Brother, can you spare an entertainment district?
In the last month, two more businesses have closed in Westport, Kansas City's one-time premier neighborhood for drinks, fun and non-Tomfooleries tomfoolery.
The Corner Restaurant, a long on-the-wane institution, has shuttered, and Blanc Burger, an instant success, has moved to the Plaza. Like the Little Mermaid, it wanted to be where the people are.
A couple days back, I walked the cold streets of Westport, snapping photos of vacant storefronts and remembering the good times.
The sad truth: Even as McCoy's and the Foundry thrive, the surrounding blocks have more holes in 'em than a hobo's smile.
At 205 Westport Road, Out There is outta here, meaning its nudie-boy displays no longer give fits to the homeless dudes hanging out in front of Westport Presbyterian.
Head southwest across Broadway, and you'll see the neighborhood's largest cavities.
That shop that sold antiques and potpourri is long gone, as is its neighbor Loma Vista Hardware, the no-longer-venerable destination for Docs, boards and -- once upon a time -- hardware.
A half-block, gone.
Pass by Bank of America and across Broadway, and the decay has spread. From the former Starbucks, at 401 Westport Road, all the way down to Blanc Burger, at 419, and on to Blayneys, at 421, there's not a damn thing.
That means no Papa Keno's ... or anyone to clean its awning.
Gone almost two years, now, Papa Keno's was my favorite K.C. pizza joint, the only one I truly looked forward to.
Blayneys has been closed since last summer.
Not proud to say it, but a decade ago I once was asked to leave Blayney's for enjoying the music too loudly.
Holes also gape on Pennsylvania down by Claire "Bear" McCaskill's office.
4117 has been boutiques and offices and everything in between. Right now, it's in between.
Across the strip, this gorgeous, red-brick corner space offers Kansas City's most tasteful backdrop for a real-estate sign.
The good news? Poptopia -- the "urban vinyl paradise" -- keeps that classic cool-but-cramped shop thing going.
Meanwhile, Westport bars are more quiet than they used to be, and Manor Square remains dead as the inside of a junkyard fridge. There's reason to hope, though. Kelly's is adding an open-air roof, and the failed Starbucks at 401 Westport Road has for months -- months -- has had a sign in the window announcing the storefront is getting a once over from Metzler Remodeling.
Hurry up, guys!
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Me: born and raised in Westport, not afraid to expire here.
Owner/operator of a 25 year-old business in Westport,
Business is open to the public seven days a week.
Westport security, st lukes security, kcmo pd
Orego, California, Santa fe trails diverge here
Civil war was caught here
Here in Westport you can tell just by looking
Come check it out, wedding ceremony and reception, hotels, restaurants, pubs, street food, fine dining, live music, clubs, shopping, groceries, professional services, united states senator's office for cryin' out loud. It's clear to many, and we're having fun here, come join us this weekend.
You forgot to mention how Blanc let go nearly every server, cook and bartender with visible tattoos or piercings for their big move despite the fact that no matter how good their food is, it never would have taken off with poor service.
Starbucks was driven out because people of this city are not idiots and know that Broadway Cafe was only feet away and had better drinks. Funny, since Starbucks moved into that spot hoping to drive out a local business on their quest to take over the world.
"Even as McCoy's and the Foundry thrive" are you kidding me? No mention of KELLY'S which has been operating under the SAME family for 50 years other than the fact they are getting a new deck? Buzzard Beach has been open somewhere around 30 years or more. Dave's Stagecoach has been open for over 50 years as well. Westport Flea Market has been around since at least the 80's. I'm not sure how long Thai Place, Korma Sutra, Californo's, The Bunker, The Tivoli, Jerusalem Cafe, or Harpo's have been around but they all have to be upwards of 5-10 years, since that's how long I've been aware of any of them.
So... Westport runs out crappy chains like Starbucks and Papa Keno's in favor or locally-owned places with better product? And your point is? Businesses come and go, especially go during a recession, but stop acting like this is some ghost town when it is full of thriving businesses.
I lived in Westport from the early seventies until 2003 when I got divorced and moved to Florida.
I always loved living in what I called the quirkiest little neighborhood in the world.
I frequented places like "The Flea Market Bar and Grill", "The Music Exchange", "Streetside Records", "It's a Beautiful Day" Headshop, "Clint's Comics", etc, etc.
It saddens me to find out that the exciting neighborhood that I practically grew up in has become a ghost town.
I guess Westport and I have both changed in the new millenium, too bad, because I was planning on bringing my present wife to Kansas City to show her my town, now we'll have to go somewhere else!
To the Blogger could I be permitted to quote some of the information from this post as long as credit for the post is given in a link back to your original post?
