Questions and answers

How KC Heartbeat works, and where to go for the rest.

We help you find the businesses that exist in Kansas City and send you to them. For everything else, these answers point you to the people who can help.

Checking a business

Where do I leave a review?

Not here. Google and Yelp are where reviews live and where people look for them. Search the business on Google Maps or Yelp and leave it there, where it reaches the most people.

How do I find out if a business is any good?

Google Business Profile and Yelp both carry reviews. Check both. KC Heartbeat carries no ratings, no stars and no rankings, so nothing here should be read as a recommendation.

Is this business licensed?

It depends on the trade and the state. Not every business needs a license, and plenty of legal Kansas City businesses do not have one. If a business gave us a license number, it shows on their listing. We do not check it.

Has this restaurant passed inspection?

Inspections are public record. Which agency holds them depends on where the business sits. Find the line that matches the address.

Missouri side

Kansas side

  • Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth and Miami counties: the Kansas Department of Agriculture handles food inspections statewide. Kansas inspection results
  • A few Kansas cities, Overland Park among them, run their own food ordinance with city inspectors on top of the state program.

Home kitchen businesses operating legally under cottage food law are not inspected the same way. In Missouri, cottage food covers baked goods, jams and jellies, and dried herbs. Kansas allows a wider range of non-perishable foods.

Is this a registered business?

Sole proprietors, DBAs and trade names often do not appear in either database. Not finding someone there does not mean they are not a real business.

I had a bad experience. What do I do?

Take it up with the business first. If that goes nowhere:

KC Heartbeat does not mediate disputes and does not remove listings over complaints. We do remove a listing that should not be here: the business closed, is not based in Kansas City, or someone lied on the form. Tell us here.

About the directory

Why isn't my favorite Kansas City business on here?

Because they have not added themselves yet. Every listing is added by the business owner. Tell them about us, or send them this link.

How does a business get listed? Does it cost anything?

It is free. No ads, no paid placement, no way to buy a better position. If a business is based in Kansas City and serves Kansas City, the owner can list it here. A real person reviews every listing before it goes live.

What counts as a Kansas City business?

Based here and serving here. Not licensed to work here or willing to travel here. A national chain with a local franchise does not count. Someone running a business from their kitchen table does. The metro counties are in, and so are nearby towns that genuinely work in the Kansas City economy.

How do you decide the order businesses show up in?

By how closely they match what you searched, then alphabetically. Nobody can pay to move up, and we never rank anyone by quality.

Something on a listing is wrong.

Use the fix a listing form. Owners can update their details, claim their listing, or ask to be removed. Anyone can report a business that has closed. A person reviews every request.

What do you do with my information?

We publish only what you chose to put on your listing. Your email stays private and is used only to confirm your listing once a year or if something needs fixing. We never sell or share it. We keep a count of what people search for, with no names or personal details attached, so we can see what Kansas City is looking for and cannot find yet.