By CHARLES FERRUZZA
Die-hard fans of Joe Accurso's cozy Italian joint at 50th and Main keep asking me about the place. They know it's moving, but the idea sends some of them into a panic. John in Prairie Village writes: "Is it still open? When is it moving to the new location?"
Don't worry, John. Accurso's is still open. It won't move -- to that new building still under construction a block north -- until after the holidays. Accurso plans a soft opening in January.
I've always loved the old brick building that's been Accurso's home for 24 years. I've also heard the story that there's been a restaurant on that spotat 5044 Main Street since 1905. Curious about that fact (after all, the nearby Country Club Plaza only dates back to 1922), I once pored through several City Directories dating back to the early 1900s and couldn't find a reference to a restaurant on this site.
Joe has done a little research of his own and knows the building was around as far back as the 1930s, because there was an honest-to-goodness Jewish delicatessen in the space (back when there were dozens of places like the century-old New York Bakery and Delicatessen, the last of its kind in Kansas City now).
But back to the new space...
It doesn't look like much right now, but Joe Accurso says the place will still have the same warm feeling of the original space -- just without the tiny kitchen, the wooden paneling and those upstairs rooms. The new Accurso's, Joe says, "will be on one level with just as much seating as the old one and a large, efficient kitchen. And we'll bring all the old family photos down with us."
It wouldn't be Accurso's without the all the family members looking down at you as you demolish a plate of pasta, would it?
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This is without question the best tasting Italian food in Kansas City. I bring all out of town guests here.
Charles:
I wanted you to know about an excellent new place in Stanley, ( 151st and Metcalf). It is owned by two young people and it is called WIne Flight. Excellent lunch and dinner menu and you need to get out there and try it. Thank you for keeping us posted with Accurso's.
Don McGuire
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