Chef Robin Krause’s health-focused spot Billie’s Grocery was a breath of fresh air when it opened in June of 2020.
With a raw dessert bar, cold-pressed juices and a colorful, organic-heavy menu, the wide-open Midtown space, naturally lit by massive windows, feels like a spot you’d stumble upon in a bigger city like Chicago or Los Angeles. That’s because Krause spent time traveling during her years as a health coach, certified herbalist and yoga teacher. At Billie’s, it’s not a diet Krause is serving but a lifestyle—one where there’s something delicious and healthy for everyone.
“[In 2020], people wanted those comforting and stimulating foods, and here I was, as a nutritional therapist, trying to heal the world,” Krause says. “So I decided to give them what they were wanting but a little healthier.”
From sauces to soup broth, everything at this breakfast and lunch spot is made from scratch. Dishes like meaty carnitas bowls, smoked salmon mezze and Turkish eggs with house-made labneh are packed with such beautiful texture and flavor you’ll be blissfully oblivious that any of the food you’re eating is following your dietary restrictions, whether they be gluten-, sugar- or dairy-free. But they are.
Now, about those raw desserts.
“No one is doing this in Kansas City,” Krause says. “It means gluten-free, dairy-free, processed sugar-free. Everything is made from a nut flour or a gluten-free oat flour that we grind. Nothing is baked, so you don’t destroy any of the nutrients in the dessert.”
It’s fair to say that Krause’s wellness restaurant is a hit. The chef just opened another Billie’s in Leawood. Whereas the Midtown location offers cooking classes, the new spot will instead offer a full market of grab-and-go meals.
“We’re also going to do more pop-ups,” Krause says. “We have a fresh mozzarella cheese puller coming in. We’ll do gluten-free pasta demos, fun stuff like that, so it’s a little more interactive.”
