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11/18/2025

A New Survey Reveals the No. 1 City Americans Want to Visit Just for Food
Philadelphia: Philly cheesesteak, 27%
New York City: New York–style pizza, 27%
Missouri and Kansas: Kansas City barbecue, 26%
Chicago: deep-dish pizza, 25%
Central Texas: Texas barbecue, 24%
https://www.foodandwine.com/top-food-destinations-in-america-talker-research-2025-11850430

A new survey from Talker Research shows that plenty of Americans are planning trips entirely around food. The data breaks down the top 10 cities people most want to visit for their eats — from grabbing a Philly cheesesteak in Philadelphia to digging into barbecue in Central Texas.

11/18/2025

Power & Light Plot Twist: High-Profile KC Flagship Deal Suddenly Falls Apart
It was big news in April.
Kansas City’s Jerusalem Cafe, its sister restaurant Chick-In Waffle, and a new mocktail bar/coffee shop called Virgin Rebel would open a “groundbreaking culinary” concept in the Power & Light District.
Jerusalem Café is a beloved Kansas City mainstay serving authentic Mediterranean classics for more than 35 years.
Chick-In Waffle, a 5-year-old sister concept, offers signature chicken-and-waffles in a variety of styles, along with other items.
Virgin Rebel would be a new mocktail bar.
At the time, Power & Light officials said the deal “underscores our commitment to offering diverse culinary experiences.”
The combo flagship, by brothers Dennis and Adam Alazzeh, was scheduled to open by the end of the year at 131 E. 14th St., in the former Famous Dave’s barbecue space. The lease was signed and construction had started.
But now the plans have been dropped.
Power & Light just issued this statement: "In April, the Kansas City Power & Light District announced a three-concept collaboration with Jerusalem Café, Chick-In Waffle and Virgin Rebel. We have now mutually decided not to move forward with this project. We have tremendous respect for the Alazzeh family and look forward to future opportunities with Kansas City's local restaurant community."
Power & Light officials weren’t available for further comment today.
Dennis Alazzeh gave me this statement on Saturday but had no further comment: “It has always been a dream of ours to open a spot in the Power & Light District. For the moment, we need to delay our plans so we can focus on our new headquarters. We are incredibly appreciative of the partnership of the Power & Light District and excited to open there soon.”
Chick-In Waffle is rapidly expanding. A new franchisee is opening a Northland restaurant this month. He opened an Overland Park location in June.
The brothers recently opened a new 16,000-square-foot headquarters in Independence.
For more on the original P&L announcement, see my April story in Startland News

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The Kansas City Power & Light District is getting a new flagship venue that will combine two popular local restaurant brands and a new mocktail bar/coffee shop concept. Brothers and second-generation restaurateurs, Dennis and Adam Alazzeh, are taking a 6,300-square-foot space at 131 E. 14th St. and....

11/17/2025

Thanksgiving To-Go: Local Restaurants Doing the Heavy Lifting
Readers are asking for Thanksgiving options. I’m working on a restaurant list. Meanwhile, here are some restaurants and shops offering specials for your table.
1. Extra Virgin Grab & Go. Celebrated chef Michael Smith brings back his popular holiday menu for at-home dining:
Parker House rolls ($18 for a dozen). Sides are apricot and black currant stuffing, roasted carrots, potato gratin, and creamed spinach ($18, 6 to 8 servings). It also will have giblet gravy, turkey broth, cranberry sauce, and pecan and pumpkin pies.
Order deadline is 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21. Call 816-381-9025 to order from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pickup is from noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 24 to 26. At Extra Virgin Grab & Go, 1900 Main St.
3. HTeaO: Its annual Thanksgiving gallon promotion runs through Nov. 22. Customers can pre-order their favorite tea flavors and enjoy a special limited-time offer with two gallons for $10 or four gallons for $20. It has area locations in Gardner and Raymore.
4. Ocean Prime: “Everything but The Turkey” offers a sides-to-go package including roasted brussel sprouts, truffle macaroni-and-cheese, bacon creamed spinach, jalapeno potato au gratin, warm bread, and its Five-Layer Carrot Cake.
The dishes include simple, step-by-step reheating instructions. The package serves 4-6 guests and is available for $155. Orders can be placed by calling the restaurant directly at 816-600-0630 before Nov. 21 for pick up on Wednesday, Nov. 26. For additional details, visit the link HERE. Ocean Prime, 4622 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 300, in the Country Club Plaza District.
5. Ruby Jean’s Juicery will have some sides and a vegan sweet potato pie for pre-order before Nov. 25th. https://www.toasttab.com/catering/ruby-jeans-juicery-3000-troost-ave
Photo: Courtesy of Ocean 1587 Prime

