Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00:00):
Hey guys, it's Mindy with the Kansas City Bucket List Podcast. Thank you so much for coming back and for tuning in. I am thrilled to have a friend here today, Jenny Vergara. She is a foodie expert in the scene of Kansas City Dining. She and I will dive into all things cuisine here in Casey. We're gonna talk about what is coming up in 2026 that you guys can look forward to, um, foodie experiences that you definitely need to add to your bucket list, um, and what to get excited about to kind of expand your horizon. So be sure to, uh, listen in to the entirety of it. She's gonna give you some really good recommendations of things to do this year to make the most of it with FIFA coming up and everything else. And so we're really excited to share more with you. So enjoy. Welcome to the podcast, Jenny.
Jenny Vergara (00:00:50):
Thank you so much.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00:51):
I am so excited to have you here. I know as we are gonna talk about all things food and drink are favorite
things that we love to do in Kansas City.
Jenny Vergara (00:00:57):
That's right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00:58):
Yeah,
Jenny Vergara (00:00:58):
That's right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00:59):
I, and you know, to be honest with you, I like, in my mind you are the food guru around Kansas
Jenny Vergara (00:01:05):
City. Aw, that's so nice.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:06):
Is that fair to say? I mean, I don't know. You might be too humble, but
Jenny Vergara (00:01:09):
No, listen, I love it. Thank you so much. Yeah, I'll take the title.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:12):
Okay. Speaking of titles, let's do a quick rundown because you've got, um, quite the resume mm-hmm. Of
things that you are currently doing, you have done so.
Jenny Vergara (00:01:19):
Right.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:20):
Um, and also Veara, I love the last name.
Jenny Vergara (00:01:22):
Right, right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:23):
I feel like I should like roll the tongue when I'm saying your name, so
Jenny Vergara (00:01:25):
Yes. Yes. Sophia is my beautiful older sister,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:28):
<laugh>. Oh, love it. Okay. So you are the owner of Foodie LLC? Correct.
Jenny Vergara (00:01:33):
Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:33):
And that encompasses a food columnist for in Kansas City Magazine. Right. Which we will go through
today.
Jenny Vergara (00:01:38):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:38):
Um, you are a co-host for Hungry for MO podcast. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Which still can be found
online. Yep. You can dig into some details of that.
Jenny Vergara (00:01:45):
Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:45):
Uh, founder of the Test Kitchen, underground Supper Club. Mm-hmm
Jenny Vergara (00:01:48):
<affirmative>. Correct. Which
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:48):
Im dying to know more about this. Correct. Um, marketing and PR consultant for local restaurants, food.
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Beverage clients. Mm-hmm. And radio and television, food contributor.
Correct. I mean, how do you have time for it all?
Jenny Vergara (00:01:58):
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Correct. That's incredible. <laugh>, you have to wear a lot of hats to get paid in this industry for sure.
You
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:02):
Do. Oh, and real estate agent. Yes. Correct. Which we will talk about that as well, so,
Jenny Vergara (00:02:05):
Correct.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:05):
Um, okay. Perfect. Well, give us a little bit of a background. First of all, tell us what you are, um,
focusing on today. And what we're gonna talk about today is both 2025, the food scene mm-hmm
<affirmative>. Right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Do a little recap.
Jenny Vergara (00:02:16):
Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:16):
Um, but then we're also going to get into what to be excited about Right. In 2026. Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:02:21):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:21):
Absolutely. So tell us a little bit more about who you are, how you got into this world of food. Mm-hmm
<affirmative>. And I mean, it sounds like the, the perfect job, right?
Jenny Vergara (00:02:29):
Right. <laugh>,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:30):
Well, and I, not even a job. Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:02:31):
I kind of came to it late, like I was probably in my forties when I started actually like doing a food blog
and writing about food. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:38):
I love that, by the way. Yeah. Because I'm in my forties as well. Yeah. And I'm starting a new venture
here. Um, but I am very big right now on people, um, believing that it's never too late
Jenny Vergara (00:02:46):
No Right. To
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:46):
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Get into something that you wanna do. Absolutely. It doesn't matter what age you are. And so I think
that's a really great point to bring up for, for people to,
Jenny Vergara (00:02:52):
Well, I I do think it's helpful 'cause a lot of people are like, I'm so busy. Listen, when you're in your
twenties and thirties, you're having kids, you've got family, you know, you're busy, you've got got jobs,
you're building your career, and there's time for all of that. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. But then, you know,
I kind of woke up in my forties and I was like, I don't, there's something else I wanna do here. And I
wasn't quite sure how to start or even how to do it. And I just started doing it just Prescott, just like one
foot after the other. But long story short, so my, um, degrees in advertising and marketing. Okay. So I've
always been in that sphere. I worked for kind of big corporations in my twenties and thirties mm-hmm
<affirmative>. Um, and then I ended up having my kid and needing, so my last corporate job was at
Payless Shoe Source. It was, um, the corporate office was in Topeka and I used to commute. Got it. An
hour every day. Um, so after I had my kid, that hour commute was just killing me. It just was too much.
So I ended up leaving that job and looking for something back in Kansas City that I could do. And I
ended up getting a job as the marketing director for Z's Italian Kitchen.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:46):
Oh my gosh. I remember that.
Jenny Vergara (00:03:47):
Which Z's Italian Kitchen used to be here. There are no more. Yeah. Another company that's gone poof in
the wind. Um, but it was really interesting 'cause they had hired an ex Applebee's executive to be the CEO
and he had built his team here locally. So I came in and I said, I, I don't know if I'm really qualified to do
this. Like, I love restaurants and food. I'm kind of interested in this as a new, um, I tend to have a resume
that's full of like my interests or, or what I'm curious about. Right.
Speaker 3 (00:04:10):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:04:11):
So I said, you know, I've been selling $9 99 cent shoes. I don't know how that translates to restaurants.
And he goes, we sell $9 99 cent bolts of pasta. It's the same <laugh>. You're fine. So that was basically
kind of how I got started in the food industry. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:04:26):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:04:26):
Um, so I worked there for five years doing all kinds of promotions. And I eventually, you know, we were
a small team of about five people, so I got a lot of responsibility. Yeah. I picked out the wine list and was
meeting with wine reps mm-hmm. And, you know, deciding, you know, the cost. I mean, at that point we
had a house read and a house white, and we ended up going to like 30 bottles of really good Italian wines.
