Kansas City, MO — ULAH, the locally owned men’s lifestyle store that has served Kansas City for nearly a decade, is launching a GoFundMe campaign on Saturday, June 28 to rally support and avoid closing its doors. Founded by life partners Joey Mendez and Buck Wimberly, ULAH has become much more than a retail destination — it’s a community hub for style, connection, and creative collaboration.
“ULAH isn’t just a store,” said co-founder Buck Wimberly. “It’s a space where people feel seen, supported, and inspired — and we’ve always believed in giving back to the community that’s given so much to us.”
Over the past nine years, ULAH has been a proud supporter and convener of Kansas City’s creative scene. Their community involvement includes:
- ULAH Live Sessions – Intimate, “Tiny Desk”-style concerts where 100% of ticket sales go directly to the artists
- Annual Pride Block Party – A vibrant event supporting LGBTQ+ organizations like SAVE, Inc. (paused in 2025 due to limited resources)
- Local Pop-Up Events – Featuring Kansas City artists, makers, and brands
- Sip & Shop Fundraisers – Partnering with top customers to raise funds for local causes
- Community Spotlight Blog – Promoting fellow small businesses through storytelling and co-marketing
Despite their success and deep community ties, ULAH now finds itself in a critical moment. A combination of long-term challenges — from prolonged building facade reconstruction in their early years, to a pandemic closure and mounting COVID EIDL loan debt — has left the business overleveraged and shut out from traditional funding. Like many small businesses, ULAH relied on the SBA’s Hardship Accommodation Plan to temporarily reduce EIDL loan payments. After a lengthy approval process, they were granted one round of relief — but before they could access the additional three rounds, the current administration quietly eliminated the program in April 2024, leaving businesses like ULAH with full payments and no safety net. They’re not alone — countless independent retailers across the country are now caught in the same frustrating bind: still recovering, still rebuilding, but without the financial breathing room they were counting on.
“Like a lot of small businesses, we’ve done everything we can to adapt and move forward,” said co-founder Buck Wimberly. “We’ve never expected things to be easy — but without that extra bit of runway, it’s tough to catch up.”
“This is hard to talk about, but we’re hopeful,” added co-founder Joey Mendez. “We’ve seen how powerful this community can be, and we believe that together, we can write a new chapter for ULAH — one that’s stronger, smarter, and still rooted right here in Kansas City.”
In recent years, ULAH expanded by launching LUNA by ULAH, a new women’s offering, and growing their interior design arm, ULAH Interiors + Design, into a dedicated office space. But as post-COVID consumer spending began to slow, revenue declined while operating costs remained high. Hoping things would rebound, Joey and Buck held off on making deep cuts — but in hindsight, they recognize that waiting too long made things harder.
“Looking back, we wish we had adjusted our expenses sooner,” said Wimberly. “We were hopeful that the dip in foot traffic and spending was temporary — and we just didn’t want to disrupt the team we’d built.”
“It’s never easy to make those calls when your staff feels like family,” added Mendez. “But we’ve learned from it, and we’re doing everything we can now to get ULAH back on solid ground.”
To stabilize and relaunch, ULAH is aiming to raise $280,000 through GoFundMe to:
- Pay down vendor invoices and restock their curated inventory
- Cover essential operating costs during the recovery period
- Fund marketing campaigns to reconnect with their community
“We’ve poured our hearts into this brand,” said Mendez. “If ULAH has ever helped you find your style, supported a cause you care about, or just made you laugh with our social media antics — we hope you’ll help us write the next chapter.”
The GoFundMe campaign goes live on Saturday, June 28. Supporters can donate, share the campaign, or simply help spread the word to keep this beloved Kansas City brand alive.
GoFundMe Link | Blog – Learn more about Buck and Joey’s story | Campaign Video
Media Contact: Joey Mendez & Buck Wimberly; Co-Founders, ULAH
joey@ulahkc.com | www.ulahkc.com | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok: @ulahkc
