The Making of a Foodie

Chef Colby and Megan Garrelts To Open Second Rye Location on The Plaza

Now, Kansas City can enjoy delicious fried chicken and homemade pie from Rye, while gazing at the iconic JC Nichols Memorial Fountain – the modern Midwestern restaurant is scheduled to open a new location on the Country Club Plaza by Fall 2017.

Chefs Colby and Megan Garrelts announced their plans this week to open a second location for Rye in the former Morton’s Grille space. This will be the third restaurant for the award-winning chefs, after they opened their first flagship fine dining restaurant, Bluestem, in Westport in 2004, followed by Rye in Mission Farms in Leawood, KS in 2012.

Since then, Garrelts have been on a roll. After opening both of their restaurants, the national accolades for each of them and their restaurants started rolling in.

In 2013, Colby Garrelts won the James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Midwest award, followed by Bluestem receiving a 2015, 2016, and 2017 James Beard Semifinalist nod for Outstanding Restaurant in Kansas City.

Pastry Chef Megan Garrelts is also a James Beard Semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef for both Bluestem and Rye. The two chefs are also the authors of two cookbooks: Bluestem, the cookbook and Made in America, and the parents of two adorable children.

With this level of national recognition, Rye on the Plaza is destined to be a real showpiece for the Garrelts’, and their culinary vision, as they will welcome both locals and tourists alike to their splashy new location. “Being able to embark on what is now our third restaurant is a direct reflection of how much the Kansas City food scene has grown,” says Colby Garrelts. “This is my hometown and having the opportunity to open Rye in a location so iconic to our city is incredible.”

This culinary couple will be joined in this venture by another one. Jeff and Joy Stehney, owners of Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, will continue to support the Garrelts’ vision for Rye both financially, as partners, and as mentors. The foursome shares a true friendship and interest in helping each other, as they continue grow their restaurant empires together in Kansas City.

The new Plaza location for Rye will have about the same amount of space that their Leawood location has -- over 7,000-square-feet. It features a large bar, while the main dining room will hold a total of 120 guests. There will be two private dining rooms that will be available to host family parties or corporate events.

Local designer, John O’Brien with Hammerout Design, who previously worked on the original Rye restaurant in Leawood, has been retained to ensure the new Plaza location will keep the same charm as the original. His goal is to create a similar feel and energy that highlights a rustic refinement that must be both comfortable enough to enjoy every day, and one that you would also want to celebrate special occasions in.

The leadership team that the Garrelts’ have strategically pulled together to man the Plaza location will pull from all of their current restaurants.

In the kitchen will be Executive Chef John Brogan who has been running the Leawood Rye kitchen for many years. The menu at Rye will continue to be a thoughtful collaboration between Colby Garrelts and Brogan that will feature signature dishes like the burnt ends and sourdough toast showcasing KC-style smoked brisket, shrimp and grits with Anson Mills cheddar grits and their famous fried chicken served with housemade pickles and ham gravy.

In the front of the house, look for General Manager Jeremy Lamb to bring his cool expertise to the new Plaza location. Having served as General Manager for both Bluestem and the Leawood location of Rye, Lamb is a trusted and familiar face that the guests look forward to seeing and the Garrelts’ have come to rely on. Known for his snappy suits, tireless wit and superior service, Lamb is the perfect person for the job.

As Lamb and Brogan leave the Leawood location, they will pass the torch to General Manager Vincent Corpuz and Executive Chef Ryan Williams, who were both recently promoted.

In the pastry kitchen, Pastry Chef Megan Garrelts will also team up with Rye’s current Pastry Chef Keara Masson, who will oversee production for both locations’ celebrated desserts. Most known for their pies, look for classic flavors and rotating seasonal options such as Lemon Meringue, Banana Cream, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies, in addition to traditional cakes, housemade ice cream & sorbets, and decadent ice cream sundaes.

Finally, lending his expertise to the bar at Rye on the Plaza will be Bluestem’s Bar Manager Andrew Olsen, who will oversee the beverage program. Olsen’s cocktail list incorporates timeless classics as well as the inspired twists that have made him a nationally recognized name in the beverage world.

