Rooftop views, charcuterie boards: Much-anticipated Kansas City restaurant is now open

Like an oasis in the desert — or a pasture in the middle of the city, rather.

Green Dirt on Oak offers fresh dairy products straight from Sarah Hoffmann’s Weston farm at its new post in Kansas City’s Crossroads, 1601 Oak St.

Hoffmann’s award-winning cheeses — named some of the best in the U.S. by Food & Wine in 2021 — have been available at her market shop in Weston, 1099 Welt St., and online. Many of her customers were making the drive out from Kansas City.

“For quite some time we’ve been wanting to come down to Kansas City and meet our customers where they are,” Hoffmann told The Star in December.

So she brought on Oskar Arevalo to craft a fine-dining menu for her new restaurant, which offers lamb chops ($48), cheese croquettes ($14), citrus-poached beets ($12) and more. Charcuterie boards are available all day, and of course, cheese is the star in many of the dishes.

Green Dirt opened Wednesday, welcoming customers to its downstairs cafe and rooftop views.

Dark wood tables, booths and a full espresso bar stand near the main entrance. Cases display dozens of meats and cheeses.

Up a winding staircase is another floor, with velvety booths, bright paintings, exposed brick and tall windows.

A bar stretches across one side of the room, offering libations like a fig jam Old-Fashioned, and the Sicilian sidecar (brandy, blood orange shrub, Averna and lemon).

Up, up again, and patrons arrive at Green Dirt’s rooftop, overlooking the Crossroads.

While Green Dirt is celebrating its opening, its staff is also rejoicing in the failure of Tuesday’s stadiums sales tax vote.

The new restaurant would have been right next to a new Royals stadium, and might have been demolished or priced out.

Green Dirt hosted a watch party for Tuesday’s vote, and the crowd erupted in cheers as the proposal went down, 58% to 42%.

Green Dirt currently serves dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and 5 to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Hoffmann hopes to extend its hours to include lunch.

The downstairs coffee shop and market is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Make a reservation online at greendirtfarm.com/oak.

The Star’s Eleanor Nash contributed to this report.