I got some great fun travels out of that by, by the way. Kidding. So yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:49):
When
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Jenny Vergara (00:04:49):
You increase a wine list like that, all of a sudden the perks kind of roll in from the distributors for sure.
Which,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:54):
By the way, were you kind of just winging it? Or did you have some like, you know, true interest, passion
of food and wine before you got there, even though you weren't working in the industry, were you like?
Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:05:04):
So I had just started to cook at home, and I think that was really the impetus behind it. Yeah. Because,
um, I was married at the time to a Brazilian man, so I was learning all kinds of Brazilian cuisine,
Speaker 3 (00:05:14):
Uhhuh, <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:05:15):
I was interested in other cultures and cuisines different from my own. So I was doing, you know, a lot of
cookbooks, a lot of reading, and a lot of trial and error. Okay. So I think that was really probably what
drew me to food.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:05:25):
Yeah. But
Jenny Vergara (00:05:25):
I didn't realize how much I would love the industry, and I had a lot of good teachers. I was watching
really interesting operators that worked inside of Z's, obviously. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:05:33):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:05:34):
Who taught me a lot. Um, the chefs, obviously the operators who were looking at the costs and how to,
you know, how to run a run a, a profitable restaurant. So I learned more about the business side of it then,
and the marketing side of it.
Speaker 3 (00:05:45):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:05:46):
And so when I, it was during that time there that I just started keeping like a little list of restaurants I
wanted to try. We were given a small budget to eat at any Italian restaurant we wanted to. So I was like,
okay, let's take advantage of that.
Speaker 3 (00:05:56):
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Yep.
Jenny Vergara (00:05:56):
And that list kind of ended up becoming the food blog that I started. Um, and from the food blog, I started
Test Kitchen, my underground supper club. So it was kind of like this and
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:05):
Journey. And that was in Kansas City?
Jenny Vergara (00:06:06):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:07):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:06:07):
Just like one thing led to another. Yeah. So while I was working at Z's, I had decided to start a food blog
called Making of a Foodie. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:06:14):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:06:14):
And I specifically named it that because I wanted to keep myself humble in the process of what I was
about to try to take on. Got it. 'cause I didn't know where this was gonna go. I didn't really have a,
certainly didn't have a social media, you know, outline or map for this. Right, right. You, it was just kinda
like, let's try and see what happens.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:30):
Yeah. Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:06:31):
And my blog was really different. It wasn't a recipe blog, it wasn't a food review blog. Mm-hmm. It was
basically talking to chefs about the ingredients they were using, the techniques they were using, things
they were excited about, and kind of translating that for everyone to understand in the real world. And I
had enough restaurant experience that I had, I could talk to chefs and translate it to consumers, basically.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:52):
Were you monetizing that or were you just doing this for fun?
Jenny Vergara (00:06:55):
I was not because I felt like I was getting paid at Z's. That was my day job. Right. Yeah. And so at night I
could just do this for free for fun
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:07:01):
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Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:07:02):
And, you know, eventually it was like, oh, you should monetize your blog. And that's of course when they
just wanted a bunch of spammy ads all over your blog. Right. And I thought, no, I don't, I don't wanna
compromise what my blog looks like just to have advertisers. So
Speaker 3 (00:07:12):
Sure.
Jenny Vergara (00:07:12):
I'm pretty much made it a decision not to do that. But after several years of, you know, chefs reading
other chefs and being interested in my blog and other people finding, I mean, it was just my mom and the
chefs that were basically reading it in Kansas City initially, thank goodness for moms. Right. Thank
goodness for moms. I was so thrilled. But yeah. Um, you know, the chefs soon kind of came to me and
they were like, you know, you do so much for us. You're writing all about what we're doing. We're
reading each other, you know, we're reading about what other chefs are doing through you. I mean, this
was kind of almost, you know, pre-internet. You know, we, yeah. We really weren't there yet. Like, what
year are we talking? 2007. Okay. 2007. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So we were just kind of start, you know,
chefs were starting to realize that they could kind of learn from the internet, you know, what other chefs
were doing. And I think I was kind of, hopefully I was helpful in the Kansas City food scene of, of doing
that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:07:58):
I, I think you were
Jenny Vergara (00:07:59):
Clearly
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:00):
<laugh> based on where you are now,
Jenny Vergara (00:08:01):
But that, that really led to a conversation with Colby Alz. And that was, um, pretty quick after that. And
he, you know, we had a conversation about a fish dish. This was when soy cooking had just taken off.
Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:12):
Uhhuh <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:08:12):
So, you know, cooking obviously low and slow in a bag in some water.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:16):
I would pretend like I know what you're talking about. I don't know exactly. I love to eat out.
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Jenny Vergara (00:08:19):
Well, he, he had blue stem. He and his wife Megan obviously owned a blue stem at the time. And he had
gotten into soy cooking at the restaurant. He was serving a fish dish that was a white flaky fish. And it
was going out to the table after being sovi, but it didn't have grill marks on it. So patrons were sending the
fish back saying, it's not cooked.
Speaker 3 (00:08:35):
Oh,
Jenny Vergara (00:08:36):
This is a raw fish. Or, and it was just like, this silky beautiful, perfectly poached texture, Uhhuh
Speaker 3 (00:08:41):
<affirmative>. And
Jenny Vergara (00:08:41):
He goes, if I could just get people to like, sit still and understand Sovi cooking, then I wouldn't have all
these returns. People would be enjoying this dish. I really love this dish. I want other people to love it.
Speaker 3 (00:08:50):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:08:51):
And I said, alright, well why don't I knock on your back, you know, the back door after close one night,
make me the dish. Lemme take some pictures of it, and then I'll blog about it so people can understand
what Suzy cooking is. And he goes, find 20 people and let's do a dinner and I'll serve that dish at that
dinner. Okay.