Look for Olsen behind the main bar shaking things up or tucked inside their new private dining room, where at a fully equipped bar, he will be able to host intimate cocktail, spirits, and wine events. This private bar will also be used to host pop-up events, showcasing Olsen’s talents, making it a true insider’s cocktail destination.

Taking the opportunity with the opening of their second location for Rye, the Garrelts’ will launch their own line of BBQ and hot sauces. The Kansas City-style BBQ and smoked fresno chile hot sauces served at Rye, have finally been bottled for purchase.

Rye on The Plaza will open serving lunch and dinner only, then move to add breakfast and brunch. Eventually, Rye will serve breakfast from 8 – 11 am, lunch from 11 am – 3:30 pm, Monday – Friday. Weekend brunch Saturday & Sunday will be served from 10:30 am – 3:30 pm. Dinner will begin seven days a week starting at 4 pm.

Rye, 4646 JC Nichols Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri, facebook.com/ryekcplaza/ and ryekc.com

Repeal 18th Brings Gastropub Food and Craft Cocktails to North Kansas City

A new gourmet gastropub and craft cocktail spot celebrating the repeal of prohibition has opened, bringing North Kansas City a little closer to the culinary scene happening in downtown Kansas City, located only 5 minutes away.

Repeal 18^th Bar & Bistro has brought new life to the former firefighter’s bar, Johnny’s Back Yard, and they opened their doors last month introducing their new concept and executive chef, Bryan Sparks, and bar manager Darrell Loo, to the neighborhood.

Sparks is a young chef on the rise in Kansas City, who has been sharpening his skills at a wide variety of quality restaurants like Genessee Royale, 801 Fish, Jax’s Fish House & Oyster Bar and most recently Ostrea in St. Joseph, Missouri. He is excited about the opportunity to run his own kitchen at Repeal 18^th. “We are going to be serving elevated pub food here with a variety of creative small plates to share, plus a few hearty entrée items,” he says. “The food will be delicious and comforting, but with some playful surprises.”

Look for maple roasted peanuts, pork belly nachos, Bay scallop ceviche, monkfish corn dogs and fried sweetbreads and brown butter parsnips skewers on the small plates menu, which are available to order 1 for $5, 3 for $12 and 5 for $19.

As for the bar program, Darrell Loo has been brought on board to create and manage their cocktail program, “which will offer a whiskey-driven craft cocktail menu, offering everything from Jim Bean to 25-year old Pappy, and a wine program that will scale from $6 a glass to offering $150 bottles,” says Sparks.

The space itself is split into several different seating areas and experiences. Outside there is a sizable patio and small stage, which they plan to book live music in about once a month. On the nights they are throwing a “repeal party” outside, they plan to close the restaurant kitchen and throw something on the grills outside that they can sell like burgers, barbecue or even a large pan of paella.

Inside the space is broken up into a larger downstairs space and full bar that can seat 55 people and a private upstairs space that will seat 20 and will be available to rent out for special events. Whiskey lockers will also be kept on premise for regulars to use to store their favorite brands.

Fans of Johnny’s Back Yard, won’t recognize the newly remodeled space with its cool grey walls, black leather seating, Eidson light bulbs and retro fixtures modern tiled bar and steampunk metal rail work around the private balcony. It definitely sets the stage for a more sophisticated dining experience that isn’t stuffy, just one that cares about offering a high quality experience in part of town that has more casual dining options.

Repeal 18^th Bar & Bistro is the latest project for newly retired Edward Collins, a former Battalion Chief of the Kansas City Fire Department, and CEO of Burlington Mattress Co. He, and his daughter, Ann Cook, who serves as the COO of Burlington Mattress Co., will supervise the day-to-day operation of their new food and drink emporium.

“I would occasionally walk over and meet my old fire-fighting buddies at Johnny’s for a beer, so I knew the potential of this location and the great bones this place had,” says Collins. “It closed in March after 11 years, and then went up for sale 3 weeks ago, that’s when Ann and I jumped on it to open our next business together.”

The father-daughter team can see their new venture from the building that serves as home base for Burlington Mattress Co. located only a block away. They launched their first family business from that building on Burlington, growing it into a chain of 35-retail stores that they recently sold a part of allowing for Collins to finally make his move toward retirement.

