Beer, barbecue & a Ferris wheel: 7 restaurants set for new KC entertainment district

Alyse Pfeil
·4 min read

A lot may still be hard to picture about a new entertainment district coming in near downtown Kansas City — including a 150-foot Ferris wheel next to Interstate 35 — but more details for the project, dubbed Pennway Point, are starting to come together.

Local chef and restaurant owner Justin Easterwood, for one, has a clear vision of what his customers will experience at Chef J BBQ, which is slated to open in the district in 2024.

“You get a good beer, go get a tray of barbecue, walk right outside past the smokers, sit down right out there and enjoy it while we’re tending fire,” he said.

The barbecue joint and a new Boulevard Brewery taproom will soon be some of the first tenants opening up shop at Pennway Point, the “family-friendly entertainment and experiential district” set to span six acres in the Westside near the intersection of West Pershing Road and West Pennway Street.

This week, Davinci KC, the company handling development for some of the space at Pennway Point, announced an initial list of tenants at two buildings on the site.

Rendering
Rendering

What to eat and drink at Pennway Point

The former Pennway Oil Company building will be called Barrel Hall. The 6,000-square-foot space will include:

  • Boulevard Brewery — Taproom and Barrel Aged Tasting Experience: The KC brewery will offer crowd pleasers like Quirk, Fling and Unfiltered Wheat. But it’s also rolling out a new concept: a barrel aging experience. “(Guests) will be able to go into the cellar and taste beers that are aging at various points in the process,” said Amber Ayres, Boulevard’s director of consumer experience.

  • Chef J BBQ: The barbecue joint, currently located in the West Bottoms, will benefit from a full smokehouse and four 1000-gallon smokers at Pennway Point, Easterwood said. It will serve barbecue, sides and desserts.

  • The Bull Creek Distillery: The Spring Hill, Kansas-based distillery will offer spirits and cocktails.

  • Würstl: The Nicholas Grünauer concept based on “a classic Viennese sausage stand” will offer “authentic old-world sausages.”

The second building is the former Funkhouser Equipment Company and will be called Talegate. The 30,000-square-foot space will house three adjoining restaurant concepts run by Chuck and Jack Naylor, who own Brooksider sports bar and Harpo’s in Columbia:

  • Beef & Bottle: “An elevated burger and cocktail concept” serving Wagyu beef from KC Cattle Company

  • Funk House: The second-floor lounge will host DJs on weekends and have five “VIP suites” that overlook Barrel Hall and Talegate.

  • Talegate Park: Chuck Naylor called the indoor/outdoor sports bar a “neighborhood hangout” that will feature a 360-degree sports bar, screens for watch parties and a beer garden.

Naylor said the location was the driving factor in his decision to expand to Pennway Point.

“Crossroads and downtown is hot,” he said.

Developer Davinci KC’s building, Talegate, which will feature an indoor/outdoor sports bar and beer garden called Talegate Park. It will be connected to restaurant Beef & Bottle and lounge Funk House. The sports bar, restaurant and lounge will be run by the owners of Brooksider and Harpo’s, Chuck and Jack Naylor.
Developer Davinci KC’s building, Talegate, which will feature an indoor/outdoor sports bar and beer garden called Talegate Park. It will be connected to restaurant Beef & Bottle and lounge Funk House. The sports bar, restaurant and lounge will be run by the owners of Brooksider and Harpo’s, Chuck and Jack Naylor.

A Ferris wheel in Kansas City’s skyline

Dante Passantino, Davinci KC’s managing partner, said they are “shooting to” open the food halls in early 2024 and anticipate starting construction later this fall.

While Davinci is overseeing the food halls, local development company 3D Development is overseeing the broader Pennway Point project that is already underway.

Developers confirmed that construction has started on the 150-foot Ferris wheel and a mini golf course that will be operated by the same company that manages The St. Louis Wheel. And they are planning for a walkable alley between the two food halls that will display Kansas City vintage neon signs.

Pennway Point has space for 400 new parking spots and is looking at using public parking in the surrounding area, according to the developers.

“There’s good parking infrastructure within a few blocks, and that would include Union Station’s 2,100 car garage,” said Vince Bryant, 3D Development’s founder and Pennway Point project lead.

The district will also be walkable from both Union Station and the Crossroads district.

A view from one of five Funk House lounge “VIP suites,” which will overlook Talegate Park and Barrel Hall.
A view from one of five Funk House lounge “VIP suites,” which will overlook Talegate Park and Barrel Hall.

Bryant said the project will be mostly privately funded, but the company is planning to apply with the city to become a Community Improvement District, which is a designation used in dozens of areas across the city to create a special sales tax. The money from that added tax then goes directly back to the district for it to use to improve spaces open to the public.

“The CID will specifically be for 1% sales tax on top of the normal sales tax for the district,” Bryant said, noting that he’s been in talks with City Manager Brian Platt and other city officials.

Once the project secures an office tenant, Bryant said his company also plans to ask the city for an Enhanced Enterprise Zone, or EEZ, which is a 50% abatement on property taxes for 10 years.

“Other than that, we aren’t asking for any incentives from the city,” he said.

A spokesperson from the city didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

The developers said they plan to announce more details about additional businesses and programming that will be part of the district soon.