Speaker 3 (00:09:04):
And
Jenny Vergara (00:09:04):
It was very dismissive. I mean, literally it was over beers one night. We were just sitting around talking
and I was like, I, I cannot explain what happened. I went home, talked to my husband at the time and said,
can you build me a website? I think I need to start a supper club and get people eating. Gosh. And
understanding. So I think this was always in service of like, trying to promote chefs first and foremost and
what they were doing, but also to educate consumers. Like there was a whole education piece of this that I
didn't think about when I started Test Kitchen. Right. So that was 20 years ago. Yeah. And I've had, I've
had the club, I've done dinners about once a month with different chefs in different locations. I've slowed
down in the last year 'cause I've picked up obviously real estate as a new hat to wear. So that slowed me
down just a little bit. But, um, I still very much see my role for Test Kitchen and honestly writing about
food now. I mean, the food blog continued to go until I had people who were willing to pay me.
Speaker 3 (00:09:56):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
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Jenny Vergara (00:09:56):
Um, I have a story about Charles Za, the former food. Uh, he was basically the food critic for the pitch
back in the day.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:02):
Oh, okay. And this is like, I've been here for 10 years. Right. So there's gonna be a lot that I don't know
about cancer studies. He'll have to go into that
Jenny Vergara (00:10:09):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:09):
As well.
Jenny Vergara (00:10:10):
So I came to Kansas City in 1991 right after college. That's, that's how long I've been here,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:15):
<laugh>.
Jenny Vergara (00:10:15):
Um, if that'll tell you anything
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:16):
And never leaving. Right,
Jenny Vergara (00:10:17):
Right. <laugh> and Charles Za was someone who I really admired at the time. I mean, and always will,
um, dear, dear friend, love him to death. But Charles Za called me and he said, Jenny Ra, I think we
should go to lunch and get to know each other. Mm-hmm. Like, it was kind of a get to know you thing.
And I was shaking. I was so excited. I mean, it was like a celebrity had called me. Oh my gosh. Invited
me to lunch. That's how it felt. I love it. He was such a, um, an idol for me. He, his writing was very
humorous, but he was also knowledgeable. And he was someone else also who had been inside the food
industry. So he had worked at restaurants for years and years and years before becoming a food critic.
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So he kind of knew what the ins and outs were inside of a restaurant to be able
to translate that
Speaker 3 (00:10:57):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:10:58):
Um, but he had a wicked wit. So I dressed up, you know, picked him up for lunch. We went somewhere, I
can't even remember now, where we dined for lunch. I think it was at, um, one of the new hotels in town
at the time. But I almost didn't eat my lunch. I was so nervous and I was just sitting up straight and
answering all his questions.
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Speaker 3 (00:11:14):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:11:14):
And basically in the middle of lunch, he said, you need to stop writing for free 'cause you're ruining it for
the rest of us. Oh,
Speaker 3 (00:11:20):
Okay. He
Jenny Vergara (00:11:20):
Said, you're too good. You're too talented to accept no payment for what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (00:11:25):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:11:25):
And that was really when the monetization conversation kind of came up. Now, test Kitchen, I was
getting paid through Test Kitchen and I had just started doing those dinners.
Speaker 3 (00:11:32):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:11:33):
But I had not really gotten paid for writing. I was doing a lot of free writing at the time, just trying to get
my name out there to do kind of any of it. I can't, I could. And he said, stop doing that because you're
making it hard for other food writers to get paid when you do it for free. And you're, you're too good for
that. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:11:47):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:11:48):
I will always thank him for that. Yeah. That was incredible advice that came at the exact right time.
Incredible. And I, because I had a full-time job, I just really wasn't considering it. But
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:57):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:11:57):
Once he said that, I said, thank you and I never, never wrote for free again.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:12:01):
Well, and that gave you some context or perspective as to what other people, I mean, I'm sure you weren't
going around, you know, asking other people writing like, right.
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Jenny Vergara (00:12:08):
Are you charging people?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:12:08):
Well, you, you getting paid so, right. That, yeah. That seems like a really,
Jenny Vergara (00:12:12):
I, I think I also assumed that someone would tell me when I was good enough to get paid. You know what
I mean? Yeah. When it was like, you're a thing. You now deserve to get paid. And that was a huge
mistake.
Speaker 3 (00:12:21):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:12:22):
Because you really are the captain of your own destiny. Yeah. Especially like when I look back now at
what I've created in Kansas City with, you know, kind of the food expertise that I have built, the name I
have built for myself. Yeah. The brand I have built for myself. Um, I go back and I think to myself, I
should have gotten paid a long time ago. Mm-hmm. Like, you know, I was on a path that I didn't even
realize I was on. And had I recognized my own self worth then Yeah. And realize the talent and the time I
was spending and bringing to it. You know, I always tell people, um, food writing, I'm so grateful to be
able to still be doing it. It's one of the many hats that I wear in the food community. Yeah. Um, it takes
the most time and probably pays the least in terms of like all the things I do for money. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:05):
And
Jenny Vergara (00:13:05):
That's just literally where we are with, you know, kind of journalism right now. And that's no knock to
anybody. It's true across the board. Yeah. There are no full-time food critics in newspapers anymore.
Those positions are gone.
Speaker 3 (00:13:16):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:13:17):
So you really have to dig deep and figure out, I made very, I was made very careful decisions on what I
took on and what I did not. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:13:25):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:13:25):
In terms of, I want everything in the food silo. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:13:28):
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<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:13:28):
If I'm gonna spend time on it, I want it to feed and be able to nourish all the other things that I'm doing in
food.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:34):
Yes.
Jenny Vergara (00:13:34):
So I picked food as my channel, if you will. My funnel
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:38):
A great one.
Jenny Vergara (00:13:39):
And I poured everything I had into it. If I took a job, it had to tie into food somehow. It all had to tie into
my brand.
Speaker 3 (00:13:45):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:13:45):
And it also just expanded my network and food. Yeah. If, if I would take on something, it would be like,
okay, this is something in food. I feel good about this, this is on Brandand for me. So I kept coming back
to that. And I think that was one of the things. Unfortunately, it's made me a huge one trick pony <laugh>
a really good pony though. Right. I can talk, talk to you about food all day long, but ah, you know, other
things maybe not so much. So.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:06):
Well, it's funny that you say that 'cause I am, I'm the person who wants to know a little bit about a lot.
