It was an all-hands-on-deck effort after the AFC Championship as team members from Sandlot Goods and Made in KC unloaded box after box of newly produced Super Bowl-ready apparel. They're among the businesses across Kansas City that are trying to savor — and capitalize on — this unusual moment.

Thanks to entrepreneur Henry Perry’s smoked creations in the early 1920s, barbecue reigns supreme in Kansas City. Kansas City-style barbecue uses a sweet and thick tomato-based sauce. The burnt ends, or “meat candy,” are the tender, juicy chunks of caramelized brisket. They wouldn’t exist without the barbecue.