Discover the 15 Most Anticipated Kansas City Restaurants Opening in 2024

Food lovers and locals in Kansas City got lots to look forward to in 2024. From a BBQ dive bar to a sushi place, the city is buzzing with excitement for these new eateries. To celebrate the new year, we put together a list of the 15 most anticipated restaurant openings in the Kansas City area.

Vita’s Place

Underdog Wine Co. owners Ryan and Jenny Sciara will open a small neighborhood wine bar at 5514 Oak, just around the corner from their Brookside shop. The projected opening is in early January.

Whole Harvest

This Kansas City-based meal delivery service is opening its first restaurant in Leawood. The place will have a health focus, offering zucchini bread, loaded sweet potatoes, lentil pancakes, edamame dip, and more. The projected opening is in the second week of January.

Tiki Taco

With two locations in Kansas City, Tiki Taco is opening its first spot on the Kansas side at 7514 W. 80th St. in Overland Park. The restaurant will serve customer favorites, including crunchy tacos, nachos, burritos, and more. The projected opening is in January.

1981 K-Chicken

Located at 10412 Mastin St., the former Italian restaurant Steve’s Villa Capri will soon become a Korean chicken restaurant and bar. This is the first concept from longtime friends Kue-Jin Hwang, Sung Jo, and Kyoungmin Kim, who have dreamed of opening a restaurant for years. The projected opening is in January.

Aqua Penny’s

The owners of the popular Park Place Thai restaurant Bamboo Penny’s are opening a seafood and oyster bar concept in the same Leawood shopping center. Aqua Penny’s will be open for lunch, dinner, happy hour, and brunch. The projected opening is in February.

Lottie’s Get Down

The Nashville-based firm behind the Westport music venue Tin Roof will open this Southern-fried chicken concept at 4057 Pennsylvania Ave. The building was previously Mickey’s Hideaway, and before that, McCoy’s Public House. The projected opening is in early 2024.

The Blue Palm

Owners Dan Doty, Roxie Danner, and Houston DeFoe are planning a tiki bar in the Strawberry Hill space Mockingbird Lounge vacated at 204 Orchard St. in Kansas City, Kansas. The projected opening is in early 2024.

Green Dirt on Oak

Sarah Hoffmann, artisan cheesemaker and owner of Green Dirt Farm in Weston, will open a Crossroads fine-dining restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and her award-winning cheeses at 1601 Oak St. The spot will have a rooftop deck, an event space, and a production facility. The projected opening is in early 2024.

Osteria Bianchi

Las Vegas culinary transplants Josh and Kelly Bianchi plan a traditional Italian restaurant in the former Trago Bar & Tapas space at 9261 N.E. 83rd Terrace, near Liberty, Missouri. Dishes planned include a tonnarelli cacio e pepe pasta, wood-fired pizzas, and a pork trio served with spaetzle and red wine-braised cabbage. The projected opening is in early 2024.

Meddys

The Wichita-based Mediterranean restaurant, which already has locations in Brookside and Prairie Village, is expanding again, this time to Lenexa, on the southwest corner of West 88th Street and Maurer Road. The restaurant offers shawarmas, hummus plates, and salads, inspired by owner Alex Harb’s Lebanese culture. The projected opening is in March.

Sushi Kodawari

Austin transplant Karson Thompson plans to open Kansas City’s first omakase restaurant at 2100 Central St. The fine-dining sushi experience will also be one of the city’s smallest restaurants, with just an eight-seat counter offering two seatings per night. The projected opening is in spring.

Carne Diem

Husband-and-wife pair Louis Guerrieri and Sarah Nelson, who opened the small-plates restaurant Ombra in 2022 at The Village at Briarcliff, are planning this upscale meat market and seafood counter just down the road, at 4179 N. Mulberry Drive. The projected opening is in spring.

The Fresh Mediterranean Co.

This Middle Eastern restaurant started inside a Lawrence Cenex gas station, serving chicken shawarma, falafel, hummus, and gyros. It is expanding into a fast-casual concept, owner Hanif Lakhani said, and taking over the space at 3904 Bell in Kansas City, where d’Bronx Authentic Deli and Pizzeria closed in 2022. The projected opening is in spring.

Night Goat

Fox and Pearl’s Sunday barbecue pop-up is getting its own permanent space in the West Side restaurant’s basement, at 2139 Summit. Expect a honky-tonk dive bar setting with barbecue sandwiches and tacos on the menu. The projected opening is in late spring or summer.

Enjoy Pure Food + Drink

Staci Cross, who owns a health restaurant in Leawood’s Mission Farms, is expanding her concept to Lenexa. The new restaurant will be part of a project dubbed Restaurant Row near 87th Street and Renner Boulevard. The projected opening is in September.

As you can see, Kansas City has an exciting lineup of new dining establishments in the works for 2024. Be sure to keep an eye out for these openings and enjoy the delicious cuisine and atmosphere each restaurant has to offer.