Although owning a restaurant and bar doesn’t sound like much of a retirement, Collins assures me that this is something he has wanted to see in North Kansas City for many years, and he places his confidence in his daughter, the staff and particularly in Chef Bryan Sparks. “North Kansas City needs and is ready for an upscale chef-driven restaurant serving delicious gourmet food along with a great craft cocktail,” says Collins.

Collins points to the tremendous growth in new food and drink related businesses opening up now in North Kansas City, as why the timing is right for Repeal 18th. He has watched the entire area grow into a vibrant new entertainment district that is now home to a host of new restaurants, bars, retail and coffee shops, not to mention the craft beer breweries and liquor distilleries that have also chosen to make this part of town their home. Modest prices, real estate for sale and close proximity to downtown Kansas City all play into the explosive growth and interest in this area.

After the sneak peek party on Saturday, June 24, they plan to start soft opening the following week. Watch their Facebook page for all the updates on their upcoming opening celebrations.  

Repeal 18th Bar & Bistro, 1825 Buchanan St, North Kansas City, Missouri, 816.527.9819, repeal18th.com

 

Freshwater Restaurant Demolished in Fatal Car Crash

One of the unique selling points of the space that Chef Calvin Davis selected to open his first restaurant, Freshwater, was its visibility to bustling Southwest Trafficway.

Yet it was that same busy road, and his restaurants’ proximity to it, that created the perfect storm around 3 am Saturday, June 17, when a grey Honda clipped a town truck carrying a black GMC pickup truck that sent the car crashing head-first into south side of the building landing in the middle of the dining room of Freshwater.

The driver of the Honda, 25-year old Malcolm E. Hawkins, lost control of the vehicle, traveled across two lanes of traffic and into the restaurant, killing his 19-year old passenger, Diamond M. May, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and destroying the 3-month-old restaurant.

“The sad part is that all of this was preventable,” says Davis, “he chose to get behind the wheel and drive, and look at all of the lives, especially Diamond May and her family, he impacted with that one decision.”

According to the Kansas City Star, a statement that was issued on Saturday by the Jackson County Prosecutor’s office saying that the driver of the Honda, Hawkins, will face Class B felony charges for driving while intoxicated, causing a death with blood alcohol level of .18 or above, and operating a vehicle without a valid license.

As for Davis, he is not giving up. “Freshwater is not done, it will reopen. We started out by doing pop-up’s and that is what we will go back to doing as we move forward with either rebuilding this space, or possibly looking for a new space.”

He says he does wonder if he decides to stay in his current location if that would impact his business. Just how safe would his guests feel returning to the restaurant after such a horrific accident had occurred there.

“There simply are no barriers between the shops and the trafficway,” says Davis.  He started speaking to the other shop owners only a few weeks ago in the hopes having barriers of some kind added. “Everyone who owns a shop here has watched as people have accidentally taken their cars up on the sidewalk, if only for a minute, while speeding down Southwest Trafficway.”

But the true silver lining for him in all of this, has been the outpouring of support he has received from his restaurant industry friends. Davis says he has been overwhelmed by the number of phone calls, texts and emails from those in the business who have reached out to offer help and support in one way or another. “We are a generous industry that supports each other, and something like this reminds you of that. What happened to me could have happened to anyone who owns a restaurant.”

Freshwater is closed for business, as Davis makes new plans. The kitchen is still intact, but he dining room has collapsed. However, it would take extensive clean up and remodeling to put his restaurant back together again. “A lot of this depends on my Landlord, but look I’ve done this once, and I can do it again. I was here every day for 8 months, night and day, trying to get my restaurant open, and my staff and I are ready to do it again.”

Davis says he has “great insurance” and that his plan will pay his dozen or so employees during the downtime from one-month to up to 90 days. He hopes to re-open in that amount of time if all goes according to plan.

Watch the Freshwater Facebook page for pop-up updates and more details as Davis’ plans progress.

Freshwater, 3711 Summit, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.492.6861, freshwaterkc.com

 

Christopher Elbow Chocolates Moves Into New World Headquarters By 2018

Kansas City’s own candyman, Christopher Elbow is consolidating his chocolate making operation.

