You might just have yourself a restaurant district, Martin City.
The Martin City Brewing Company (500 E. 135th St.) is set to open on June 1 in a red-brick building only 200 feet from Jess and Jim's Steak House and 0.2 miles from Jack Stack Barbecue. And partners Chancie Adams and Matt Moore are confident that their brewpub concept will pull in people from both sides of the state line.
Adams and Moore are both avid sailers, who met while vacationing at Lake Taneycomo in Branson, Missouri. The duo discovered a mutual love for homebrewing three years ago and began to bandy about the idea of opening a brewery.
"He's more of a scientist, taking in-depth notes on each brew. I'm more a
pinch of this and a dash of that and let's see what happens," Moore says.
The Martin City Brewing Company won't have their brews on tap it opens, but the pair intend to apply for a license and eventually operate as a microbrewery. The restaurant will feature what Moore calls "a real upscale bar menu," with dishes such as chicken meatballs, an open-faced quesadilla, fried risotto balls, and a shrimp po boy. The kitchen will be led by executive chef Rob Richmiller and will have chef Matt Murdick on the line, who most recently interned at Julian.
"We want to say to people in south Kansas City or south Leawood that Brookside and Waldo aren't your only options," Moore says.
While the partners are still working on their own brews, they've put together a craft-beer menu that rivals any in Kansas City. The Martin City Brewing Company will have 14 taps, including Boulevard, Avery, Anchor, Great Divide, and Lagunitas brews. There will be another 50 bottles in the cooler with beers from Bell's Brewing, O'Dells, Ska, Free State, Schlafly, and Chimay. As part of his research on what to stock and serve, Moore visited the Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California.
"Lagunitas was out of sight. They told us most of their beer was accidents," Moore says. "We're not afraid of accidents, either."
The restaurant and bar will seat 100 people inside with room for another 50 in the beer garden outside. Moore plans to have rockabilly and bluegrass bands from Wednesday, June 1, through Saturday, June 5, as part of the opening-week celebrations. The Martin City Brewing Company will be open from 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. every day.
You can follow the brewpub's progress on Facebook or Twitter (@mcbrewingco).
[Photo courtesy of Matt Moore]
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