How Kansas City's hospitality industry continues to innovate amid COVID-19
It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention, and this summer, Missouri’s food and drink industries proved the old adage true. As bars and restaurants across the region were forced to rethink their operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many responded swiftly, in downright creative ways.
These innovations kept us connected to the local food scene for the past few months, and we hope they stick around for good.
The Antler Room: Bottle Shop
At The Antler Room, co-owner Leslie Newsam Goellner has curated one of the freshest and most thoughtful wine lists in Kansas City. On March 21, when Mayor Quinton Lucas issued a shelter-in-place order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was that same list that inspired the full-service restaurant’s quick transformation into a wine-focused bottle shop and café offering new food and drink menus for curbside pickup. The bottle shop model, dubbed Leslie’s Liquors, allowed Goellner and her business partner and husband, Nick, who runs the kitchen of The Antler Room, an alternative revenue stream during the crisis. Unlike a finished dish, selling customers a stocked bottle of wine costs a restaurant nothing, essentially, and therefore purchases of that nature instantly help the bottom line. The model also benefits consumers, who have the chance to purchase quality bottles – that aren’t always available in grocery stores or even specialty wine shops – at lower prices than they’d typically pay in the dining room. Here, that includes a selection of rare orange and rosé wines; bottles from small, independent producers; and a variety of bottled cocktails and wine “flights,” which offer three bottles of wine under various themes. “It’s just fun to be able to do this and know that [customers don’t] have to spend as much money,” says Goellner. The plan is to keep Leslie’s Liquors running even as The Antler Room slowly resumes more traditional operations. (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-Op)
The Antler Room, 2506 Holmes St., Longfellow, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.605.1967, theantlerroomkc.com
Cafe Europa: Gourmet Market
Among stay-at-home orders and escalating problems caused by COVID-19, Ben Cascio, owner of Cafe Europa in the Crestwood Shops, looked to his grandparents’ grocery business for inspiration and decided to turn his restaurant into a market. Gone are the tables and chairs, replaced by new custom wood shelves and coolers, which give the space the look of an upscale gourmet food market. With the help of his culinary team, Cascio started selling Cafe Europa’s greatest hits, including tomato-basil soup, quiche, chicken salad and the sought-after lemon cake, as grab-and-go items. Soon, he expanded his offerings to include pantry staples such as olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Italian sodas, fresh produce and pasta. Although patrons can now take home cooked-to-order meals such as burgers and wood-fired pizzas as well, Cascio says it’s the sales from the market that have exceeded his expectations and given his restaurant the chance to live another day. (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-Op)
Café Europa, 323 E. 55th St., Crestwood Kansas City, Missouri, 816.523.1212, cafeeuropakc.com
Curbside KC: Online Ordering
For years, Danielle Lehman has been placing takeout orders at restaurants that don’t offer takeout. “I’m the type of person who always tries to order takeout from high-end restaurants – which is probably super annoying to them – because I have a kid and we don’t get to go out very often,” she says. In March, as Kansas City restaurants were forced to temporarily close for dine-in service, Lehman’s thoughts turned to the local restaurants she knew didn’t have established takeout menus or online ordering. Already connected to the restaurant industry through her podcast, Open Belly, Lehman launched Curbside KC, a website dedicated to helping restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries pivot to curbside services while also promoting those that already offered takeout. The site’s database grew rapidly, today featuring more than 1,200 businesses, and was no small undertaking for Lehman, who balances site maintenance on top of her normal work week. “It was definitely a labor of love, because I care so much about my friends in the hospitality industry,” she says. “I felt really helpless and just wanted to do something to support their businesses.” Lehman has also helped coordinate restaurant pop ups that donate meals to out-of-work hospitality professionals. With the third season of her podcast on hold for a few months due to COVID-19, Lehman approached her sponsor, ChowNow, about sponsoring weekly meals for 40 to 50 workers. “It was great for the restaurants because there was an influx of cash, but many were generous and hardly charged enough to cover their costs – they just wanted to be part of it. It was really cool to see the generosity of people wanting to take care of their friends and family.” (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-Op)