Jenny Vergara (00:14:10):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:10):
And then I think you might be the opposite where you know a lot about something. That's right. And both
of them are great. And that one is super powerful to be like, like a true guru in the space that you're in.
And to be fair, 2007, I mean, to your point, the internet was not around that long. Right. Right. You
wouldn't, I mean, how would you have known, you know, right now it's like, of course you should
monetize as much as you can, but
Jenny Vergara (00:14:28):
Absolutely.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:29):
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Okay. So we have, um, the magazine here. Yep. Let's talk about what you're doing for in Kansas City
Magazine. And I wanna get into, I don't know if you wanna recap, like Right. I don't know how you
wanna describe the Kansas City food scene Yeah. Like how you think of it, but I would love to hear that
and of course, what we can get excited about this year.
Jenny Vergara (00:14:45):
Right, right. Well, you know, we're all looking ahead at this point of the year. Right? Yeah. So that's why
the January issue of, in Kansas City Magazine, um, as the food columnist for them. Yep. I basically every
year sit down and do my show my homework. Yeah. There you go. <laugh> got, um, Helen Joe and
Johnny Leach.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:01):
Yeah. He on the cover. Yep. There we go. So
Jenny Vergara (00:15:03):
They're on the cover is our, our two a chef couple, a married chef couple, it's Helen Joe Leach and Johnny
Leach.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:09):
And they have the town company.
Jenny Vergara (00:15:10):
Yeah. They, they basically city mm-hmm <affirmative>. They've been cooking at the town company
since they moved here from Portland. And now they're opening up their first concept of their own in the
former Happy Gillis space called Dear Donna. Yeah. Which we're all really excited about. So they're kind
of the perfect people to represent kind of 2026 mm-hmm <affirmative>. You know, this is gonna be a big
year for Kansas City because we'll be on an international stage, obviously with the FIFA World Cup in
town.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:31):
Yeah. We gotta
Jenny Vergara (00:15:31):
Talk
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:32):
About that too. So
Jenny Vergara (00:15:33):
I think there was a lot of pressure. I mean, I have never seen so many places try to get their doors open in
December, <laugh> as I did this year. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:40):
And
Jenny Vergara (00:15:41):
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December's a hugely busy month. That's when a lot of restaurants are making all their money. So it was
kind of interesting to watch that. But if I look back, you know, one of the things when I gather all the, the
list for 2026 together and take a look at it as a whole mm-hmm <affirmative>. I just try to recap what I'm
seeing as the trends
Speaker 3 (00:15:55):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:15:56):
And one of the things that I saw was, you know, in the past, uh, the mark of a good chef or a true chef
was always about having a fine dining restaurant locally owned. You were sourcing your own ingredients,
it was all very serious and about the food mm-hmm <affirmative>. And we still have a lot of places that
really represent that, that silo.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:15):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:16:15):
But post pandemic, it's become harder and harder for that to be maintained. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:20):
It
Jenny Vergara (00:16:20):
Really does take a lot of money. I mean, costs have gone up across the board in a restaurateur's life
Speaker 3 (00:16:25):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:16:26):
So it is one of those things where now we're starting to see chefs make different decisions. I'll use Johnny
and Helen Joe as an example. So their place, dear Donna is gonna be kind of breakfast and lunch place,
much like Happy Gillis was before it. Yeah. They also have a beautiful young daughter named, um, Perry
that they wanna spend time with.
Speaker 3 (00:16:41):
Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:16:42):
So, um, this is giving them kind of work life balance. If Johnny wants to do a fine dining dinner, and dear
Donna, he will have the ability to do so. Mm. Helen Joe, um, to use. So if you think about the happy
Gillis space, there was kind of the kitchen and, you know, breakfast spot, and then in the back was the
ramen place, right? Yeah. The ramen shop's gonna be where, and Joe does her bakery.
Speaker 3 (00:17:01):
Mm.
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Jenny Vergara (00:17:02):
So she's gonna be able to do all her pastries and all her baked goods there. Um, it's also gonna be a room
that they can rent out. So they are making now their restaurant work for their lifestyle, right, yeah. To
create work life balance. And that is something smart we're seeing across the board. We're also seeing a
lot of coffee shop by day, cocktails by night, no dinner, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So they're not,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:21):
What are some of those, by the way?
Jenny Vergara (00:17:22):
Well, like we saw La Campion would be an example of something that opened this year, right. Where
they start the morning Yeah. Right. Where they start in the morning with coffee and you go straight into
happy hour. Yeah. And that's because we're starting to use our third places, if you will
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:35):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Speaker 3 (00:17:36):
A
Jenny Vergara (00:17:36):
Little differently now. Like sometimes we're working during the day and it's a, a meeting place where
people can come. I know I don't have, I mean, I work outta my home office, but I don't bring clients there.
Right. So if I'm gonna meet somebody, it's out at a coffee shop somewhere.
Speaker 3 (00:17:46):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:17:47):
Um, or a cocktail, you know, after work. So I think we're seeing a lot of that too. Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:52):
So a little more multifunctional.
Jenny Vergara (00:17:53):
Yeah. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:54):
The
Jenny Vergara (00:17:55):
Other thing that's really noticeable on this list for 2026 that we'll talk about here in a minute is the fact
that chefs have also gotten really smart about where they're deciding to open a restaurant. Um, although
there's a lot of big developments that are happening right now between what's going on in the West
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Bottoms and the riverfront. Yeah. Barkley riverfront, um, even out south, um, there's Blue Hawk mm-
hmm <affirmative>. But, you know, the Plaza obviously is going to be reimagined.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:17):
There is so much happening, by the way,
Jenny Vergara (00:18:18):
<laugh>, the chefs Right. The local chefs are being very careful to go into the heart of, um,
neighborhoods. Like they're looking to be the little corner spot. Much like Earl's Premier. That's a great
example of what they've done there, for example.
