Day: June 28, 2021

  • Strawberry Hill might just have the best collection of dive bars in America

    Strawberry Hill might just have the best collection of dive bars in America

    The best dive bars in Kansas City—really, the best dive bars in the lower Midwest, and maybe the country—are quietly clustered in a historically Croatian enclave of Kansas City, Kansas, called Strawberry Hill. They are the best not because of their convivial atmosphere, or their thoughtful selection of beers and spirits, or their charming regulars, or some other measure of what one might think of as a “good time.” They are the best because they are portals to an era that no longer exists in American society. In fact, to call them dives is not quite right. They are more like neighborhood museums that happen to serve Fireball shots.

    If you think I’m about to divulge all the tavern secrets I’ve stockpiled in my many years of knocking around Wyandotte County, you’re crazy. That sacred knowledge must be earned, round by round. I don’t mind sharing a few pointers, though.

    As I say, the best bars are found in Strawberry Hill, but wander up into the hills south of the Kansas River into a neighborhood called Argentine and you’ll find a friendly little joint called the Coach Lite Club (2103 S. 34th St.). It’s a former Sinclair gas station that was converted into a bar sometime in the 1960s—or so Mike Damron, who owns the place with his wife, Stacy, told me. Coach Lite (incredibly, it does not, and never has, shared any affiliation with Coach Club, located just a few miles away in Armourdale) has a horseshoe bar, a shuffleboard table and a little nook in back where you can make some money playing the machines. It’s cash-only, and bring a little extra: The Damrons’ daughter raises chickens, and if you stop by on the right day, you might be able to leave with some farm-fresh eggs.

    Also not technically in Strawberry Hill is Johnnie’s on Seventh (55 S. Seventh St.), though it’s pretty darn close. The bar is named after Johnnie Baska, who founded it in 1934. Since 2010, it’s been run by an extremely tall, extremely gregarious gentleman named Chris O’Connor who, as the brother of a woman who married the grandson of Johnnie Baska, has a reasonable claim of legitimacy on the place. Look down and you’re standing atop old black-and-white checkerboard tile; look up and the ceiling’s all black-and-white framed photos of famous men. Drink an Irish whiskey or two at the bar, or shoot a game of pool in the side room and it’ll come to you: All those men on the ceiling are named John.

    Years ago, a guy by the name of Foots used to run illegal card games out of the back room at Sammy’s Tavern (222 N. Sixth St.), a low-ceilinged Strawberry Hill corner bar. Most of the judges, politicians and other local muckety-mucks who participated are long dead, but Sammy’s pays tribute to the legacy with a couple of poker paintings and a hard-to-miss “We don’t want nobody nobody sent” attitude toward interlopers. The building in which Sammy’s sits is owned by Joni Bocelewatz, who also owns Fat Matt’s Vortex (411 N. Sixth St.) just a couple of blocks north. Bocelewatz bought the place in 2004; up to that point, it was unofficially known as a whites-only club. She desegregated the bar and played up the less problematic parts of the building’s history, namely the fact that there’s a crematorium in the basement dating back to its days as Stein Funeral Home. (You’re unlikely to get a peek of the crematorium: Bocelewatz rents out the basement to the Iron Order Motorcycle Club.) Hang around Fat Matt’s and you’ll hear talk of spirits both ethereal and literal—shots of “Grog,” a mystery concoction, go for three dollars.

    Speaking of prices, at Breit’s Stein and Deli (412 N. Fifth St.), a pint of Guinness is four dollars and the popular Reuben sandwich is $5.45 (including chips!). The bar, formerly a pool hall called Stanko’s, sat dormant for thirty-two years until 2002, when a 1974 graduate of Bishop Ward High School named Bob Breitenstein decided he wanted to open up a neighborhood joint on “the Hill.” These days, it attracts an older crowd of city employees, Ward graduates and Breitenstein family members (“It’s a pretty big family,” Bob told me).

    Not everything is Old World in Strawberry Hill. Danny Dumovich is a former Breit’s bartender who is now one of the owners of Chicago’s (534 Central Ave.), which could be thought of as a kind of descendant of Breit’s: sportsy, lots of millennial-aged Ward grads and BPU employees, but not quite the same time-capsule feel (a Jimi Hendrix painting on the wall, a popular beer-pong tournament held every February). Owner Artie Scholes keeps a smart selection of craft beer and pinball machines at 403 Club (614 Reynolds Ave.), just north down the hill from Chicago’s.

    The building at 204 Orchard was once home to View on the Hill, one of the metro’s oldest gay bars. It closed in 2014, and a few years later Mockingbird Lounge (204 Orchard St., KCK) debuted in the space, serving trendy Mezcals and Japanese whiskies and Pisco sours in coupe glasses. It is, without question, the nicest bar in KCK.

