This Kansas City beef company is more than its wagyu hot dogs, with a mission focused on veterans...

When it launched in 2016, KC Cattle Company made it a priority to hire veterans like founder Patrick Montgomery. With a retail store in Parkville and a ranch in Weston, they were put on the map with an all-beef wagyu hot dog named the best in the nation by Food & Wine.
Patrick Montgomery struggled to find his way after his service in the U.S. Army, he said. Now on a new mission — his venture KC Cattle Company — Montgomery is helping other veterans at a similar crossroads.

“The military does some things really well and they do some things really poorly,” he explained. “One of the things they do a really poor job of is preparing the younger enlisted soldiers for that transition back to civilian life. I had a solid plan — I’m a smart guy and I’d done my research — but the part I didn’t anticipate was the loss of camaraderie and friendship; and the purpose that I had when putting on a uniform and chasing down bad guys.”

So when Montgomery launched his wagyu beef company in 2016 — which has taken off, thanks to its now-famous beef hot dogs, and has been featured in Forbes, The New York Times, and on The Today Show, he noted — he decided to employ only fellow veterans.