Explore Kansas City’s historic Westside: Murals, festivals, Mexican bakeries & taquerias
Jose Luis Valdez settled in Kansas City’s Westside with his family 18 years ago. Moving from Chicago after working in the restaurant industry, he and his family decided it was time to start their own business in a new corner of the Midwest.
The Westside stuck out to Valdez because of the large Mexican population. After learning how to make traditional Mexican ice cream and opening their shop, this little neighborhood became home.
Formerly called Palaterias Tropicana, Palacana has expanded to six locations since, and it all started in the Westside.
The neighborhood sits perched on a hilltop right by I-35. A gateway to downtown Kansas City and the Crossroads, the multicultural neighborhood is filled with gems, some that have been there for years and some that are brand new to the scene.
A hotspot for the Hispanic community for over a century, the Westside is growing beyond its little village, as Valdez put it. If you’ve never visited before, here’s your guide.
MUST EAT OR DRINK
Take your pick at a plethora of Mexican restaurants in the Westside. Whether it’s Los Tules, La Fonda El Taquito or Taqueria Mexico, you can’t go wrong.
If you go further down Summit Street, you’ll have Westside classics like Los Alamos and newer favorites like:
Blue Bird Bistro, an organic and all-natural restaurant serving everything from breakfast favorites to dinner classics
The Westside Local, one of the highest-rated restaurants in Kansas City according to Zagat. The farm-to-table restaurant serves sandwiches, desserts and an endless supply of beer.
Chez Elle Creperie, a coffee and specialty crêpe shop.
Night Goat Barbecue for lunch and Fox and Pearl for dinner. Both share the same building and provide assortments of foods and beverages.
MUST DO
While part of the celebration was rained out this year, a massive Dia de Los Muertos celebration hosted by the Mattie Rhodes Center and Guadalupe Centers takes place in the Westside.
Vendors from all over Kansas City set up shop, and neighbors come together to celebrate Hispanic culture and community’s identity.
The Guadalupe Center also hosts an annual Cinco de Mayo festival. The cultural celebration has been running for over 100 years. Along with highlighting Mexican culture, it helps raise funds for the center.
For the athletes or people who would’ve gone pro if they didn’t suffer an injury, participate in the annual Tony Aguirre Latino Men’s Basketball tournament. The tournament honors Aguirre, a lifelong Westside resident who coached all kinds of sports and used those to teach valuable life lessons to kids.
On a nice day, take a walk through 4.33 acres of Jarboe Park and around the neighborhood.
Los Tules owner Salvador Tule said his daughter’s friends from school had never been to the Westside, and when they came to visit, they loved how walkable the community is.
“They go to get crepes in the morning, they run to the little stores and the (Palacana) on the Westside and they love it,” Tule said. “I can see their faces light up. It feels like a little piece of Mexico here.”
ICONIC NEIGHBORHOOD THING
The role churches have played in the Westside can’t be understated, and none are more iconic than the Guadalupe Center.
Founded in 1919, a group of white, affluent, Catholic women who were originally called the Amberg Club moved from the Northeast to the Westside to provide services to the immigrant community.
Since its inception, the Guadalupe Center has provided social services to the Hispanic community and fostered the community needed for Hispanic Kansas Citians to feel at home.
Sandra Enriquez, a professor at UMKC, told The Star that people of Mexican descent were often denied access to hospitals and schools, and that places like the Guadalupe Center would step in and provide those services.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
As mentioned before, The Guadalupe Center, Mattie Rhodes Center and Tony Aguirre Community Center all come together to help the Westside. There are tons of events and activities you sign up for to help out around the area.
You can volunteer to help students in their learning development, plan events, fundraising and much more.
The Westside Neighborhood Association is also a good place to keep up and stay involved with the community. They post when events are happening and when members are meeting monthly.
HISTORY TIDBIT
The Westside was one of the central locations where Hispanics migrated to in Kansas City after the Mexican Revolution. The neighborhood was a Swedish hub, but as they moved out, people of Mexican descent started to move in because of how close it was to the industrial areas, and because they could afford to live there.
Many Mexican immigrants moved to the Westside to work on the railroad or in the meatpacking houses in the West Bottoms.
