Best of KC 2024: Fetch signs up to be KC’s unapologetic mouthpiece

Photo Courtesy of Fetch

Earlier this month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can take a peek at the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some local people, places, and things that we thought clearly won 2024. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November. 

The people of Kansas City clearly love Fetch, having voted the West Bottoms gift and vintage store the first or second-place winner in a resounding six categories this year. But beyond the store walls, Fetch uses its large social media following to share more than the details of its next event or latest wares. 

With a letterboard sandwich sign on the front stoop, Fetch has drawn attention to hyper-local and global events, causes, and niche inside jokes. The sign first became part of the business’ charm in 2017 and has been entertaining, inspiring, and calling out folks ever since. It’s about time we formally recognized it as a small part of KC’s blue-city-in-a-red-state culture. 

Photo Courtesy of Fetch

This year, the messages started with a spirited run of Chiefs players’ quotes and celebrations, quickly followed by messages of “Wake up America. Gun control now,” after the Super Bowl parade shooting. Since then, the board has featured references to Taylor Swift songs, demands for a ceasefire and to free Palestine, and pop-culture references like “We exist in the context of all in which we live and came before,” almost as a litmus test for how chronically online someone is. 

Want a visual summary of the past year of culture and politics? Look no further than Fetch’s iconic signage.