That's right Kansas City, We're Back!

The Phoenix restaurant and live jazz nightclub in Kansas City has recently re-opened.  Almost as if they never missed a beat, The Phoenix is serving up great food and featuring some of the best Kansas City musicians nightly.

From the Kansas City Star:
The Phoenix rises again. The new owners have spiffed up the place a bit and reworked the menu. Among the new dishes: Black and Tan Onion Rings, Red Canyon Chili With Cheddar, Three Cheese Melt Sandwich and Chicken Salad Sliders. One thing has stayed the same: There will be live music Tuesday through Saturday.

The Kansas City Star didn't seem to be too excited about the re-opening!  Oh well, they probably wrote the article on a Monday or something.

 

The Phoenix History...

The corner of downtown Kansas City where the Phoenix now sits used to be known as part of the Burgeoning Garment District in 1888.  The Phoenix was there from the beginning, a somewhat shady hotel that was rumored to be more of a bordello than a hotel.  On the first floor there was a speak-easy type saloon owned and operated by bartender Frank Valerius, and on the second floor was a "hotel" owned by Mrs. Linna Laws.

The main competition for The Phoenix were the hotels Metropolitan and The Savoy.  The Exchange Hotel, which went belly up long ago, still sits dejected across the street from the thriving Phoenix much like a dead soldier from a war fought long ago.

Pictured Right:

The Scamps - circa 1955

The Scamps continued to perform at The Phoenix well into the 2000's and Kansas City named the street that leads to The Phoenix "Scamps Alley".

The Center Holds

The Phoenix has always held it's own in part because they consistently feature great Kansas City musicians on a nightly basis.  While other bars in Kansas City skimp on the music budget and present boring twenty something year old accustic guitar playing "granola" new age hippies, The Phoenix keeps it real and brings in the big jazz artists.

Kansas City needs to get rid of the solo accustic guitarist / vocalist guys that seem to be everywhere now and get back to hiring REAL BANDS.

Get down to The Phoenix and get back to the roots of what made Kansas City a great place to live and visit. 

Dan Doran

George "G-Force" Robinson