Speaker 3 (00:18:33):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:18:33):
Um, Bacca Primo, another example. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Like Crestwood, they're right in the heart
of that. Um, they're wanting to go into the middle of neighborhoods mm-hmm <affirmative>. And open
up places and really become a part of the community. Um, I'll just go ahead and talk about the first one on
my list here. West Plaza Bodega. So this is Jason Provo who owns Black Hole Bakery on Trus. If you've
never been so excited must go. Um, but Black Hole is just a pop in, grab your pastries and pop out.
There's no place to stay, there's no coffee shop, there's nothing. It's just basically their commercial
kitchen. Yeah. Um, he's decided to open this place, and this is on 45th and State line. Okay. So this is a
little area that has a lot of antique shops. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. A lot of little like, walkable, kind of
neighborhoody.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:12):
Well, I'm trying to picture what else is over there.
Jenny Vergara (00:19:14):
Listen, I, there's an art gallery over there. There, um, is several different antique shops that are still
existing over there that, that have their stuff kind of pushed out.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:22):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:19:23):
But there's never been like coffee shop restaurant. Yeah. Like it's, they've just, there's a hair salon I think
over there as well. Okay. A a clothing store, but it's just a little walkable kind of shopping district in the
middle of the West Plaza. Yeah. And Jason chose that. He got an investor who owned the building. He's
opened up a little bodega in there, so he's got, you know, toilet paper and a gallon of milk. He's got it.
Speaker 3 (00:19:42):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:19:43):
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Um, bodega breakfast, sandwiched all in New York. Like how they make breakfast sandwiches in New
York is what he's doing. They're made to order hot and fresh. You sit there and watch 'em on the griddle,
make them, he's got lunch, uh, kind of lunch sandwiches he's doing too. So you can pop in and grab a
sandwich to go. But there's also areas to sit with a cup of coffee and talk to neighbors as they come
through. Love it. The idea is yes, the whole city's invited, but we're really here because of the West Plaza
neighborhood. Yeah. That's who we're here to service.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:07):
Are they open now?
Jenny Vergara (00:20:08):
Yep. Open now. Okay. Yeah. Got it. January. In fact, they opened at the end of December, kind of testing
the waters, but they were really quiet about it because they just wanted their neighborhood Yep. To know
they were open.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:17):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:20:17):
Um, now I think they've made the, the announcements. That's kind of the first place on the list for sure.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:21):
Love
Jenny Vergara (00:20:22):
It.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:22):
Okay. Good.
Jenny Vergara (00:20:23):
Another place that we can look forward to, Columbus Park is popping off. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And
it's really interesting because it's always been an interesting spot for restaurants. Yeah. But now we're
seeing this kind of like between, um, Helen, Joe and, and Johnny obviously opening up. Dear dear, uh,
Donna. We've also got obviously the Vietnamese coffee shop. Cafe. Cafe, which we love Jackie.
Speaker 3 (00:20:42):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:20:43):
Um, she's there and she has been kind of holding that place down. And then across the street from her is
gonna be a new tea house and cocktail bar.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:50):
Ooh.
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Jenny Vergara (00:20:50):
It's called Anne Tea House and Moon Bar.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:54):
Okay. So I'd heard of Moon Bar Right. Coming, but I hadn't heard about the Tea House. Right. So this is
really interesting. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:20:58):
So it's the same lady that's been popping up, her and her husband. Um, basically she and her husband
have picked a place, it's right across near, um, cafe Cafe mm-hmm <affirmative>. In Columbus Park. And
it's a, it's tea house by day cocktail bar by night.
Speaker 3 (00:21:12):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:21:12):
She's gonna start with just the Tea House portion. And this is about very intentional tea ceremony, almost
level of tea services. I
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:21:19):
Love that. I wanna learn more about that. Right,
Jenny Vergara (00:21:20):
Right. Yeah. It's not just about popping in and grabbing, you know, Boba Tea to go, that's not right. That's
not her vibe. And it'll be the same for the cocktail bar. Very, um, slow, intentional personal service when
you go in and if you've ever been to her Moon Bar popups, did you ever go to one? No,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:21:35):
I didn't.
Jenny Vergara (00:21:35):
Oh my gosh. So I went to the one that was at, actually at Cafe Cafe Okay. Which is Cross Street from
where she's now. And I thought to myself, this is another, there's, um, a very intentional kind of Japanese
cocktail style Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:21:47):
Where
Jenny Vergara (00:21:47):
They're like, handcraft, you know, basically cutting the ice cube that's gonna go in your glass in front of
you before they're hand making your cocktail. So I think this will be a really interesting new thing to try.
Yeah. And, um, Kansas City's gonna get educated really quick, I think on just, I love it. Just kind of what
the service feels like, but I'm really excited for her. That's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:04):
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Well, and I've always, the Tea House is open now. I think I've always, it's so fun to me, the idea that you
can travel your way around the world in Kansas City. Right,
Jenny Vergara (00:22:11):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:11):
And also I think too, um, with people focusing on health, right? I mean, just even talking about tea, right?
Like, you can find a lot of health benefits just with tea and people drinking less. If you don't wanna go out
to a cocktail, but you wanna go to the environment mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:22:22):
<affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:22):
Of the cocktail bar, you can go there during the day, to your point Right. With it being, you know, tea or
coffee or whatever. Like, it's such a, it's such a brilliant concept mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:22:30):
Yeah. To do that. I do think it's interesting, there's been a lot of interest in Japanese culture in general
between the sushi bars that we see, kind of the omae style sushi bars kind of popping up tea houses, like
this Japanese style cocktail bars. I think there's a real interest in that right now. Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:45):
Do we know why that's happening
Jenny Vergara (00:22:46):
In Kansas City? It's actually happening across the country.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:49):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:22:49):
So I'll give you
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:50):
Baseball
Jenny Vergara (00:22:51):
<laugh>. Yeah. I mean, it, it literally, it's kind of one of those things where I don't know exactly why.
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:56):
This
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Jenny Vergara (00:22:56):
Is the moment
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:56):
Part. I think, Tony, I'm like, is it like starting from LA and it's starting to like seep into American culture?
