‘No reason for R.I.P’: Storied family tattoo shop in Kansas City rebuilds after fire

Wes Grimm has a message for the community, one he spelled out clearly across the boarded up walls of his now-incinerated tattoo shop: Grimm Tattoo has been around since 1916, and the family business won’t soon commit to becoming history just because of a fire.

Thursday was a typical day at the tattoo parlor at 3915 Broadway Boulevard — until it wasn’t. Sometime in the evening, flames broke out in a nearby building.

A neighbor ran out screaming “Fire!” A few of Grimm’s employees rushed over with two fire extinguishers. But it was already too late. The flames were too high and the smoke was too thick.

Grimm, 63, who came over as soon as he heard the news, watched as flames engulfed the building he’d made his family business’ home since 2011. Then, he noticed all 16 of his employees were standing there too.

“I could have easily looked at it and thought, ‘Well, it’s all done. We’re all fired.’ But I looked at that fire and I saw every single person there, 16 people, and I thought, ‘With all of us, we can do this.’” he said. “If it was just me, I’d still be lying in the yard crying.”

The fire department eventually broke out the windows to access the wall-to-wall flames inside, Grimm said. The ceiling caved in during the blaze. He’s still not sure what started the fire next door.

A century of history goes up in flames

The flames took with them a century of history.

A St. Louis Post-Dispatch story from 1934 documenting the pioneering tattoo work of Grimm’s great grandfather, Bert Grimm, who opened the first tattoo parlor in St. Louis in 1926, tattooing riverboat workers.

A Kansas City Star front page story from last summer announcing the grand opening of Bert Grimm Tattoo Museum, which regaled the tales of Bert Grimm, who, legend has it, was hired by William “Buffalo Bill” Cody to work the last of his famous Wild West shows before tattooing famous outlaws, including Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie and Clyde.

It burned up chairs where Wes Grimm, who has been tattooing people in Kansas City since his forefathers opened a shop in 1980 at 38th and Main streets, has left permanent art on multiple generations in multiple families. Where, after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020, he and his team inked “LIV” onto more than 40 of the Chiefettes, the cheerleaders for Kansas City’s football team.

As he watched the red glow inside his shop, Grimm called the building’s landlord. He knew of an empty property around the corner and asked if they could move in.

On Friday, the day after the blaze, they started gathering whatever tools the tattoo artists had at home. Then the clean-up began.

Every day since, they’ve discovering more things they’ve lost. All that’s been salvageable so far was a couple sticks of furniture and a few tattoo designs that survived in a big pile, Grimm said.

Thankfully, most of Grimm’s great grandfather’s artifacts were spared inside the museum, which opened in May inside an old converted house at 311 W. 39th St.

Now, one of Grimm’s most urgent priorities is letting the community know the storied business isn’t going anywhere. Not in a figurative sense, at least.

‘Still open’

As soon as the fire department finished boarding up the place, Grimm got out paint and put the family name back on the front of the building.

“STILL HERE. GRIMM TAT2.”

Grimm said they plan to re-open in their new space around the corner within the week. In the meantime, they’re still tattooing customers at the museum, which also happens to be licensed tattoo shop.

“I haven’t had time to cry,” Grimm said. “We’ve just been so busy.”

Community members have been dropping by with sympathy, donuts and “a river of coffee.” The staff is beyond grateful.

As of Tuesday, a GoFundme online fundraiser had garnered more than $15,000 in donations toward its $50,000 goal to go toward rebuilding.

But more than anything, Grimm wants to return to business as usual as soon as possible.

“This didn’t kill us. This ain’t gonna stop us. There’s no reason for R.I.P.,” he said Tuesday. “We are still open today tattooing.”