Not long after the executives at Union Station decided that the four-year-old diner bearing the historic Harvey House name simply wasn't going to work -- it reportedly lost a small fortune -- and they closed the venue.
Why not? Three different management teams couldn't make a success out of the casual-dining spot in the original 96-year-old Harvey House location. It was doomed practically from the day it opened in 2006. The historic two-story dining room was shuttered last June and reconfigured as office space for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
"When we closed the Harvey House Diner, we immediately reopened the former Union Cafe, which had been sitting empty, with the Harvey House Diner menu," says George Guastello, president and CEO of Union Station." But we knew we needed to completely re-evaluate the food service at the station."
Guastello wanted Union Station to get out of the restaurant business, at least as an employer: Only Pierpont's was actually leasing space from the station. The other restaurants had been operated over the years by different management companies including Treat America, the Hereford House, and -- most recently -- PB&J Restaurants Inc. But Union Station paid the salaries of the restaurant employees and many other expenses, including covering some significant operating losses.
That all ended last autumn, when Union Station and PB&J Restaurants Inc. terminated their agreement.
"Right before the Christmas holidays, we suddenly didn't have anyone running the Union Cafe," Guastello says. "Since Brancato Catering had done many catering events for us at the station, the owners -- Mario and Steve Brancato -- graciously agreed to step in and help us out through the holidays."
It wasn't an easy task: Business has been, historically, hit-and-miss at the double-decker circular
restaurant in the center of the station's lobby, the site of the
former train ticketing windows. "But the Brancatos completely turned the business around in a matter of days," Guastello says. "And after the first of this year, they came to me and said that they wanted an opportunity to lease the space and run the restaurant full time.
"They cleaned the place up, created a terrific new menu and brought in Mary Carol Garrity to give the restaurant a new look," Guastello says. "And they insisted on changing the name."
After toying with different ideas like the Round House, the Power House, and the Zephyr, the Brancato brothers decided to give a nostalgic nod to the legendary Fred Harvey Company -- the original restaurant operator in Union Station -- and call the breakfast-and-lunch spot Harvey's at Union Station.
"More people had heard about the last Harvey House restaurant than had ever actually eaten there," Guastello says. "And we were always getting asked by visitors to the station, 'Where's Harvey's?' So now we have a Harvey's."
Interior-style maven Mary Carol Garrity (the founder of the Nell Hill's stores) added black awnings to the exterior of the dining area and black-and-white-patterned draperies in the lower-level dining room, which has dozens of framed vintage photographs of the interior and exterior of Union Station during the first half of the 20th century.
"We knew the new restaurant would have to offer breakfast, since the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce needs a place for breakfast meetings. And we knew we would have to have a fast but stylish lunch menu for both the business tenants in this neighborhood, but the tourists coming here to see the Diana exhibition," Guastello says.
Harvey's at Union Station serves food from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (when it also serves the breakfast menu all day).
soup made with Boulevard Pale Ale and garnished with popcorn. Also available are salads, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, and a quartet of home-style entrees -- chili-rubbed shrimp tacos, roasted breast of chicken, meatloaf with
sauteed green beans and mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese.
"We don't have a liquor license yet," manager Michael George says, "but we're working on that."
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Yes, but I want to go to Union Station. Bad parking at P&L is just one more excuse to not have to go watch 30 something suburban housewifes try to relive thier college years at Shark Bar.
I totally agree that Union Station has the most visitor-unfriendly parking situation in the metro. Well, after the Power & Light District.
I've never had problems with Crown Center's parking. It is free for three hours and if you pick the right level I have always thought it was pretty close. My issue with Union Station is shoving folded up dollar bills through the slot (or returning to my car for quarters in the rain when I realize I don't have enough singles) for street level parking. The alternative is to park in the lot on the other side of the station and walk accross the entire building to get there. Even with validation I was charged a couple bucks last time I did that.
I want Union Station to work. I think it can be a tremendous asset to our city, but I think they need to find a way to help these restaurants compete so they can stop subsidizing them.
I tend to agree although the parking and walking situation at Crown Center isn't much better.
Don't worry Hereford House won't be abround much longer Rod Anderson will be in jail!!!
I agree-you should at least get 2 free hours parking. Women aren't like men, it will make a big difference in women meeting for lunch there after the Diana exhibit.
I ate at Harvey's Saturday with a group going to the exhibit and we all loved our meals. Hope they are able to sustain.
I wish them luck, but it will be tough competing with the "happy hour" at Pierponts. I use quotes because they offer it all day 5 days a week. Even the incredible deal that Pierponts offers is mitigated by the awful parking situation. The garage is on the other side of the station and paying for parking in Kansas City is unacceptable. With so many other dining options to capture visitors at Crown Center and the Hotels, this is a tough location to make work.
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