By next summer, Elbow is hoping to move his chocolate empire into a building located at 2725 Holly Street, in heart of Kansas City’s artisanal food and beverage “makers” community. His new neighbors will be The Roasterie and Boulevard Brewing Co.

“Right now, we produce all of our chocolates in the back of our store on McGee, and we also need more room for our shipping operation and our corporate offices,” says Elbow. “It was time to bring everything together under one roof.”

Elbow confirmed they closed on the building that will serve as their new world headquarters last week. The 15,000 sq-foot building was built in 1955 and in a former life functioned as a tire company. He also says it needs a lot of work. “The new building will be completely gutted and repurposed to house our new corporate offices, production and post-production facilities, warehousing, and order fulfillment, and we will also have a test kitchen laboratory for product development and interactive events.”

Many remember when Elbow first started making his artistic and flavorful chocolates under the name Christopher Elbow Chocolates in 2003. He was operating in a small space above a restaurant on Southwest Boulevard. Since then, he has quietly moved his corporate office a couple of times, always leaving his company name off the front door, as he found well-intentioned locals and tourists alike were constantly stopping by hoping for a tour, or wanting to buy chocolates, neither of which he could offer them at his corporate office.

“It's going to be a big project remodeling our new building, and although it will not be open to the public, we are going to make sure it looks cool and will be a nice addition to the neighborhood.”

Today the scope of his day-to-day operations here in Kansas City has changed considerably from where he started 14 years ago. He believes his new building, that will double the size of his current production space, will allow everyone on his chocolate team the chance to work side by side for the first time.

One thing that will definitely be making the move from Elbow’s current office to his new building is his top-secret, by-invitation-only, can’t-say-where, cocktail lounge that he had built into his executive office to entertain clients and friends. Hidden inside of a book on a bookshelf in his office is a biometric lock that recognizes Elbow’s thumbprint. When he presses it, a section of his bookshelf is released and swings open to reveal a private speakeasy bar and lounge. He has named it “Doe Bar,” as it has a masculine hunting lodge feel with handsome brass deer heads on the wall.

This chocolatier is more than happy to play bartender when clients belly up to his private bar, as making cocktails one of the other things that Elbow excels at creating.

Christopher Elbow Chocolates World Headquarters, 2725 Holly Street, Kansas City, Missouri, elbowchocolates.com

 

Boulevard Brewing Breaks Ground On Major Expansion, Adds New Canning Line

Boulevard Brewing is making plans to make cans part of their future.

The largest specialty brewer in the Midwest announced that they will soon break ground on a $10 million expansion of its Kansas City brewery --- building a 24,000 square foot, single-story structure, immediately adjacent to the brewery, that will house a canning line designed to fill 350, 12-ounce cans, per minute.

This expansion will set Boulevard up to not only brew, but also can, their own beer on-site in Kansas City for many years to come, and it represents a departure from their current canning practices.

When Boulevard first decided to can their beer in 2014, they contracted with Third Street Brewhouse in Cold Spring, Minnesota to not only can, but also brew the select beers intended for cans --- a fairly common practice among trusted craft breweries. The gamble paid off, and now Boulevard is investing in the future of their can business.

“Demand for our canned beers has continued to grow since we first offered them in 2014,” said Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels. “Ten years ago it was uncommon to find craft beer in cans, but today it’s a popular package. We’re happy to oblige because cans completely block light, they’re lighter than bottles so easier to transport, and they can go almost anywhere.”

Now, Boulevard will have the option of deciding which beers will, and won’t, be available in cans, since they will be doing everything right off Southwest Boulevard.

Finkle + Williams will serve as the project architect, and Kansas City-based MillerStauch Construction will act as general contractor, and key equipment will be supplied by Krones AG.

The expansion is being overseen by Dali Grabar and Tim Hall, engineering directors for Boulevard. “We have an aggressive schedule,” said Grabar, “but plan to be producing cans by the first quarter of next year.”

Boulevard Brewing Company, 2501 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.474.7095, boulevard.com

Lilo’s Shaved Ice & Soda Is Now Open In The Northland

Lilo’s Shaved Ice & Soda has opened for their first season in the parking lot of Aldi’s grocery store located at 8300 N. Oxford in the Northland.

