French restaurants, French-style businesses: One US town catches Olympic fever [Video]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris approaches, the world’s spotlight on the French capital will no doubt highlight French traditions.

It’s also generating excitement in Kansas City, known as the Paris of the Plains.

There are plenty of ways for residents and visitors to get out and experience French culture without leaving the Midwest.

“It’s absolutely delicious,” a customer at the French Market and Cafe Provence in Prairie Village told Scripps News Kansas City. “They change their menu regularly, so I feel like every time we come back, there’s a little something different.”

Cafe Provence, which opened more than 20 years ago, and the French Market, which opened in 2013, offer French imports, vintage items, cookbooks and other French products.

“Those are the things that we bring to the table because of who we are and where we come from,” French Market owner Patrick Quillec said.

Cafe Provence has been recognized as one of the top French …