Dive Bar ’Cue
After two years of operating Night Goat Barbecue out of his New American restaurant Fox and Pearl, Chef Vaughn Good has finally found a spot where his pitmaster abilities can take center stage. Good is moving Night Goat into Fox and Pearl’s basement—and turning the space into a dive bar.
Night Goat will have a “tavern-y” feel, according to Good. The building’s basement was a speakeasy, El Pozo, not long before Fox and Pearl opened upstairs, but it’s sat empty for the past several years. Good and his team have been using it for storage.
“The space lends itself already to being a dive bar,” Good says. “I think the last time it was an actual legal bar was probably in the ’80s at some point.”
Currently, customers can only indulge in Good’s barbecue—which ranked No. 8 in our 2023 roundup of KC’s best BBQ—on Sundays at Fox and Pearl. Night Goat Tavern, expected to open late spring, will serve Good’s barbecue Wednesday through Sunday from 5 pm until midnight.
With the move, Good wants his barbecue to resemble bar food, with an emphasis on tacos and sandwiches. As for drinks, Good says they’ll have “yard beers, riffs on classic cocktails and focus a lot on whiskey and agave spirits.”
Aesthetically, Night Goat will resemble its predecessors as a low-key drinking establishment, but the decor will be inspired by the ’60s and ’70s. A new concept in KC’s food and drink.
“This is definitely down in a basement,” Good says. “It’s just going to have that dive bar vibe. We’ve got a really cool vintage speaker system, and we’re going to play a lot of vinyl.”
Garage Bar
Crossroads hot spots King G Bar and Deli and Jim’s Alley Bar are known for their top-notch drinks and cool but unpretentious atmosphere. Now, the makers behind the sister bars are bringing their talents to the burbs. Next summer, Hank’s Garage and Grill will join downtown Shawnee’s hopping drinking scene.
Hank’s (5801 Nieman Road, Shawnee, KS) will resemble a neighborhood bar with plenty of beers on draft and TVs to watch the games. The 3,000-square-foot space will be inspired by the former automotive shop it housed.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” owner Eric Flanagan says. “If you’ve been to King G’s and Jim’s, we’re just going to do what we do in terms of the aesthetic. It’s not going to have some kitschy Route 66 signs, but we are going to lean a little bit into the vintage auto garage feel.”
Hank’s outdoor patio will have a second bar. Flanagan and his team are building a large canopy to shade the patio, similar to one you might see at an old-school Texaco or Gulf gas station.
“We want to make it look like it’s been there forever,” Flanagan says.
The drink menu will be casual with yard beers, craft beers on draft, classic craft cocktails and made-from-scratch soda and tonics.
“It’ll be a relaxing place to watch the game and feel comfortable bringing your kids there, but also comfortable if you’re in your mid-20s and want to have more than a few,” Flanagan says.
As for bar fare, Flanagan plans on developing a menu with elevated casual eats and an emphasis on burgers.
A great addition to KC’s food and drink scene.
To keep updated, follow Hank’s @hanksshawnee.
Bánh Mì, Please
Paris Banh Mi Cafe and Bakery, a shop devoted to bánh mì sandwiches, recently opened in Westport, creating lots of buzz.
“We saw the concept and we thought, ‘Kansas City needs this kind of franchise,’” says co-owner Binh Dang.
The sandwich, characterized by its savory, often marinated meat with crunchy vegetables on a crispy baguette, has a bit of a cult following. Paris Banh Mi’s (1106 Westport Road, KCMO) menu features eight variations on the sandwich, and Dang says the most popular is the Special Combination. It’s loaded with several meats of your choice and plenty of condiments, like soy sauce and mayo. You can even swap out the baguette for a croissant or burger bun.
“This is very new to the Kansas City area,” Dang says of the bánh mì shop. “We’ve never had anything like this in the surrounding area, so I think the menu speaks for itself. We have a standard. We do it like you’re supposed to make it and have it taste good every time you come in.”
The food and drink at Paris Banh Mi’s is creative. Soon to join the menu are Korean corn dogs and pho. The drink menu consists entirely of boba teas.
Paris Banh Mi is part of a nationwide franchise. The 3,500-square-foot KC location includes an open kitchen and French-style bakery. Along with fresh-baked baguettes, customers can also purchase desserts like cheesecake, lemon tarts and coffee cake.
Mike’s Wine & Spirits previously occupied the space but moved next door. “We took over a space that had been vacant for at least five to six years,” Dang says. “We took a big risk. We literally turned this [place] upside down.”
Cheese Factory
Starting next year, Kansas Citians won’t have to travel as far to dine at Green Dirt Farm, a sheep and dairy farm based in Weston, Missouri. The award-winning artisan cheese producer is opening a full-service restaurant in the Crossroads.
“We’re thrilled to bring our cheeses to our loyal fans and customers in Kansas City and create a unique experience for our community highlighting delicious mission-driven, small-batch foods,” says Sarah Hoffmann, owner and founder of Green Dirt Farm.
Unlike Green Dirt’s flagship eatery in Weston, which only serves a small menu of sandwiches and charcuterie boards, the new Crossroads restaurant, called Green Dirt on Oak (1601 Oak St., KCMO), will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Opening this month, the two-story space will feature an open kitchen, local market, cafe and cheese-producing facility. Through viewing windows, customers will be able to watch the cheese-making process in action.
“It’s pretty unique in the sense that the cheese will be manufactured on site, cooked on site, eaten on site,” says Green Dirt on Oak’s general manager Matthew Gude.
Green Dirt’s specialties—lamb and cheese—will create the base of the menu. Lamb tartare, lamb chops and lamb burgers will be featured alongside more casual options like Reuben sandwiches and charcuterie boards. This establishment is definitely going to be a hit in KC’s food and drink scene.