Married couple, Matt and Angela Muir, decided to open their new shaved ice and soda stand this summer when the small shed that they thought Matt was going to have to build from scratch, was discovered out on a farm in great condition and for sale at the right price.

“It was something that we had been talking about doing since last summer, as we have fairly flexible schedules right now,” say Angela. “Matt is a dental student at UMKC and I am a Mom and work on Handmade in the Heartland, my blog.”

The name for their new shaved ice and soda stand came from their families’ favorite Disney character from Lilo & Stitch, who also happens to love Hawaiian shaved ice.

Although they have hired help for the summer, but the couple plans to run Lilo’s as a team effort.

“Matt is great with the paperwork, mechanical and technical side of the business, and I love the creative, marketing and social media side of things,” she says.

The two were inspired to serve shaved ice by the frozen treats known as “stuffed snowballs.” They are traditionally a southern summer staple, particularly in New Orleans, that puts creamy ice cream in the middle of a cup of flavored finely shaved ice.

Lilo’s will sell both regular or stuffed shaved ice, offering all the traditional favorite flavors, including the popular Tiger’s Blood. Additionally, they are making “twisted” sodas, which are unique drinks made with your favorite brand of soda, dialed up with syrups that Angela makes from scratch, then dressed up with your choice of a squeeze of citrus, a dash of cream or a dollop of ice cream.

“I am going to be making my own syrups that we will use in the sodas, and to start we will offer coconut, vanilla, pineapple, strawberry, grape, mango and peach,” she says. “Later this summer, I plan to add some seasonal flavors like strawberry basil.”

As part of her marketing plan, Angela plans to bake a different cookie each week, that they will have available only on Tuesdays, to drive early week traffic to the stand. Other marketing initiatives include social media special deals and free treats to those who post the best pictures of their Lilo’s specialties online and tag Lilo’s.

In July, she plans to add a “text-ahead” carhop service where you can text your order in ahead of time and they will have it ready when you pull up and deliver it to your car, and she says she will also start catering her handmade sodas and cookies for birthdays, weddings or corporate events.

“We are not planning for this to be just a seasonal business for us, we eventually would like to get a permanent storefront for Lilo’s, but right now we are just focused on getting through our first successful summer,” she said.

After Friday, Lilo’s regular hours will be Monday-Saturday 3 pm – 10 pm.

Lilo’s Shaved Ice & Soda, 8300 N. Oxford Street, Kansas City, Missouri, (801) 499-1637, facebook.com/pg/LilosShavedIce

 

Parkway: Social Kitchen Opens Late Summer On The Country Club Plaza

Zach Marten and Bret Springs have been working on a bit of a reorganization this year with their Back Napkin Restaurant Group.

One that prompted them to quietly close their franchised Coal Vines pizza on the Country Club Plaza in March, to give them time to gut, remodel and open one of their own concepts in its place, Parkway: Social Kitchen.

“When we opened Coal Vines as a franchisee, we had restaurant experience, but nowhere near the amount of knowledge and concept development experience we have today, and we decided that we wanted to take advantage of this prime piece of real estate on the Plaza to open one of our own concepts, one that we didn’t have to pay royalties on,” says Springs.

Working with the new owners developing the Country Club Plaza, the two partners say the time was right to make this move, citing they were very easy to work with and supportive of their planned moves for that location.

The new space is being completely gutted with plans to build a sweeping staircase in the middle of restaurant connecting the top floor to the lower level that was formerly used as a private event space. This will create a dramatic two-story dining area that will seat almost 100 total. There will also be a large three-sided bar will be upstairs, and a small 15-seat bar to serve guests downstairs.

The name Parkway: Social Kitchen comes from the park like views the restaurant has of Brush Creek and the parkways and boulevards that surround their Plaza location.    

“Parkway: Social Kitchen will be a classic American grill, a sister concept to Rockhill Grille in terms of the menu and the way it will look and feel,” says Marten. “We want each of our restaurant concepts to have a name that identifies it with the location where it will live, so Rockhill Grille is named after William Rockhill Nelson who co-founded the Kansas City Star, that is located just up the street from us in the Crossroads, Parkway: Social Club is no different.”

