Blackhole Bakery’s West Plaza Bodega (1702 W 45th St., KCMO, blackholebakery.com)
Blackhole Bakery’s highly anticipated second location opened earlier this week. The new site sits in the West Plaza antique district and is fittingly called the West Plaza Bodega.
In contrast to the bakery’s flagship location off Troost, the Bodega offers retail. Shelves are lined with the latest social media-viral chef products like Ayoh mayonnaise and Molly Baz’s More is More cookbook. There’s also specialty olive oils, bags of the KC-based Popculture Gourmet Popcorn and fun ingredients like furikake rice seasonings and spaghetti dust (which I had to purchase on my visit out of pure curiosity.)
The most exciting element of the Bodega is all the seating, something its Troost location lacks. There’s plenty of room to linger in the space, which is decorated with vintage posters and feels designed for neighborhood hangouts rather than quick grab-and-go visits.
Behind the counter is a coffee bar fueled by Lenexa-based Maps Coffee, making quirky drinks such as, juniper pink peppercorn matchas and apricot pistachio lattes. There’s also Blackhole’s signature pastries, which, on my visit, largely included croissants, danishes and similar laminated doughs. The Bodega is in its soft-opening phase, but the menu will expand eventually to include made-to-order sandwiches for breakfast and lunch. My advice: take advantage of the new spot now, while you can still find a seat, and plenty of pastries.
Blackhole Bakery built a loyal following after opening in April 2020 (and remarkably surviving the pandemic), thanks to its wildly popular baked goods like mochi donuts and pistachio apricot puffs.
BKS Artisan Ales Crossroads Taproom (1701 McGee St., Suite 400, bksartisanales.com)
One of Kansas City’s best breweries, BKS Artisan Ales, has also opened a second location. The new taproom opened in the Crossroads earlier this month and brings the same award-winning beers that helped put the original Brookside’s BKS on the map. The brewery offers about 16 taps and seating for roughly 50 guests between the indoor space and patio.
Alongside popular hazy IPAs like Cloud, a 2021 Great American Beer Festival silver medal winner, and English-style ales such as Rockhill & Locust, which earned gold at the 2022 festival, the taproom will also pour experimental brews, cider and mead.