All the things that, you know, he's, I think it's the ability, maybe
Jenny Vergara (00:23:04):
The ability to ship good fish anywhere. Yeah. I think it starts there
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:07):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:23:08):
Um, but first and foremost, I do think this has to do, like, I went, um, in April of last year, I was
scheduled to go to Nashville. Okay. And I thought, okay, I've only got a few days. I wanna go to all the
best places. It's been a few years since I've been to Nashville. Yeah. Like, let's figure out where, if I'm
gonna spend my money, where I should go. They were all omae sushi restaurants, like every one, two,
and three with a bullet. Were all sushi restaurants. How
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:28):
Did you find that, by the way? Like, what's your, what's your go-to when you travel to find the places to
go?
Jenny Vergara (00:23:32):
Um, you know, a lot of it has to do with just kind of online research before you go. Yeah. A lot of people
do that. Um, eater's always a good source for me. Okay. If I'm going to a city that Eater covers, um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:42):
Asking for myself. Yeah. We're also going to Nashville this spring <laugh>. Okay. So I'm like, okay,
there you go. I'll have to get your list of where to
Jenny Vergara (00:23:47):
Go. Yeah. Infatuation is another good, um, kind of online, you know, I believe they still have a website,
but they also have an app that you can use.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:55):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:23:55):
Um, they do a lot of food reviews. Um, obviously James Beard, I always check a James Beard list to see
who's on that list to see where I should go. Yeah. And I thought to myself, Nat, I would never think of
Nashville as being like the, the hub of, you know, OMA cae, Japanese. Like, why would that be a thing
here? And then I stopped and I thought, well, Kansas City's in the same boat. You know, we're known for
barbecue.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:14):
Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:24:14):
Like, people think about, you know, all these places that, you know, FIFA World Cup travels to and all
that. And I, I'm telling you, everybody's gonna hit the barbecue restaurants first. Of
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:21):
Course. They,
Jenny Vergara (00:24:22):
They'll like, 'cause that's what they're gonna be told we're known for mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:24):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:24:24):
You know, when you go to a city, you wanna eat what they're known for. So I,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:27):
But for all the locals here. Yeah. You know, even if you love barbecue Right. You're always looking for a
new place to go, something new and like that. So what is Oma Omae?
Jenny Vergara (00:24:35):
Yeah. Omae is a style of Japanese service. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:39):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:24:40):
In, it looks different in Japan than it does here in the United States. It's been kind of translated by chefs
here in the United States to mean a coarsed menu of, um, usually nigiri pieces, like mm-hmm. One piece
of sushi, but it's like the best fish Yeah. And the best rice placed in front of you for 10 courses or more.
Yeah. And it's usually a kind of just course dinner. You pay one fixed price and you get this meal for that.
Speaker 3 (00:25:04):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:25:04):
Um, and there's a lot of education, love and service obviously that goes with it. But in Japan it's much
more casual. You know, you walk into a place and they say, you know, what do you want to eat? And
you're basically like, I put myself in your hands. Like, you just pick for me. Right. And there's no course
menu, there's no specific dinner that you're taking through. It's basically like, well, what kind of fishes do,
it's a conversation between you and the chef for him to figure out what you like, what you're into, and
then he will course out some. And when you say, I'm all, no thank you, I'm all done. He'll, the coursing
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will stop, he'll wrap you up and you'll pay your bill. Yeah. So it's a much more casual, it's more of a ser
style of service than it is, you know, and I can't tell you.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:40):
It's more like engaging or immersive or trusting, like some of that, maybe all of it. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:25:45):
Well, I mean, you're basically saying, you know, I trust you to pick something that will be delicious for
me. Yeah. And that comes, I think, you know, Americans have a hard time sometimes thinking, why can't
I have it my way? Like, it's this constant fight.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:57):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:25:57):
Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:58):
And a lot of it.
Jenny Vergara (00:25:59):
Yeah. Right, right. Why can't I have a lot of it? And why can't I have it my way?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:26:02):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:26:03):
But I do think there's a lot of trust, obviously you have to have in your chef and the places you're going to
to be able to do that. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:26:08):
But,
Jenny Vergara (00:26:08):
Um, you know, I, I think Oma CAE is kind of an interesting concept here in the States, but I would like to
generally go to Japan and like physically experience. Yeah. Listen, just whatever you think, man, I'm, I'm
open to it. Yeah. That's not like a dream. And just like, yeah. See, I have to tell you, as a food writer, I'm
loathed to look at a menu because if you think about how many menus I read a year, right? Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:26:29):
<affirmative>. Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:26:29):
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And anybody who writes about food for any length of time has like certain dishes where it's like, oh my
gosh, everybody is doing deviled eggs. Why are deviled eggs on every menu right now? <laugh>, like,
you can literally pick the trends outta the air just by looking at what's on the menu.
Speaker 3 (00:26:42):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:26:43):
And you know, some of it has to do with where we are. I mean, the good thing about Test Kitchen for me
is that has given me kind of a timeline in Kansas City mm-hmm <affirmative>. Of like where our food
scene is. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:26:51):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:26:52):
I mean, I was there when we did snout to Tail, all the chefs were learning butchery and how to butcher
animals.
Speaker 3 (00:26:56):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:26:56):
So all of a sudden we were seeing, you know, using every piece of the animal on the menu. So I had some
of those dinners at Test Kitchen, then we got into gastro molecular kind of food where it was all jalais and
foams, Uhhuh and deconstructed desserts. And that was kind of a fun, interesting, like, brand new way of
looking at food. Um, then we had a definitely kind of a southern period where everything was fried
chicken and doubled eggs and, you know, it was very kind of southern inspired. Does
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:18):
This change like yearly by the way? Or
Jenny Vergara (00:27:20):
It can change?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:21):
How does this evolve?
Jenny Vergara (00:27:22):
Well, if you think about it, we sit in the middle of the country. So the trends kind of typically come from
the coasts.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:26):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:27:27):
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And they'll kind of wash in. That has diminished a little bit because of the internet.
Speaker 3 (00:27:31):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:27:31):
A chef in Kansas City can be watching what a chef in New York is doing right now and turn around
tomorrow night and have it on his menu. Of course. Yeah. So a lot of that has kind of flattened out a little
bit.