    And at The Easy Inn (322 N. Sixth St.), the newest arrival in the area, you’ll find Edison bulbs dangling above picnic tables on the back patio, retro garage-rock dudes in tank tops and tattoos covering arms that definitely do not belong to sailors or military veterans. It is—there is no other way to put it—a hipster bar. It’s a pretty good one, though. And, anyway, nothing gold ever stays.

  • Brian Roberts builds community support for Black-owned businesses with his shop Black Pantry

    Brian Roberts builds community support for Black-owned businesses with his shop Black Pantry

    Last November, Brian Roberts quietly launched a pop-up retail business called Black Pantry, where he sold sundry home goods and foodstuffs—everything from soaps and candles to artisan hot sauce and jam—out of a small trailer at locations around Kansas City. His core mission: Give Black brands a spotlight.

    Roberts returned to his native Kansas City in 2019 after a decade away. He was struck by the enormous business and development growth he found in the area—and disheartened, too.

    “When I came back, I saw all these different areas with a lot of life and rejuvenation, but nothing that really embodied any growth from the Black community,” he says. Every product Roberts stocks at Black Pantry comes from a Black-owned business. That’s the primary qualifier. From there, Roberts selects merchandise that’s of high quality and craftsmanship.

    In April, Roberts partnered with Made in KC to split the retail space at the brand’s new shop in Martini Corner (half the square footage is stocked with Made in KC products; the other half is Black Pantry). It’s the next step in what he hopes will be a long life for Black Pantry.

    Where did the idea for Black Pantry originate?

    It originated almost a year ago on my honeymoon. Me and my wife were having a picnic and we wanted to support Black businesses, and we were talking about the lack of availability to support those businesses. You really had to drive the scope of the city. At the same time, there wasn’t a large number of trendy Black businesses in up-and-coming areas. So I was like, “I’m going to try something crazy. I’m going to get all these products I see online that are high-quality and that I know everyone is looking for right now—because everyone wants to support Black-owned businesses—and I’m going to bring it to people.”

    How do you find the creators and makers you want to represent?

    First I started doing the searches on Google, which was frustrating because it was just a collage of businesses. Who wants to go through a list of a hundred and eighty businesses? A lot of the Black community doesn’t even know about a lot of those brands because they are hard to find. So, I research and I start to dive into the business. I’ll order something and try it and look at the quality of packaging and how long they’ve been around. I do a lot of background work on who and what they are.

    Why is this work important to you now?

    Right now, there’s no better time to be Black. You have Black people supporting each other more than ever and other cultures supporting what Black America is doing. Kansas City is one of the most intentionally racially divided cities in America, and I feel like Black people are still not represented well. I love shopping in Westport and the Crossroads and Lenexa, but sometimes, we go in these spaces and we can feel that we are not welcome. These spaces are not created with us in mind. There’s a limited number of places that I can go to that are trendy where I can be my authentic Black self, and that’s what I’m trying to create.

    GO: 325 E. 31st St., KCMO. Open 10 am–7 pm Monday–Saturday and noon–5 pm Sunday.

    Kansas City Favorites

    The Combine: “They have a great cocktail called the Combine, and the Cowtown slice—with pepperoni, sausage, bacon and beef—is a must!”

    Tyler Enders: “One of the co-founders for Made in KC, he has done so much to support local small businesses. I think the Made in KC team is strong, and I’m excited to see how the Black Pantry and Made in KC partnership evolves.

    KC Black-Owned: “What they’re doing is compiling a really user-friendly, searchable list of Black-owned businesses so you can say, ‘Here is where I am today, where can I go in this neighborhood to support Black-owned businesses?’ And you can pull up the map on the website and it’ll show you your options.”

  • Downtown’s new Loews Hotel has five stars and one very refreshing summer cocktail

    Downtown’s new Loews Hotel has five stars and one very refreshing summer cocktail

    Business is guaranteed for the Stilwell restaurant, located inside downtown’s new Loews Hotel (1515 Wyandotte, St., KCMO). It would have been enough for the space to just be beautiful—and it is, polished and modern with a skyline view. But the cocktails at Bar Stilwell in the lobby and Horsefeather Social, the hotel’s stunning upper patio, are worth trying even if you’re not wearing a conference badge.

    The bars have separate drink programs. If you’re at the lobby bar, the New Midwest is the beverage of choice—local bourbon from Tom’s Town is infused with butter and mixed with maple. Up seven floors at Horsefeather Social, while you lounge on patio furniture and watch the curves of the Kauffman Center reflect off the hotel’s sleek glass facade, bartenders are mixing up seasonal drinks that are sunny and summery. At some bars, coconut-infused drinks can taste a little like, well, suntan lotion. Not the CoCo Spritz. The lightly bitter and citrusy flavors of Aperol get a tropical boost from coconut oil, which is combined with vodka and Prosecco for a perfectly refreshing summer drink.

