Outpost Social Club in the Westside neighborhood has been serving dinner and late-night eats since it opened in July of 2021.
As of October, the sister business of hip nightspot Panther’s Place has added breakfast and lunch with options like smothered biscuits and gravy, roasted garlic and mushroom pizzas. The pivot was instigated by chefs Rachael West and Gunner Hawkins, who took over the kitchen back in March.
West and Hawkins, who are engaged, both went to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in St. Louis and have been sous chefs at both Michael Smith’s restaurants, Extra Virgin and Farina. The couple was running a food truck, Stairway to Cravin’, that served gourmet sandwiches and sides before they accepted the offer from owner Ryan Gale to cook for Outpost.
Along with coffee drinks, a full bar offers craft cocktails such as bloody marys and mimosas. Morning familiars like egg sandwiches and crispy hash browns are on the menu along with Rachael’s freshly baked pastries. As for lunch, smash burgers, sauteed shrimp po’boys, and fries.
Despite the fairly typical menu of breakfast and lunch items, Gale provides eggs from his chickens, and tomatoes and fresh herbs come from his garden. “We’ve worked in simpler places, and we’ve also worked in five-star restaurants. One thing we’ve learned in our careers is, yeah, people like fancy fine dining but if you do something simple and you do it very well, people tend to like that better.”
With their fine-dining background, Rachael and Gunner are excited about the possibilities their kitchen holds and plan to offer more intricate meals and events as they continue. Outpost Social is currently working on a website but until then it is advised to keep updated through their Instagram @outpostsocialclubkc.
Breakfast and lunch are offered Monday through Saturday 7 am-2 pm and dinner Thursday through Saturday 6 pm – 1:30 am.
