Afterword finds a new home in Hyde Park
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Teaser photos. Photo: Courtesy of Kate Hall.
Beloved KC bookstore-bar Afterword Tavern & Shelves is reopening this summer in the former Brewer's Corner space in Midtown.
Why it matters: The literary cocktail bar closed its East Crossroads location in January after seven years, leaving regulars without their go-to spot and the city without one of its most distinctive bars.
Catch up quick: Afterword opened in 2018 as a half-bookshop, half-cocktail bar serving literary-themed drinks alongside a curated book selection.
- The building was sold late last year, forcing the bar out by Jan. 31.
- Owners Christian Overgaard and Luke Pitz, who held a minority stake in the original building, hoped to buy a new space with rentable storefronts attached to mirror the old setup.
- They finalized a lease on the Hyde Park spot in late March.
The latest: General manager Kate Hall tells Axios they're targeting a June 1 opening but says mid-June is more likely, with the timeline hinging on a pending liquor license.
🍸 Zoom in: The Hyde Park location sits steps from Good Karma Coffee, the romance bookstore Under the Cover, and the sci-fi shop Outland Mercantile, putting Afterword in a small literary cluster.
- Hall plans to keep the literary cocktail focus and original staff, most of whom have stayed in touch through monthly family meals since the closure.
- The new location is roughly four times the size of the original.
- The bigger footprint means room for open mics, poetry readings and comedy nights without shutting down the bar.
What they're saying: "We're not done," Hall tells Axios, echoing the same sentiment she felt around the January closure.
- The community kept the project moving. Hall says strangers even stop her on the street to ask if Afterword is coming back. "People love us, we provide a third place," she adds.
- "I've never built a bar before. If we pull this off and get to look around like we did this? We faked it till we made it," she says.
❤️ The bottom line: KC's most-missed bookstore-bar is coming back, bigger and a little farther south.