  • How to enjoy Westport bars after age 30

    How to enjoy Westport bars after age 30

    If you’ve graduated out of your twenties, you’ve probably got one day a week to get all your alcohol in. (The following day is for recovery; the rest give you reasons to drink.) The density of bars in Westport can help you make the most out of your Big Night Out—even if you’re too old for shots.

    Start slow at Hi-Dive (1411 W. 39th St., KCMO), a casual neighborhood joint where local craft beers are on tap and mystery beer cans are $2.50. Down the street, the stylish Goat & Rabbit (1804 W. 39th St., KCMO) offers riffs on classic cocktails (yes, there’s a negroni—with Lillet Blanc).

    Your ancient body will require sustenance if you’re going to keep this up, so head over to Westport Cafe and Bar (419 Westport Road, KCMO), easily the classiest restaurant the district has to offer. Chef and co-owner Romain Monnoyeur changes the French-leaning menu seasonally, but you can always count on the mussels and a golden pile of pomme frites. The French vibes continue at champagne bar Ça Va (4149 Pennsylvania Ave., KCMO), where the red-brick patio and long list of bubbles will have you feeling trés chic.

    There always seems to be a crowd at Harry’s Bar and Tables (501 Westport Road, KCMO), and it’s always a varied one—because there’s something for everyone at this venerated watering hole. Belly up to the handsome wood bar or head out to the patio with whatever cocktail is calling to you. And if your tired old bones can make it to MiniBar (3810 Broadway Blvd., KCMO), this is where you can prove to yourself that you’re still cool enough to close down a bar at three in the morning, clutching a bottle of High Life in your wrinkled hand.

  • AKT is Leawood’s newest boutique cardio dance fitness studio lauded by Shakira

    AKT is Leawood’s newest boutique cardio dance fitness studio lauded by Shakira

    Don’t walk into an AKT studio expecting a bouncy, clap-to-the-beat Jazzercise class. AKT, named for celebrity fitness trainer/mastermind Anna Kaiser, is a cardio-intensive and strengthening dance workout equipped with blood-pumping music, resistance bands and disco balls. I took a combo class that was half band work and half dance cardio. By the time Britney Spears’ “(You Drive Me) Crazy” hit the speakers at the end of the forty-five-minute class, I was dripping in sweat and my body felt like jello—in the best way possible.

    The workout brand lauded by Kelly Ripa and Shakira just opened a studio in Town Center. Lauren Cimpl, who runs the studio with her husband, Anthony LaVita, hopes that people will welcome this niche workout.

    “I’d like to bring something new,” she says. “If this was to be someone’s home studio, even if it’s complimentary to other workouts, I think that’s great.

  • What you need to know about private drinking clubs in Kansas

    What you need to know about private drinking clubs in Kansas

    Armourdale’s Coach Club (1102 Osage Ave., KCK) looks from the outside like any old dive—a pair of beer lights glow dimly in the thin window slats, and the name of the bar is painted in black on the aging building’s facade. But not just anybody can wander in and order a Bud. There’s a buzzer outside. They’ve got to buzz you in.

    That’s because Coach Club, founded in 1965, is designated a Class B club under Kansas law. It’s members-only. These licensed drinking clubs grew out of a unique law passed the year it opened to crack down on unlicensed drinking clubs, where vice flourished. They were once a staple of life in Wyandotte County, beacons of privacy for the myriad ethnic communities that settled in the area to work in Kansas City’s meatpacking plants. As the members died off or moved out to the suburbs, most of the owners either closed their clubs or converted to traditional Drinking Establishments—i.e., regular bars. But a handful still hang on, blissfully exempt from Kansas’ smoking ban.

    The best-known Class B club in the metro is actually located in Johnson County: The Keyhole Tavern. In Wyandotte County, six remain. In addition to Coach Club, there’s Bar None Lounge (just up the street from Coach Club, at 1200 Osage Ave., KCK), Strawberry South (48 S. Seventh St., KCK), Bill’s 32 West (6500 Kaw Drive, KCK), April’s Firelight Lounge (2046 N. 18th St., KCK) and Olde Mill Lounge (611 W. Second St., Suite 200, Bonner Springs).

    How to become a member in good standing? That’s up to barkeeps like Willie, a white-haired gentleman in white overalls who’s worked at Coach Club since he was seven years old. Technically, under the law, you must first be screened “for good moral character,” then pay an annual membership fee of no less than ten dollars. But there are laws, and then there’s the way things work in the real world. Willie’s a pretty friendly guy. Show up with a smile and some respect for the culture, and who knows, maybe he’ll buzz you in.