New chicken kitchen anchors Vine Street Brewing
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Brewery to the left, chicken to the right. Photo: Travis Meier/Axios
Vine Street Brewing just welcomed a new permanent food concept, filling an important gap in the brew house's business after a year-and-a-half restaurant vacancy.
Why it matters: We're continuing our February spotlight on Black-owned businesses with a look at Missouri's first Black-owned brewery and its partnership with the new Vine Street Chicken Co.
Driving the news: The fried chicken kitchen officially opens for lunch and dinner Wednesday at 2000 Vine St. — which also houses the brewery — after a soft-launch last week.
- It's a concept by Justin Clark, founder of Urban Restaurant, at 3420 Troost Ave.
- Urban also has a cafe at KCI.
Zoom in: Kemet Coleman, who cofounded the brewery inside the reimagined Workhouse building, says he wants the spot to bridge all of Kansas City's identities, including music, food and history.
- Coleman points to beers named after historic Kansas City figures and jazz jam sessions held for free every Wednesday night at the brewery.
What they're saying: "We've done a lot of storytelling around beer, and I think we can do a lot of storytelling around food, too," Coleman says, adding that Clark whipped up a batch of gumbo (which is not on the menu) for the brewery's Mardi Gras party.
- He says the new restaurant is a catalyst for bringing in more people and keeping the brewery's lights on.
Travis' thought bubble: The moist chicken falls off the bone, but the show stealer is the funnel cake fries ($12) — soaked in oil, powdered with sugar and drizzled with chocolate.
Zoom out: The 18th and Vine District is undergoing massive changes, including the construction of a pedestrian mall and several housing projects.
- Coleman says the brewery already does on a small scale what the neighborhood will soon do, "which is the cross-pollination of people, music, food, recreation" and community building.
If you go: The restaurant says its regular hours start Wednesday and run noon-9pm. It's closed on Tuesday.