These are the Kansas City area restaurants and bars that closed in 2023 — and why

The work is hard and the margins are low. But God bless them, people keep opening restaurants and bars. It is a powerful dream, making a living cooking food for others.

It often, of course, does not work out. The failure rate is notoriously high in the restaurant business. Our recent pandemic only heightened that trend.

The following is a list of bars and restaurants that closed in 2023. It is not meant to be a list of failures. Rather, it’s something like a photo negative of restaurant life in the city — a way to recognize the places that tried to make a dent in our community with their food and drink.

This list also includes, to the extent possible, the reasons these establishments closed. We ask why not because we are nosy — although we are — but because we hope it helps us better understand larger trends at play. A picture does emerge. Staffing challenges, changing habits post-pandemic, the rising costs of doing business. In some cases, simple exhaustion.

To those who had to close this year: Thanks for making the effort. We hope to see you in the kitchen or behind the bar soon.

January

Zócalo Mexican Cuisine & Tequileria. The Mexican restaurant at 620 W. 48th St. on the Country Club Plaza held its last day of business Jan. 29. Owner Chris Ridler cited the need for infrastructure improvements to the building and changing dining habits post-COVID. Zócalo opened in September 2011.

The Classic Cookie. Husband and wife Bryan Sparks and Hailey Allen, along with their friend Anthony Quirarte, took ownership in 2021 of the bakery and breakfast-lunch spot, which opened in 1988 at 409 W. Gregory Blvd. Sparks cited the cost of goods and water line issues in their decision to close. Pizza Tascio now operates in the space.

February

Taco Republic. Owner Whitney VinZant, who purchased the street taco restaurant in 2019 from Bread & Butter Concepts, closed the Kansas City, Kansas, location at 500 County Line Road but kept open the other Taco Republic in Corinth Square, at 4100 W. 83rd St. in Prairie Village. The KCK restaurant opened in 2013.

District Pour House + Kitchen. Dan McCall and Jason Rourke opened the scratch kitchen and cocktail bar, at 7122 Wornall Road, in September 2013. “But the space is too big for us now,” McCall said. “We aren’t as full as we used to be.” They have since opened a District Pour House + Kitchen in Shawnee at 11101 Johnson Drive. Hemma Hemma has taken over the Waldo space.

Wahlburgers. The first area Wahlbrugers opened in 2018 at 11935 S. Blackbob Road in Olathe. Owners said it closed because of staffing challenges. Several Wahlburgers continue to operate inside area Hy-Vee grocery stores.

March

Bravo Italian Kitchen. The ownership group behind the national chain did not comment on why it closed this location at 5005 W. 117th St. in Leawood’s Town Center Plaza. It opened in 2003 and underwent a rebranding in 2020. Another Bravo, at 7301 N.W. 87th St. in Zona Rosa, is still open.

Jousting Pigs BBQ. First it closed its location inside Liberty’s 3Halves Brewing Co. in late 2022. This year, Jousting Pigs shut down its second location at 1702 Village West Parkway across from the Legends Outlet Kansas City. Owner John Atwell said the KCK location “just wasn’t doing enough business to sustain it.” Jousting Pigs sauce is still available at certain retailers, and Atwell continues to cater events.

Southern Kitchen. After almost three years, New Orleans natives Mark and Robin Drouin closed their “homestyle Southern comfort food” restaurant, citing inflation. “2022 really kind of did us in, with the inflation, gas up to $5 a gallon, people spending less money,” Mark Drouin said. The business was located at 13135 State Line Road.

April

Spokes Coffee Cafe Cyclery. Owner Dan Walsh cited a lack of returning office workers for the decision to close this breakfast, lunch and coffee spot in Crown Center, in the lobby of 2460 Pershing Road. “The density wasn’t there for us,” he said. Other Spokes locations remain open downtown and at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Poi-O Mexican BBQ. Carlos Mortera opened Poi-O on the West Side in 2018, closed that location in 2020, and reopened in 2021 at 800 S. Seventh St. in Kansas City, Kansas. Mortera said the restaurant had become too much of a burden. “I work 16-hour-days, six-days-a-week, sometimes seven,” he said.

Stroud’s Express. In 2021, Stroud’s opened a location with limited hours and a limited menu in the Mission Mart Shopping Center at 5405 Johnson Drive. When the Mission location closed, Stroud’s management said it still believed the express concept was a success and that it was still looking for a different location. Its full-service restaurants in the Northland and Overland Park remain open. Campesino Mexican Grill & Cantina took over the Mission location in December.

May

Julep. The whiskey-centric Westport cocktail bar, which opened in 2014 at 4141 Pennsylvania Ave., held its last call on Derby Day. Owners Beau Williams and Keely Edgington have since relocated to Charleston, South Carolina.

Steve’s Villa Capri. Owner Steve Scudiero cited staffing issues in his decision to close his Italian restaurant, a Johnson County mainstay opened by Scudiero’s father and uncle in 1961. The space, at 10412 Mastin St. in Overland Park, will soon be 1981 K-Chicken, a Korean restaurant.

Applebee’s Grill + Bar. The Shawnee location of this national chain, at 11500 W. 63rd St., had been in business for 33 years. Its corporate owners did not give a reason for closing.In November, Chick-Fil-A filed an application with the city to build a restaurant on the site.