Speaker 3 (00:27:39):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:27:40):
But I do think it just generally is kind of where we are as a culture right now. In fact, I'm not sure if it was
the New York Times or Eater, but somebody did a really great article recently that I read that was like,
why Southern Cuisine is somehow everywhere in the United States right now.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:53):
No longer just Southern. Right?
Jenny Vergara (00:27:54):
No, no longer just Southern. Right. Yeah. We're all kind of adopting it in our own way. I mean, I think
about Rye, rye is a great example. It's kind of the Midwestern version of kind of some of some of the
southern staples that we like
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:05):
The shrimp and grit and things like that. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Um, so real quickly with the test
kitchen mm-hmm
Jenny Vergara (00:28:11):
<affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:11):
Is that happening now?
Jenny Vergara (00:28:12):
So I have, I've
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:14):
Who can go to like, what's the story with that?
Jenny Vergara (00:28:15):
Right. Well, you can join@testkitchenkc.com. Okay. So first you have to be a member to get on my email
list.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:20):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:28:21):
Um, my dinners have slowed down. I've done some cocktail parties this year, and I did one dinner this
year. And then, um, I have been spending time basically getting my real estate license and helping people
in hospitality find spaces. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:32):
So
Jenny Vergara (00:28:32):
That has been a recent development over the last year. And
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:36):
Very exciting by the way.
Jenny Vergara (00:28:37):
Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It's huge. Yep. Thank you. Yeah, it's been very
interesting and I've really enjoyed working with these people that I've been writing about. I kind of know
their stories and it's given me this kind of shortcut into their world to be able to really narrow down and
kind of help them find a space. Yeah. Um, I recently just worked with, um, the folks from Mr. D's
Donuts. Um, yeah. So one of the places on my list is also their factory location. Okay. So just on the edge
of the west side, kind of downtown Kansas City. It's a little commercial building. It used to be a wine
distributor. It was Pinnacle Wine. Okay. Dis distributorship. And it has been vacant, and they're gonna
take over that. It's sitting right next to I 35 right off the exit.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:15):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:29:15):
So they're gonna have a drive through that you can come through and pick up donuts.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:18):
So they do, they do donuts and coffee. Correct.
Jenny Vergara (00:29:20):
Mr. D's Donuts is kind of a, a Shawnee stable. They've been around 70 years and the young couple, um,
Johnny and Boggy who own it, so Sweet. Yep. They're darling. Um, they took over four or five years ago,
maybe it's seven, close to seven years ago, but they were needing a place basically to do kind of their
central production kitchen. Like they needed a production kitchen. They were wanting to open spaces
now on the Missouri side.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:42):
Okay.
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Jenny Vergara (00:29:42):
And they could no longer pump everything that they needed to do out of their space in Shawnee. So they
will retain those retail spaces, but now they'll have a central location downtown. Okay. Where they can do
their whole, you know, make and deliver their wholesaling as well as service more locations that they
plan to open on the Missouri side. Got it. But this is gonna be more like fun kid factory, like think
sprinkles and pastels. Oh my gosh. It's gonna be really Instagrammable.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:04):
This is so fun.
Jenny Vergara (00:30:05):
Yes. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:05):
I haven't heard about this. So, so that just means it's open to the public for people to come.
Jenny Vergara (00:30:08):
Correct.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:09):
What are they doing with, are you buying food? Are you making a donut? Like, what's happening there?
So
Jenny Vergara (00:30:13):
You're buying donuts for sure. I mean, all of their donut selection will be there as well as coffee. They
carry messenger coffee. Okay. So you'll be able to get a really good cup of coffee along with that donut.
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. There's gonna be places where if you wanna sit and park it, you can, you know,
to get some work done.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:25):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:30:26):
But they'll also have private rooms for birthday parties. They're gonna have Windows Smart into the
factory part of it where you can actually watch some of the production happen. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:34):
There's
Jenny Vergara (00:30:34):
Going to be tour tours. That's fun. Like little kids school tours, you know, if you can imagine. So they're
calling it, oh, I can, right. I
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:39):
Mean, donuts, are you kidding me?
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Jenny Vergara (00:30:40):
Well, the fact that they're calling it the donut factory. Yeah. Like, I just think that's so charming. They're
gonna kill it. And on the roof is gonna be a giant, you know, if the city will approve it, it's gonna be a
giant pink donut.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:49):
Ugh. Perfect.
Jenny Vergara (00:30:50):
So you'll be able to see it hopefully from I 35. That's, that's the master plan, but they're another one. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:54):
That's what you're doing, you're working primarily with a restaurant owner
Jenny Vergara (00:30:57):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:58):
When looking for a different space. Okay. Correct. Got it. That's good to know.
Jenny Vergara (00:31:01):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:01):
Um, okay. So when it comes to, like, let's say, let's start with people visiting Kansas City.
Jenny Vergara (00:31:07):
Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:07):
Maybe they've never been mm-hmm
Jenny Vergara (00:31:08):
<affirmative>. Maybe
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:09):
They're coming back. How do you tell someone where to go mm-hmm <affirmative>. What questions do
you ask them? Mm-hmm. Or do you have some go-tos from your perspective that are like, this is
absolute, can't miss Kansas City. Gotta try it. Well, I'm sure you, because I get this question all the time,
being a dm Okay. From people coming, we're coming for a bachelorette party, we're coming for an
anniversary. And I'm like, where do I begin? What do you like? Where are you gonna be? So,
Jenny Vergara (00:31:33):
So I think that's really interesting because, and I was about to ask you that. I was like, surely as Casey
bucket list, like you get this all the time.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:40):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:31:40):
As a food writer, you do as well.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:42):
Yeah. So I will. So we're all getting it in influencers, content creators. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:31:45):
Yep. I'll get emails, I'll get dms through social media that just say, oh my gosh, you look like the person
that knows all about food. Here's my, I I'm coming in with a party. It's a birthday party. We gotta land
somewhere. We need a place for 20 of us to have dinner. Yeah. Where would you recommend, like,
whatever
Speaker 3 (00:31:58):
Uhhuh <affirmative>,
Jenny Vergara (00:31:58):
Um, a few years ago there was a guy from New York that had a cr, a crew of dudes, and they traveled for
barbecue. Okay. And so they were coming on their, you know, inaugural trip to Kansas City. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:32:07):
And they
Jenny Vergara (00:32:07):
Were like, where are all the places I should go? And I literally created a list Oh my gosh. Ranking a list
of, of the hundred barbecue restaurants we have in Kansas City.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:15):
Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:32:15):
Based on just feedback I was getting from social media, I was asking, and this was several years ago, but
yeah. Um, he, he was so grateful. He was like, oh my gosh, please join us at least, you know, let us take
your picture. I was like, no, no, no, no. This is you. I
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:25):
Was gonna say, did you go?
