Published on September 28, 2026
Brian W., a local pastor who has served in ministry since 1992, has called Lenexa home for 23 years. Over that time, he’s watched Lenexa City Center grow from open fields into the thriving area it is today.
“When we first moved here, the Aldi across the interstate was basically the edge of town,” he said. “It was basically just fields this way.”
These days, Brian frequently visits the Lenexa Public Market to work, meet with people and connect with church staff. He’s also brought his team to the Market for monthly lunches.
“We would bring our team over here to do lunch about once a month and we’d come on Tuesdays when there was a pop-up restaurant upstairs serving tamales,” he said. “It was cool how they just like gave her [Red Kitchen Tamales] a place to kind of incubate her concept and to see it grow. We learned tamales are delicious.”
When it comes to his own Market favorites, Brian recommends the pad see udon from Saap Saap Noodles.
Building community and connecting with the people who make the Public Market so special is at the heart of what we do. Our People of the Public Market series highlight these stories, offering a small but meaningful glimpse into the lives of our customers.