June

Cafe Europa. This restaurant and bakery opened in the Crestwood shops in 2001, and in 2022 moved to 4928 Main St., in the south Plaza. Cafe Europa closed after less than a year there, citing the need for a smaller space. Owner Ben Cascio has since opened The Lemon Cake Bakery at 10683 Mission Road in Leawood’s Mission Farms, where some pastries that were popular at Cafe Europa are available.

July

Aspens Restaurant and Lounge. Months after restaurant owner Aspen Vaughn alleged that Jackson Mahomes forcibly kissed her in her office, Vaughn shuttered her ski lodge-themed restaurant at 6995 W. 151st St. in Overland Park. Vaughn told The Star she endured death threats and harassment after speaking out.

August

The Mill Inn. In Excelsior Springs, Evelyn Cowsert closed her family-style restaurant at 415 St. Louis Ave. She opened it in 1981 with her husband, Orville, who died about 20 years ago. “I’ll be 90 years old next month,” Cowsert said at the time, “and I’ve been working six, sometimes seven days a week. I’m just not capable of doing it for another year. It was just time to retire.”

SoT. The Crossroads cocktail bar announced on social media that it would be “temporarily closing” at 1521 Grand Blvd. The decision followed a shooting on Grand that left four injured and a bullet hole in SoT’s front window. It has yet to reopen.

Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill. An Asian mainstay in the Volker neighborhood since 1995, the restaurant at 3906 Bell St. closed “due to the shortage of staffing that was needed to provide quality service and food of our standard,” said owner Ling Chang.

Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen. The national chain closed its location at 8380 N. Booth Ave., near Liberty, without giving a reason. Cheddar’s locations in Overland Park and Independence remain open.

Steak ‘n Shake. The longtime burger restaurant at 7510 Shawnee Mission Parkway in Overland Park closed, leaving few left in the Kansas City area. The franchise owner could not be reached for comment. It will soon become an Abelardo’s Mexican Fresh.

Butterfields Bakery & Market. The eatery closed its stall in the Lenexa Public Market at 8750 Penrose Lane months after its owner opened bakery Kate Smith Soiree in Overland Park at 7911 Santa Fe Drive. Owner Kate Smith told The Star she had decided to focus on her bakery.

September

Mockingbird Lounge. The Strawberry Hill cocktail bar and brunch spot closed after the Kansas Department of Revenue seized the property for not paying about $40,000 in taxes. Replacing it at 204 Orchard St. is The Blue Palm, a tiki bar set to open in 2024.

You Say Tomato. The midtown breakfast and lunch staple, which opened at 2801 Holmes St. in 2007, closed its dining room but continues to operate in the space as a catering business. “Staffing the restaurant was hard, and not being home and available to our kids has been hard. With catering, we can plan our weeks a little easier,” said owner Anne Clark.

The Drunken Worm. After expanding to the space next door earlier in the year, Drunken Worm closed at 1405 W. 39th St., surprising staff. No explanation was given. “We know this is sudden, saddening, possibly shocking to many,” the owners wrote on social media.

October

Taste Island Grill. In 2021, Cherven Desauguste and Mehret Tesfamariam opened Taste Island Grill at 3605 Broadway Blvd. as a fast-casual sister restaurant to Mesob Restaurant & Rhum Bar, their Caribbean-Ethiopian restaurant next door. “The space ended up being a little too small for what we were trying to do,” Desaugsate said. The pair have since opened a second Mesob in the Northland, at 5225 N.W. 64th St.

d’Bronx. The locally owned pizzeria closed three locations in as many years. After its Mission location at 6846 Johnson Drive closed, only one remains: 7070 W. 105th St. in Overland Park.

November

KC Daiquiri Shop Bistreaux. The owners of KC Daiquiri Shop in downtown Kansas City opened a more upscale iteration at 8725 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park two years ago. But, as its owners said on Facebook, “good things must come to an end.” Its downtown spot is still open.

Applebee’s Grill & Bar. A Lenexa Applebee’s near Oak Park Mall closed after serving customers for 34 years. In 2000, Applebee’s had at least two dozen restaurants in the Kansas City metro. Today, the chain’s website lists fewer than one dozen.

December

9th and State. The West Bottoms cocktail bar, a destination for ping-pong and live events, closed for what owners Heather Hamilton and Sean Smith said were “plans to pursue new and different opportunities.” It opened at 1717 W. Ninth St. in 2020.

Red Kitchen KC. A Mexican restaurant, whose burritos were named the “best in Kansas” by Food & Wine, was set to leave its stall inside the Lenexa Public Market at 8750 Penrose Lane on Dec. 26. Owner Alejandra de la Fuente is opening a spot in downtown Overland Park at 7926 Santa Fe Drive early 2024.

Red Balloon Bar & Grill. The karaoke bar at 10325 W. 75th St. closed after 34 years. “So the journey has been a wonderful ride,” the owner wrote on Facebook. “I will absolutely miss (every one) of your faces.”

Tribe. The internationally inspired restaurant opened in the River Market at 316 Delaware St. in March 2018. Its last day of business was Dec. 22. Co-owner Sam Hagan said he was selling the restaurant to a local James Beard-nominated female chef he declined to name.

Vested Coffee. Susan and Nolan Dees closed their Garment District coffee shop at 310 W. Eighth St. after nearly five years. They cited a stalled lease negotiation with the landlord as the reason. The other Vested location, at 2501 Troost, remains open for now.