Inside the KC pop-up bar where Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce partied with the Mahomeses

A long year of work inside the historic building at 1924 Main St. culminated Friday with (almost certainly) a visit from the most famous celebrity couple on planet Earth.

Restaurateurs Bret Springs and Zach Marten — who own the Crossroads and Leawood locations of The Rockhill Grille and partner with Joe’s Kansas City at County Road Ice House in the Power & Light District — have been renovating the structure formerly occupied by the Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange with plans to turn it into a bar called The Wise Guy Tavern. (The Rieger closed in 2020.)

Before unveiling The Wise Guy Tavern, though, they are hosting the holiday pop-up Miracle there. Miracle on Main Street opened to the public Thursday. On Friday night, social media lit up with reports that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce stopped by for a private party in Miracle on Main Street’s banquet room.

Here’s what to know about this suddenly newsy space:

Miracle on Main Street

Springs and Marten have been hosting Miracle since 2018. The pop-up was previously held upstairs at The Rockhill Grille in the Crossroads. This year, they’re hosting two locations: one on the Country Club Plaza at 4807 Jefferson St. and one at 1924 Main St.

The menu features Christmas-themed cocktails like the Christmapolitan (vodka, elderflower, dry vermouth,spiced cranberry sauce, lime, rosemary, absinthe mist) and pizza. The rooms are decked out in sensory-overload levels of red, white and green holiday decor; and holiday music blasts over the speakers all night long.

Both Miracle pop-ups are open every day from 4 p.m. to midnight through Dec. 30, with a few exceptions around Christmas. Reservations have been moving fast at the Plaza location, but Springs said Miracle on Main Street has more availability for walk-ins.

Taylor and Travis

Miracle on Main Street seems to have already hosted Kansas City’s hot new celebrity couple. Social media reports placed Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and Patrick and Brittany Mahomes at a Christmas party there Friday night.

People, E! Online and others reported that the bar hosted a party in a semiprivate back room attended by Chiefs players and significant others. According to E!, the venue posted a photo of the couple on its Instagram Stories.

It shows Swift talking to Brittany Mahomes with Kelce standing nearby, his back to the camera. The quarterback’s wife, a co-owner of the KC Current soccer team, is wearing a brown reindeer onesie. Her husband wore one, too, as Brittany showed in photos on her own Instagram Stories. One showed the Mahomeses posing with Chiefs tight end Blake Bell and his wife, Lyndsay Bell, who wore matching Christmas tree onesies.

Swiftie nation magnified the grainy photo and decided the pop star’s holiday sweater had a squirrel on the front, possibly a sly reference to how Kelce wrote “squirle” in a 2011 tweet that recently resurfaced.

Springs told The Star on Sunday that they weren’t going to confirm the names of anybody in the room.

“We respect the privacy of all our guests and will not comment on anyone who has enjoyed Miracle,” he said.

The bar, though, winked at the reports on Monday by reposting images on Instagram of several national headlines that mentioned the party Swift attended there.

The bar also shared an Instagram Story from Tara Carylyle, who ran the photo of the couple and lamented: “When we booked @miraclepopupkc for the wrong night when @taylor swift wasn’t there.”

An onlooker told People that the holiday music for the party included “Christmas Tree Farm” by, yup, Taylor Swift.

What comes next

Springs said they are still finalizing the concept for The Wise Guy Tavern.

“We want it to reflect the history of the space with an approachable yet elevated tavern menu while incorporating a comfortable environment to catch a game,” he said.

The small bar, which at The Rieger was to the right of the entrance, is now much longer and has been moved to the opposite side of the room. The restrooms have also been relocated, and what was once the kitchen is now seating for guests.

The basement space, formerly home to cocktail bar Manifesto, will not reopen as a bar, Springs said.

“For a variety of issues, it’s no longer in compliance with the city,” Springs said. “To bring it back up to code would be almost impossible.”

They intend to open The Wise Guy Tavern the first week of February, taking a month off after Miracle.