11/17/2025

KCinsiders Weekly Top 5: The Stories You Clicked, Shared, and Couldn’t Get Enough Of
1. My breaking story on the two national brands opening in the 115th & Nall development in Overland Park was by far the most viewed last week.
The Capital Grille and Yard House, sister brands under Florida-based Darden Restaurants Inc., will have two freestanding buildings, each about 10,000 square feet. They could open in about nine months.
In September, Block & Company Inc. Realtors said they had signed the two tenants but weren’t ready to release the names.
The centerpiece of the development will be a 100,000-square-foot, four-story AC Hotel by Marriott featuring 126 rooms, a full-service restaurant and bar, 4,500 square feet of meeting and event space, and a dedicated wedding suite.
And in other Capital Grille news, the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association just named Kim Halloran, managing partner of The Capital Grille on the Country Club Plaza, as its 2025 Restaurateur of the Year.
2. Matt Brentano and Jim Fager, two of the partners in locally owned Tanner’s Bar & Grill, plan to open a new concept, Sammie’s Kitchen & Bar in Overland Park’s Stanley Station, on Tuesday.
The menu will include flatbread pizza such as the BBQ Burnt End with chipotle aioli, Italian beef sandwiches; and a chocolate waffle sundae.
3. The metro’s first Saladworks is now open at 7745 W. 159th St. in Overland Park’s Bluhawk. Entree salads, wraps, melts, bowls and more. Could it open in Olathe next?
4. Betty Rae’s Ice Cream is opening another Lee’s Summit shop. The location, at 1636 S.E. Blue Parkway, is scheduled to open in January. In July, Betty Rae’s celebrated its grand opening inside the Cosentino’s Price Chopper at 251 S.W. Greenwich Drive in Lee’s Summit. (This was a repost from my earlier breaking story a few days before.)
5. Locally owned Chick-In Waffle plans a soft opening at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21, for its new restaurant at 8702 N.E. Flintlock Road in the Shoppes at Shoal Creek. The Halal Guys formerly operated in the spot.
The grand opening will be 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 5, and the first 150 people in line will get a free meal card.
(Working on another update on this brand.)
In other Kansas City area restaurant and retail news.
1. Venezuelan restaurant Lala Gourmet relocated from KCK to Raytown, 9700 E. 63rd St.
2. After six years in Lee’s Summit, Bella’s Italian Restaurant is adding another location.
It plans to open by the end of the month at 16110 W. 135th St. in Olathe (in the former Applebee’s Grill + Bar). It is still hiring. And it plans more Johnson County locations.

11/16/2025

Update: KC’s Breakout Comfort-Food Star Adds Another Location. And A Chance For A Free Meal 🍗🧇

Locally owned Chick-In Waffle plans a soft opening at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 21, for its new restaurant at 8702 N.E. Flintlock Road in the Shoppes at Shoal Creek. The Halal Guys formerly operated in the spot.

The grand opening will be 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 5, and the first 150 people in line will get a free meal card. The celebration also will include a DJ, and other prizes while supplies last (around 2 or 3 p.m.).
Hours for this location are tentatively set as 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
EzCheezy LLC is the franchisee for the new Northland location. It also opened a location in Overland Park, 8667 W. 135th St., on June 4.
About the brand: Dennis and Sara Alazzeh started Chick-In Waffle in 2020, opening their first location in Westport. Dennis’ late father founded Jerusalem Cafe in the space around 1990 but it relocated a block away.
The Alazzehs wanted to offer “bold, craveable chicken tenders and signature waffles” in a fun, fast and modern format.
The menu includes such items as classic buttermilk chicken topped with maple syrup and chives; spicy chicken; chicken drenched in housemade Monterey Jack queso with jalapenos and chives; Asian chili chicken; KC BBQ chicken; tikka masala chicken; and more - all served with waffles.
It also has chicken sandwiches, chicken strips and loaded fries.
Chick-In Waffle expanded to south Kansas City in late 2021, then to Independence in October 2023, and opened in Lawrence in May 2024. Along with the Overland Park restaurant, the locations together employ about 100 people.
The Alazzeh family also has a new 16,000-square-foot headquarters in Independence for Chick-In Waffle and Jerusalem Cafe.
In April, a flagship combination of Chick-In Waffle, Jerusalem Cafe, and Virgin Rebel mocktail bar was announced for the Power & Light District. For more on that, come back this week.
Reporter note: This is an update to my May story announcing the new Northland Chick-In Waffle.
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Photo: Dennis Alazzeh at his Independence restaurant.