Curbside KC, curbsidekc.com
Farina: Redesigned Dining Room
By all accounts, 2020 should have been another banner year for James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Smith and his wife and business partner, Nancy. In the Crossroads Arts District, their lively tapas bar, Extra Virgin, was attracting crowds night after night with its brilliant Mediterranean bites such as chickpea fries with romesco sauce, Spanish meatballs and pork belly steamed buns. Next door, their new flagship restaurant, Farina, which just opened in early 2019, was making a name for itself with handcrafted regional Italian dishes such as spaghetti cacio e pepe and bucatini carbonara. Then COVID-19 hit, forcing them to close both dining rooms for two months. Fortunately, the restaurants’ dining rooms have been able to open again, and the pair has a plan in place to keep guests safe. At Farina, they did what many restaurants have done: They removed seating and have socially distanced the remaining furniture. The staff goes through temperature checks before they start their shift, and masks are required for every server. However, Farina has gone above and beyond the norm. Diners today will find low, clear plastic partitions between each booth to keep germs from spreading between tables as they eat and drink. The partitions are an extra level of precaution – one that does its best to not compromise the design and overall aesthetic of the space – that the Smiths felt was necessary. With the city’s approval, they’ve also added outdoor seating on the sidewalk for those hoping to dine al fresco as well as tables in the Haw Contemporary art gallery next door. (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-Op)
Farina, 19 W. 19th St., Crossroads Arts District, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.768.6600, farinakc.com
Liberty Fruit: Produce Delivery
Liberty Fruit Co., a Kansas City wholesaler that offers hand-selected premium brand fruits and vegetables, has been working with Farmbox Direct, a national produce delivery service, for approximately six years. Working with Missouri- and Kansas-based farms whenever possible, in addition to farms across the country and the world, Liberty Fruit sources all of the fresh produce for Farmbox Direct and then packages and ships the assembled boxes. Although Liberty Fruit’s restaurant sales plummeted when COVID-19 hit Missouri, its Farmbox Direct business went through the roof, and third-generation owner Allen Caviar and CEO John McClelland say they are grateful to be able to serve their customers in a new way. To keep up with demand, they have even had to hire more people – a rare but welcome tidbit given the current situation. Ashley Tyrner, founder and CEO of Farmbox Direct, says she ultimately leaves it up to Liberty Fruit to determine what to include in the weekly boxes; the contents are generally based on the season and what will ship well, but a typical box contains apples, citrus fruits, rainbow carrots, special varieties of leaf lettuce and tomatoes, alongside more seasonal items such as asparagus, peaches and cherries. Chosen to be a part of the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program, Liberty Fruit Co. has also been packing boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables, plus dairy boxes, and delivering them to food pantries, schools and churches to feed families in need during this difficult time. (Pilsen Photo Co-Op)
Liberty Fruit, libertyfruit.com
Single Wing Creative: T-Shirts and More For a Cause
From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kansas City banded together to support food-insecure and at-risk people as well as frontline workers in the community. Single Wing Creative, a collective of local designers, joined the efforts by producing a new line of T-shirts, hoodies, ball caps and mugs, sold through Emoji My City. Initially, Single Wing Creative donated 100 percent of the proceeds to chef Howard Hanna’s Crossroads Community Kitchen, which served meals on a pay-what-you-can basis in the Crossroads Arts District and donated other meals to shelters, hospitals, day care centers and nursing homes. Now, if you purchase one of its products, your money will directly support a rotating list of causes aligned with the hospitality industry. Each of the five partners behind Single Wing Creative has friends and family in the hospitality industry who were impacted by recent layoffs and loss of business due to COVID-19. For them, the work they put into designing, producing and selling their products was the least they could do for the ones they love. (Photo by Pilsen Photo Co-Op)
Singlewing, singlewing.co
Liz Miller
Liz Miller is a writer and editor based in St. Louis.
Jenny Vergara
Jenny is Feast's contributing editor for Kansas City. She brakes for chef's coats.
As featured on
When COVID-19 hit, the food industry changed overnight. Those affected got creative.
