manager Patricia Allen, conducting a food tasting for quality, taste and appearance before the lunch rush. The other impressive aspect of this place is the amount of food you get for the price–the plate is piled high with all of the fresh ingredients you choose–easily a full pound of food that could feed two, or at least enough for leftovers! The base of your food “bowl” can be rice, green salad or Japanese noodles. Proteins include two types of chicken (one is spicy), steak, and tofu. And there’s a maze of toppings: hot choices are black beans, sprouts, and potatoes, plus ten cold toppings (veggies, etc). There are six sauce options, which you can taste before you order at a station by the soft drinks–that’s so handy for those who aren’t sure which to try and for picky children! All of this food, on one plate, for under $10! Extra options include kimchi, fresh pineapple and miso soup. There are a few seats if you want to dine in.
If you are planning on starting your holiday shopping this weekend…why fight the crowds at the mall? Shop Small in Brookside and Waldo–as this Saturday is Small Business Saturday! 
Baseball and JKF inspired the name of her shop as well: “moonshot” is the term for a really high hit home run, and Kennedy’s speech with the line “we choose to go to the moon in this decade not because it will be easy, but because it will be hard” resonates with Smith. “I wanted a challenge, and am inspired to succeed”. Sharing her passion for this work is Shana Lee, who moved to Kansas City from Los Angeles a year ago—and is so dedicated to her California clients that she flies back once a month to take care of them!
Step inside Jorjy and you’ll find attractive art prints, pillows, bedding, jewelry, books, accessories and a large selection of barware. Pamela also carries a fabric and wallpaper line exclusive to this store, and plans to start a wedding registry. After the success of Lauren Alexandra, she explains this next venture “was a natural progression. I felt there was a void on the marketplace. I love designing and collecting beautiful home products”. This shop is perfect for picking up something unique and special for yourself—or as a gift.
We have another new locally owned business to tell you about in this week’s blog…
Owner Emily Bordner has always had an entrepreneurial spirit—inheriting it from her parents. She had a regular corporate job at Hallmark as a merchandising designer, and started a side business making leather handbags. She expanded into online sales and pop up shops—then decided to open her own retail place here. She chose this location in part because she knows a handful of shop owners who love being in Brookside, and she worked at 
Emily will host the grand opening of her store on September 28, with specials, beverages and a pop up store to be determined. See more about EB and Company at the 
It’s usually those cozy, quiet little food shops that supply the best atmosphere for a short caffeine stop, a shared treat with a friend or a corner to relax and read for a bit. I’m thinking of places like 
Although today is the official re-opening day, Hooper’s will have the Grand Reopening celebration all next week, offering specials and giveaways. Watch for specifics 
Inside Brookside (And Waldo) 