Granted, none of these had anything like the stature of a Kelly's in Westport, but they had the potential to be in the same league had circumstances been a little different. Why did the majority of them shrivel up and die? If I had to guess, it was two things: transportation and collateral business. As long as a certain company continues to hold a virtual monopoly on vehicle parking, and as long as mass transportation between downtown and the residential areas of Westport's primary clientele continues to lag, especially during prime nightclub days and times, a club owner would be insane to set up shop downtown. I know you can park on the street for free downtown, but the perception is that's not safe, at least not as safe as parking in Westport.
Once upon a time, when other businesses were open downtown, especially those remaining open later than 5 p.m., employees would stay downtown for the night life. Is there anything downtown anymore that stays open to the public that late? I'm probably going too far abroad with my next observation, but maybe if Clay Chastain has his way with the light rail vision, downtown nightclubs could prosper. Given current conditions, however, I don't see it happening, however much as I would like to.
Erich Noll
Kansas City, Missouri
Although I realize that my name is mentioned because I happened to answer certain questions Allie Johnson asked me, I don't want the article to erroneously suggest that my law firm is the only one representing Norm Ross, or the other plaintiffs who have filed actions or are contemplating filing actions against KCPL. The KCPL litigation is truly a team effort. The following lawyers have been most active to date in the KCPL situation: Bert S. Braud (Popham Law Firm); John M. Klamann and Dirk L. Hubbard (Klamann & Hubbard); and Michael Fletcher and Daniel Craig (Sanders, Simpson, Fletcher & Smith).
Dennis E. Egan
Popham Law Firm
Kansas City, Missouri
My question: What do your advertisers think of such sensationalistic reporting? You might as well be on the racks with the tabloids. I am guessing they do not read your paper, which does not speak very well of their companies or their products.
Be aware, the public is noticing the changes taking place in your paper. We do not like them.
Sarah Cool
Liberty
First, the staff was short three servers. The restaurant made up for this deficiency by only seating about 15 tables for the four servers on duty. Unfortunately, this made for an hourlong wait to be seated; even more unfortunate was we were told the wait was only "10 to 15 minutes" -- a number the hostess continued to quote new arrivals even after we had been standing at the front glaring at her for 45 minutes.
Once seated, the service was still incredibly slow. How or why, we could never figure out. With only four tables per server, the pace was inexcusable. Our server kept saying she would return "in just a minute," only to disappear for stretches of time long enough for a room full of monkeys to write Hamlet. What should have been an hourlong visit took two and a half. At least we could enjoy the aesthetic splendor of Union ... oh, never mind.
I was also disappointed that the bottomless mugs of root beer and cream soda did not include their diet counterparts. I'm diabetic, and as I prefer my beverages to be nonlethal, I had to order by the bottle. A blessing in disguise, perhaps, as I think it's rather lazy of Fitz's not to bring out newly chilled mugs for each refill.
As someone who went to school in St. Louis and lived only a couple of blocks from the Fitz's there, I was looking forward to the KC location. The root beer is just as good, and the fries are still the best I've ever had. But in every other aspect, the locations are as dissimilar as they can be.
Jason Fox
Kansas City, Missouri
Keep up the great reviews.
Jill DauBresse
Kansas City, Missouri
