Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw (right) celebrating the 100th birthday of Leon Stapleton (left) who she has known since her childhood, growing up a few blocks from his stores location.
Ryana Parks-Shaw
Leon Stapleton spent more than five decades building a grocery business in Kansas City’s urban core, but for some of the city’s current leaders, his impact began long before they held public office. He was the man behind a neighborhood store they visited as children, heard their families talk about and later came to understand as an example of Black ownership.
Stapleton died Sept. 14 at age 100. He purchased United Super Market at 39th Street and Kensington Avenue in May 1968 after spending 21 years working his way through the ranks at Safeway. The business later operated under several names, including Leon’s Thriftway, and became a longtime source of groceries, jobs and community support on Kansas City’s East Side.
Prosecutor Melesa Johnson’s memories
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Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson encountered Leon’s through family. Growing up on Kansas City’s East Side, Johnson accompanied her grandmother on grocery-shopping trips that could include several stores. As she grew older, she came to understand why a Black-owned grocery store carrying foods familiar to Black households held particular meaning for families like hers.
“I just have the fondest memories of Leon’s grocery store and being a little kid following my grandmother around or even riding on the cart as most kids do,” Johnson said.
Johnson never personally met Stapleton, but she remembers learning that a Black man owned the store. Its shelves carried foods her grandmother used, including black-eyed peas, lima beans, smoked turkey legs, pig feet and hog maws. For Johnson, that demonstrated how a neighborhood business could understand the culture and preferences of the people surrounding it.
Stapleton’s ownership also carried symbolic weight at a time when Black entrepreneurs faced substantial barriers to capital and commercial opportunities. Johnson said knowing who owned the store changed how she viewed the business as a child and helped foster a sense of connection between customers and Leon’s.
“There was just this immense level of pride, you know, being a person of color and shopping at a Black man’s grocery store,” Johnson said.
She added that Stapleton’s death has produced grief but also storytelling, with residents revisiting memories of the store and reconsidering what his ownership represented. The response, she said, provides an opportunity to examine the significance of sustaining a grocery business in the urban core decades before current conversations about neighborhood food access.
Mayor Quinton Lucas felt connected
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas came to know Stapleton later in life. As a City Council member, Lucas helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of Leon’s, shopped at the store and spoke with Stapleton about groceries, neighborhood conditions and city policy.
Lucas remembers Stapleton remaining actively involved even as he grew older. Stapleton paid attention to the condition of his business and the surrounding neighborhood while also questioning decisions at City Hall, including why public resources were supporting some grocery operations and not his.
“He was real. He was a real authentic person who always saw what he needed to do was lifting up his community,” Lucas said.
For Lucas, Leon’s longevity also reflected a reciprocal relationship between Stapleton and customers. The store remained part of the urban core as Kansas City changed around it, giving generations of residents a Black-owned option for an everyday necessity.
That visibility mattered beyond commerce, Lucas said. As a child who did not always have a father or father figure present, he remembers learning by observing older Black men throughout the community. Stapleton represented the type of businessman whose example could reach people without a formal mentoring relationship.
“You understood his loyalty, and that made you want to return it,” Lucas said.
Lucas saw a man who remained committed to his family and neighborhood without making recognition the purpose of the work. Asked how Kansas Citians could honor Stapleton, Lucas moved beyond simply encouraging residents to spend money with Black-owned businesses.
“Love your wife. Value your family. Cherish your neighborhood,” Lucas said. “Like, that’s what he did more than anything else.”
Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw’s close ties
Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw grew up on 39th Street, about a half-block from the grocery store. Before she understood Stapleton’s larger significance, Leon’s was part of the geography of her childhood, a nearby place she could walk into for candy and other treats.
Parks-Shaw also interacted with Stapleton later as an elected official, including celebrating his 100th birthday. She remembers him as kind but direct, describing him as “no-holds-barred” and “no nonsense.” After his death, she shared a photograph from his birthday on social media and heard from residents offering condolences and recounting their own experiences with him.
Those responses reflected a relationship that extended beyond shopping. Parks-Shaw said Stapleton created jobs, mentored people and used his position to support others, leaving an example for entrepreneurs such as herself about continuing through the difficulties that come with owning a business.
“I think the lesson that I learned from Mr. Stapleton is, you know, to keep moving, keep going,” Parks-Shaw said. “There’ll be challenges that you may face, but, you know, just continue to keep working, don’t quit.”
J.M. Banks
The Kansas City Star
J.M. Banks is The Star’s culture and identity reporter. He grew up in the Kansas City area and has worked in various community-based media outlets such as The Pitch KC and Urban Alchemy Podcast.
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