Westport has become the bad stepchild of all things greater, or so the impression is. There's tif money for Legends and the speedway. There's donwtown revitalization monies. There's even money for Union Station, UGH! The Mayor and city council has moved on and left Westport to decay. Everyone's only interested in putting their mark on a new project.Westport is blighted and the city needs to stop working on new projects and take care of what it already has. Don't be fooled, the landlords and owners of those empty buildings have no intention of lowering the rent on the vacant buildings. Plus if anything bad happens in Westport you know the news is going to make a giant deal about it. However, bad things happen everywhere not just westport. One difference in Westport vs the Plaza, Legands, Zona Rosa etc is all those places have their own security so the problems are kept hush. Good Luck Westport, you're gonna need it.
I now go to downtown OP for my Papa Keno's fix, but every couple weeks when I drive by Westport, I wish I could still stop in there for a slice. I used to stop all the time in Westport and spend a few hours going from shop to shop and just hanging out. There's much less reason for me to stop now - I can't imagine how dead and empty it will feel when events like the Westport Art Show are going on there and all the storefronts are dark. :-(
Yes, it wasn't P and L that killed it. That just sped up some of the bar closings maybe. The book shop and record stores were gone in the 90s and nothing stable ever came back. The internet has wiped out any chance at most interesting shops. Restaurants and more clothing stores could work. The bars around there are the ebst they've ever had in my experience, I love 180 and the Foundry and Harry's.
I believe the phoenix will rise from the ashes... and for the better. The vacancies in Westport are not just the result of P&L. The growth/development in other areas (Zona Rosa, Legends, Leawood, Brookside, etc.) contribute to the decrease in demand for "West Port: The Entertainment District". Let the vacancies happen. Let the rent go down. Let young, imaginative entrepreneurs come in and flourish (or sink) beside the solid businesses (Broadway cafe, Record bar, Flea market, Kelly's, Arizona Trading Co.). Let the D-baggers, mainstreamers, weekend warriors, McDisney folks flock to their corporate bore-holes. (Succotash would've fit nicely into the Corner Cafe slot).
It ain't comin backs fools. Westport is deader'n hell. The demographic has changed, the mindset has changed and the late night violence last two years running was Westport's coup de grace. 'Maybe', 'if' and 'but' don't mean squat. Westport is dead, dead dead!!!
It still has a record store. there's a head shop up the road. Half Price books is not far. All of these things should be together in the heart of the neighborhood, though. Years ago there was Whistlers and Recycled Sounds and Music Exchange. I don't drink, never have, but I went to Westport for the cultural aspects of urban life!
Dundy - You are right on.
South Street in Philly, Carson Street in Pittsburgh...I would love to see Westport become even a half-sized replica of either of those. Every city needs an offbeat, not-too-gentrified soul, and in KC it should be Westport.
It is sad to watch the slow death of a piece of KC history, that said, The last time I ate at The Corner my waitress looked like she was spun on crack, and my eggs tasted like ass, or at least what I imagine ass must taste like when mixed with dry scrambled eggs.
Poor Westport. How about that new condo monstrosity they built. Is KC Juice the only occupant still? Do people live in those condos?
And can anyone explain the long time vacancy of Manor Square? Tizers shut down before most kindergartners were born.
Maybe with all of the vacancies the rent will go down and some people with fresh concepts will take the plunge and move in.
Westport has always been the heart of midtown and it will soon again be the heart of KC..... it just needs to make that transition another commneter mentioned, from all bars and "entertainment" to much more of everything, like South Street in Philly or Soulard in St. Louis. I wish World's Window and all of those high end clothing stores were back. There's no place in Kansas City more beautiful or soulful than this couple blocks.
True, but those 20-somethings who aren't awestruck by P&L are already in Westport. I see them at McCoy's and The Foundry every week. There just aren't enough of them.
I also find it hard to believe that adding restaurants is the answer, as there are more than enough there. Besides Papa Keno's and The Corner, Fuji and Chili's have also closed in the past year. Sure, you might get lucky and find a couple winners like Blanc, but they'll quickly outgrow any vacant storefront in Westport (except Mill Creek's old dustbin) in favor of bigger spaces with more parking.
Westport still has the best place to get a burger in town at the Flea Market and one of the coolest places to catch a show in the Riot Room. I moved from mid-town to the crossroads after 7 years but I still want that neighborhood to thrive.
I do not waste my money on Power and Light, I waste it in Westport. Thankfully good bands still play the clubs there(who wants to watch washed up 90s bands play KCLive!, oh wait 30 year old ex-frat boys do...). But like the person above said, Westport should focus on eateries and dive-ish bars, there is still a good market for that, believe it or not not every 20something is awestruck by the glitz of P&L
Thanks for documenting this. I don't go east of Broadway very often, and I didn't realize it was that bleak down there as well.
I laugh that being too busy (Blanc) and not busy enough (Starbucks, Papa Keno's) are both legitimate causes for leaving Westport.
I love Westport, and I hope it survives more/less intact until the economy picks back up. I predict the timing of this will coincide with P&L losing its novelty, and in a couple years I can be the old man who complains that all the jackassery has come back to Westport.
Westport should just become a neighborhood hang out and stop trying to be an "entertainment district". People can go to P&L or the plaza for that. Westport should be quality restaurants, good dive/not dive bars, basic needs shops (a bakery, ethnic grocery store, laundromat).
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