As the kitchen renovation is being completed in the new restaurant, Executive Chef, Sam Hefter, formerly the executive chef at Houston’s on the Country Club Plaza, has been busy working in the kitchen at Rockhill Grille, honing existing dishes and working on new ones to help move both restaurants forward with new specials and unique menu items.

Marten and Springs are also currently reorganizing their restaurant portfolio to bring Rockhill Grille which they opened in 2016 under their Back Napkin Restaurant Group, along with Westport Ale House which opened in 2014 and will now be joined by Parkway: Social Kitchen which will open late summer.

Conversely, they recently sold their interest in their RND Corner Grille, which opened in Lawrence in late 2015.

“Our partners in RND Corner Grille, were also our financial partners in Rockhill Grille, and they were wanting to grow the RND Corner Grille concept, but we were wanting to expand Rockhill Grille, so we basically decided sell our interest in each restaurant back to the other partner, letting them keep RND Corner Grille, while we retained Rockhill Grille,” says Marten.  

With no more franchise royalties to pay, and all of their restaurants now firmly under their own restaurant group, the partners say we can look for further expansion plans from them in the future.

“Going forward, we want to be known for opening beautiful, comfortable and cozy American bar and grill restaurants that reflect the neighborhoods where we open them in name and spirit,” says Springs. “It is where we are headed as a restaurant concept and what our experience and success has taught us works.”

Parkway: Social Kitchen, 616 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri

Meshuggah Bagels Opens Their Second Location in Overland Park

After working around the clock on their much-anticipated, second retail shop and production bakery for Meshuggah Bagels, Pete Linde, and his wife, Janna, have finally opened their doors at the Metcalf 103 Center in Overland Park.

They had hoped to open in March, but permitting and construction delays held up their plans, not only to their disappointment, but to the disappointment of their raving fans who have been checking in on them, daily.

“Every day for the last several months, well, really, since we hung the “Coming Soon” banner on the building, we have had people stopping in to see how we are doing and wanting to know when we will be open,” says Pete Linde. “Based on their enthusiasm, I baked a lot of bagels for our grand opening.”

The new location is much larger than their original New-York style bagel shop they opened at 1208 W. 39th Street in 2016. With over 2,600 square feet, they have room to seat around 50 inside, and space in the back for a second production bakery that will serve this location only.

The new production bakery has also been given the Pas Yisroel kosher certification by local Rabbi Mendel Segal, who did their original certification for their first production bakery in Pleasant Valley.

With one location under their belt, the couple made some simple changes to decrease the wait times for guests their new location. For example, they have now installed two registers to help shortening wait times, and added four sandwich making stations, instead of the two, giving them plenty room to make the orders as fast as they come in.

There are a few other changes at the Overland Park location including the roll-out of their new bagel boards, which consists of your choice of bagel, sliced, with your choice of schmear, along with tomato, red onion and capers for you to dress your bagel, your way. “We will also have toasters in the dining room for those guests who prefer their bagel toasted, so they can toast their own, it will also save us valuable time back here on the line, as well,” he says.

Pete has been busy programming his two new registers, setting up his four sandwich making stations, and baking hundreds of bagels in his new bagel oven, to prepare for today. It is imperative to him that the quality of the bagels baked at his Pleasant Valley location matches the ones that will be baked in his new Overland Park location.

“The equipment we purchased is identical to what we currently are baking on up North, but I started to worry when the first few batches of bagels had holes in them that were too small, a problem that was thankfully easily fixed,” he says.

Janna has also been busy, but more on the decorating side of things. Her days have been filled with sourcing, purchasing and finding a place to store all of the antique Amish tables, chairs and wooden mixing and baking bowls and peels needed to pull together their new location and make it match their store on 39^th Street.

Everything from the first location, including the paint color on the walls, is found at their second location in Overland Park, and it will be the same for their third location in Liberty which they hope to have open around Labor Day this year.  

Hours for the new retail location will be the same as their shop on 39th Street – Tuesday through Friday, 7 am to 2 pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 8 am to 2 pm.

Meshuggah Bagels, 7096 W. 105th Street, Overland Park, Kansas, meshuggahbagels.com