Exciting news for lovers of the Waldo eatery Hemma Hemma. Chef and owner Ashley Bare is opening a second location, this time with a retro diner flair.
Hemma Hemma Dinette is expected to open in February 2026 inside the Lightwell building in the former Strang Chef Collective space (1100 Main St., KCMO). Tiffany Ruzicka of AREA Real Estate Advisors represented Bare in securing the downtown lease, as well as her original Waldo location. Both restaurants will have a similar 4,000 square foot layout, but while the Waldo flagship is known for serving a health-focused menu of comforting dishes in a “grandma chic” setting, the new site, Bare says, will have a slightly different feel with a nod to diner culture.
“If Waldo’s Hemma Hemma is grandma chic, then the downtown location is your cool aunt chic,” Bare says. “You know, the one with colorful glasses and chunky jewelry, who mixes stripes with florals.”
The new menu will feature an In-N-Out-inspired burger, steak and eggs, tuna melt and milkshakes. Bare and her team will house-cure their pastrami, making way for a pastrami breakfast burrito and breakfast Reuben sandwich. Still, fans of the Scandinavian-inspired restaurant can expect familiar favorites, like the herby chicken salad and the signature BEC sandwich, a fully loaded egg soufflé sandwich with bacon and scallion-avocado aioli served on a fluffy brioche bun.
Bare maintains that the new space will still feel distinctly Hemma Hemma. The Dinette will be “a very slight nod to a diner-style restaurant,” Bare says. “But it won’t be heavy, greasy diner food. It’ll be a fresh, modern take on that diner-style of food.”
Other highlights include masa pancakes, chilaquiles and smashed breakfast tacos, plus cocktails served from the full bar. The Lightwell location will also include a coffee bar offering housemade pastries, such as cinnamon roll cookies (Bare’s cinnamon rolls were given the nod of approval by KC’s favorite football mom last year) and cookies inspired by the popular NYC-based Levain Bakery, which makes them massive and gooey.
Eventually, they’ll open the patio, Bare says. Customers can definitely expect it to be ready by springtime.
Hemma Hemma Dinette will be open every day from 8 am to 4 pm, serving breakfast, brunch and lunch, with table-service brunch on weekends.