11/14/2025

Two Tanner’s Bar & Grill Partners Are Opening a New Concept in JoCo
Matt Brentano and Jim Fager, two of the partners in locally owned Tanner’s, hope to open Sammie’s Kitchen & Bar in Overland Park’s Stanley Station on Tuesday.
The menu will include flatbread pizza such as the BBQ Burnt End with chipotle aioli, and the Double Decker Pepperoni; Dogs including a Ragin Cajun with Andouille sausage; Italian beef sandwiches; soups and salads; hot dog sliders; and a chocolate waffle sundae.
“We decided it would be fun to try out something different, spread our wings a little bit,” Brentano said. “The food and drink is a little elevated - hot sandwiches and flatbreads as opposed to burgers and fries. And space-wise, a smaller, cozier neighborhood spot.”
The Yeti Pub & Kaffeehaus had formerly operated in the space at 7721 W. 151st St.
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11/13/2025

🥗This Restaurant Chain Is Known For Its Entree Salads. Now Its First Area Location Is Open in JoCo
A local DJ was pumping classics as customers queued up in the fast-moving line.
Saladworks is now open at 7745 W. 159th St., in Overland Park’s Bluhawk development. (The first in Kansas, It doesn't have any in Missouri - yet).
It offers specialty salads, build-your-own salads, melts, wraps, grain bowls, soups, kids meals and desserts.
Much like at Chipotle, customers move down a line to pick a specialty salad or wrap (which they also can customize), or to build their own from more than 60 ingredients.
I opted for one of the premium offerings - The Bently Salad - with a base of Romaine/Iceberg topped with smoked ham, roasted turkey, provolone cheese, sliced egg and diced tomatoes, and a side of its house Green Goddess dressing ($13.99).
Next time I’ll try the Asian Crispy Chicken Salad which has sweet chili crispy chicken, mandarin oranges, sliced cucumbers, matchstick carrots, edamame, and crispy wonton strips with sweet sesame dressing.
Or maybe the pick two - a half order of a signature, premium or create your own salad, and a small soup or half melt.
Wraps include buffalo chicken, and turkey jalapeno crunch. Under soups look for chicken noodle, broccoli cheddar, baked potato, and chicken tortilla.
Saladworks was founded in 1986 and began franchising in 1992. It has more than 100 locations. Its parent company is WOWorks which has several “healthier meals” brands.
The new Overland Park franchisees, Harminder Gill and Paresh Patel, plan to open another Johnson County location by the end of 2026, probably in Olathe.
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Photo: The Bently Salad

11/12/2025

icymi 🍦 Betty Rae’s Ice Cream is opening another Lee’s Summit shop. The location, at 1636 S.E. Blue Parkway, is scheduled to open in January. In July, Betty Rae’s celebrated its grand opening inside the Cosentino’s Price Chopper at 251 S.W. Greenwich Drive in Lee’s Summit.

11/12/2025

🍝Lasagna pizza. Salmon Fettuccine. Lee’s Summit Italian Restaurant Expanding to JoCo
After six years in Lee’s Summit, Bella’s Italian Restaurant is adding another location.
It plans to open by the end of the month at 16110 W. 135th St. in Olathe (in the former Applebee’s Grill + Bar).
Owners and brothers, Genci and Limi Veliu, were born in Bari, Italy. Their late father was Italian, their mother is Albanian.
After their father died, they moved to Albania to live with their mother’s family.
After high school they moved to The Bronx to live with their paternal grandparents, and worked in the family Bella’s Italian Restaurant (which had opened in the late 1970s).
“We were going back and forth as kids, after my father died the families supported us,” Limi said. “None of us were spoiled but we always had what we needed.”
The brothers and some other family members moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the late 1990s and opened several restaurants.
Family, food, and hard work were part of daily life, they said.
One day, Lee’s Summit Mayor Bill Baird came in and was so impressed, he encouraged the brothers to expand to his city.
“He loved our food. Homemade recipes, the way we treated the customers,” Limi said. “He said he really needed something like it in Lee’s Summit.”
Baird couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.
In October 2019, Bella’s Italian Restaurant opened at 511 S.E. Melody Lane.
The menu includes lasagna pizza, chicken parmigiana, shrimp scampi, baked tortellini, salmon fettuccine, and tiramisu.
It also has weekday and weekend specials - such as Monday’s rib eye with sauteed asparagus, and a choice of mashed potatoes or garlic herb buttered noodles. Or last weekend’s Gnocchi con Gamberi. and pumpkin chicken Alfredo.
“We had always wanted to come to Olathe and have a lot of customers from Olathe. But we were so busy,” Limi said. “But this community really deserves it. Then we will probably expand to Overland Park, Lenexa.”
The Olathe Bella’s will have about 20 employees and is now hiring for all positions but chef - a family member will head the kitchen.
Photo: Courtesy of Bella's Italian Restaurant

11/12/2025

KC area bars took the KS and MO spots in this "best list": Shawnee, downtown KC. Do you agree? Please share your area favorites. 🍸
https://www.chowhound.com/2020086/best-cocktail-bar-in-every-us-state/
.child.kc

There are plenty of cocktail bars in major US cities, but which ones are worth your dime? Here is the hands down best cocktail bar in every state.