The Grand Emporium Collection was donated to Miller Nichols Library, University of Missouri-Kansas City, in Summer 2004 by Roger Naber and C. Herb Palmer, co-owners of the Grand Emporium (along with George Myers).

Housed in LaBudde Special Collections, the manuscript collection primarily chronicles from 1985-2004 the venerable Kansas City nightclub at 3832 Main Street and consists of approximately 15,000 flyers, handbills, and posters; 4,000 photographs, negatives, and slides; 1,000 performer press kits; 450 music contracts; and other assorted ephemera and memorabilia. Additional material documents other promotional efforts undertaken by Naber, including the Kansas City Blues and Jazz Festival, the Kansas City Blues Society, and bookings for other venues, some of which predate his Grand Emporium days. In addition, three addendums of material have been added to the collection: George Myers Material (originally donated by Naber in 1998), Jennifer Leapheart Collection (2005), and John Tangeman Collection (2007) – all were integrated as related material into this collection.

Housed in the Marr Sound Archives, the audiovisual collection consists mostly of albums and demo recordings of the musical acts that performed at the venue from 1985-2004. Similarly, the collection also holds promotional video recordings from musical acts that performed at the Grand Emporium. Many recordings in this collection were created by artists from the Kansas City area and reflects an aspect of Kansas City’s live music scene of the period.