Leon Stapleton Obituary, Death – Kansas City Grocery Pioneer Dies at 100

Leon Stapleton, a pioneering Kansas City grocer and longtime community figure, has died at the age of 100. His passing marks the loss of a businessman whose work helped shape the history of grocery retail in the Kansas City area.

Stapleton opened Leon’s Thriftway in May 1968 after spending 21 years working as a manager for Safeway. His decision to establish his own store came after years of experiencing discrimination in the grocery industry.

Stapleton was among the first African Americans to enter Kansas City’s retail grocery business. He recalled facing discrimination from the beginning of his career, including an incident on his first day as a Safeway manager when most of his white co-workers refused to shake his hand.

Despite those experiences, Stapleton continued building his career and eventually purchased a location on East 39th Street for his own grocery store. The property faced significant challenges, including being firebombed during the unrest that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Rather than abandon the business, Stapleton moved forward with his plans and opened Leon’s Thriftway in 1968. He later operated the store alongside his son, Vernon, for more than five decades.

The grocery store became a longstanding source of food and service for residents in the surrounding Kansas City community. Even as the business faced poverty, racism and growing competition from larger supermarket chains, it remained a recognizable neighborhood institution.

Leon’s Thriftway ultimately closed in 2019, ending more than 50 years of operation. By then, Stapleton’s work had become closely associated with Kansas City’s local business history and the development of African American entrepreneurship in the city.

Stapleton’s death brings an end to the life of a man whose career stretched across decades of significant change in Kansas City. His family, former customers, community members and others who knew his story are now remembering his contribution to the area and the legacy of the grocery store he built.