Hidden Gems: Meet Ryana Parks-Shaw of Krab Kingz Seafood KCK

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryana Parks-Shaw.

Hi Ryana, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. I attended college at what is now called Missouri State, in Springfield, Missouri. In college, I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and I obtained a Master of Science degree in Health Care Services Administration at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. Professionally, I have worked as a healthcare executive for nearly 30 years.

In 2001, I started my AVON business to earn extra income. I enjoyed meeting people and selling AVON door-to-door and at the farmer’s markets. I became a national trainer with AVON and trained representatives on how to excel in their beauty businesses. I quickly gained so many customers that I couldn’t properly service them all from my home so I opened my first AVON store in Independence, Missouri. I opened a second AVON store in Kansas City, Missouri. I managed both stores until I decided to focus solely on being an online business in 2014. It remains an active online AVON business today.

In 2020, my husband and I joined a partnership to open Krab Kingz KCK. It is a fast-casual seafood restaurant that features crab legs, lobster, shrimp, and all the fixings. Opening in June 2020 during the

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My initial entrepreneurship effort was quite a learning experience. Having two brick-and-mortar AVON stores was a definite challenge. I struggled with maintaining sufficient staff to run both stores so I worked seven days a week for years. I worked so much filling in the staff roles that I didn’t invest the time to manage the business of the business. Unfortunately, I didn’t properly account for the amount of shrinkage/ thefts that I would have to deal with in the stores. It felt as though when I worked in one store, the thefts would happen at the other store and vice versa. As the saying goes, I couldn’t win for losing. I grew very tired of working 7 days a week and decided to move to an online AVON business in 2014. I still have the online AVON business.

We opened Krab Kingz in June 2020. Having opened up with all of the pandemic uncertainty was challenging. The capacity restrictions required us to be a carryout and delivery business for the majority of the first year. However, we are grateful for our customers who were flexible and continued to support us.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a co-owner of Krabkingz KCK, a seafood restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas. It is a fast-casual seafood restaurant featuring crab legs, shrimp, lobster, and all the fixings. The sauce is the boss! We are most proud of the sauce and it sets us apart from other seafood restaurants.

I am an AVON representative. I have been selling AVON products for 20 years. I have had 2 AVON stores in the Kansas City area and now have an online AVON store.

I am also the 5th District City Councilwoman of Kanas City, Missouri. I am honored to have been elected to serve over 80,000 residents. I began my serving my first 4-year term in August 2019. I proudly serve on the Finance, Governance, and Public Safety Committee, and the Special Committee on Housing Policy. I also serve as the Vice Chair of the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Commission, Co-Chair of the Health Commission, and Chair of the Mayor’s Houseless Task Force. In addition, I also serve as a member of the Kansas City Zoo Board of Directors, Starlight Board of Directors, Kansas City Shepherd Center Board of Directors, and Women In Politics Foundation Board of Directors.

So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
Making a difference in the lives of those that I was elected to represent is what matters most to me. I work diligently every day to be the change that I want to see in the world.

This is important to me because the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the many inequities in our city.

Marginalized communities were more severely impacted by the pandemic from increased COVID-19 infections to higher severity of symptoms and mortality rates.

Contact Info:

• Website: krabkingzkck.com ryanaparksshaw.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/krabkingzkck
• Facebook: @krabkingskck @ryana4kc
• Twitter: @krabkingzkck @ryana4kc
• Other: https://www.avon.com/?rep=rparksshaw