Jenny Vergara (00:32:26):
No, no. I was like, this is you guys' trip. Like, I, I just wanna make it good for you.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:30):
Yeah.
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Jenny Vergara (00:32:30):
And I talked to somebody, um, at the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce years ago, and I said, you
know, you need a badge for those of us who are out there doing God's work. <laugh>, you know, these
aren't coming into the Chamber of Commerce and you're not having to answer them. Right. It we're, we're
doing the hard work for you. It's true. Yeah. And I do answer every single one of them. 'cause I consider it
my mission. I do. So, but what I, what I always start with is, what are you here for? What are here to do
mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:32:49):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:32:49):
Who's with you
Speaker 3 (00:32:50):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:32:50):
Where are you staying? Any food allergies or food preferences, you know? Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:55):
High
Jenny Vergara (00:32:55):
End, low end. Like what, what are you kind of looking for? Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:57):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:32:58):
And then literally, it doesn't matter where in town they're staying, I typically try to keep them around
where they're staying. Yeah. I mean, it's nice to give, throw a few, like if they want fine dining, they're
gonna have to come down to the crossroads or whatever. But, um, I find it, you know, it's kind of
impossible to give somebody a list of like the top 10 restaurants. Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:13):
So
Jenny Vergara (00:33:13):
I really work to customize it to what they want and what they need.
Speaker 3 (00:33:17):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:33:18):
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And then just make any other recommendations. And you find that, you know, they're texting you
throughout. Um, I was doing also Tulsa and te uh, test Kitchen in Tulsa for years and years
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:26):
Where I'm from, by the way. Correct.
Jenny Vergara (00:33:27):
Shout
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:28):
Out to Tulsa.
Jenny Vergara (00:33:28):
Yes. Right. <laugh>. So in Tulsa, when the chefs would travel, they, they all knew me 'cause I did test
kitchen with them there. Yeah. And they'd say, all right, where, where are we going in Kansas City?
Where should we hit?
Speaker 3 (00:33:37):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:33:38):
So I started to keep kind of a running list and then I realized that Kansas City Chefs were coming to me
looking for the Tulsa list. Hey, we're gonna go to Tulsa for a long weekend. Of course. And I thought, my
gosh, I mean, you know, this is kind of a Midwestern thing, like just add a few more cities and I mean, I
could go at least Midwestern, but Yep. I've pretty strategically tried to keep kind of all of my content here
in Kansas City.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:57):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:33:57):
Um, I, for a while I was trying to cover kind of both Tulsa food scene and Kansas City's food scene, but
Speaker 3 (00:34:02):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:34:03):
Um, I have stopped since the pandemic. I have stopped doing dinners in Tulsa, so I just exclusively do
them in Kansas City now, but Yeah. Um, yeah. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:10):
What about, um, do you do, speaking of Tulsa, do you do kind of like Kansas, Missouri? Do you get
people that are like, where else in the state of Kansas, where else in the state of Missouri should we try?
Mm-hmm. Do you have any that you recommend mm-hmm. That you're like, you absolutely need to get
to make the drive Right. You know, for these Right. Anything like that? Um,
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Jenny Vergara (00:34:27):
I am not as versed on the Kansas side. Okay. So I'll be honest about that. But because I did Hungry for
Mo the podcast with KCUR, so we've got two seasons of that still out there. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:34:37):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:34:37):
I did it with the lovely Natasha Bailey as my co-host who I adore. She's a chef here in town. She works at
Thelma's Kitchen, runs that program. Yeah. She is amazing. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:44):
Great.
Jenny Vergara (00:34:45):
Um, but she and I did that. And so I learned all about kind of the food between here and St. Louis. Okay.
That just kind of covers the state. I also wrote for Feast Magazine for the seven years that they were in
Kansas City.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:56):
I loved when they were here.
Jenny Vergara (00:34:56):
Yeah. Yeah. As their contributing editor. I absolutely love that publication. And I, I'm so sad that that has
gone Yeah. The way of the Dodo Bird as well. <laugh>, he's just gone. I know. But, um, I love that
magazine as well. So between writing for Feast and the podcast Hungry for Mo mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:35:13):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:35:13):
I really understood the state of Missouri and kind of what was available. And I've made plenty of day
trips to kind of make sure I knew where the places were. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:35:20):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:35:20):
One of the things I'm thinking about covering this year is, um, route 66 is having a big, oh,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:25):
I just saw that
Jenny Vergara (00:35:26):
Major celebration this year. I
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:27):
Just saw that on Casey today.
Jenny Vergara (00:35:28):
So I'm like, okay. I think there's probably some Route 66 content that, you know, maybe I need to be
thinking about. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:34):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:35:34):
I think that's something that I'll be maybe tackling, but um, yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:38):
What about, okay, so how do you, how would you describe Kansas City's food scene mm-hmm
<affirmative>. Like, do you have a way of describing it to people? Let, let's say people coming in town
from fifa
Jenny Vergara (00:35:47):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:47):
For fifa? Um, how would you sum up like what we offer, right,
Jenny Vergara (00:35:52):
In
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:52):
Terms of where we're located within the states, what our chefs have created mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Like how would you kind of describe that to somebody?
Jenny Vergara (00:35:58):
Well, Kansas City is really easy. 'cause you can say literally we coast both state lines. So we have the
state line between Kansas and Missouri. That's what mostly we're known for.
Speaker 3 (00:36:06):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:36:06):
But in terms of food, obviously, uh, the smoke, smoke ring and fire of barbecue is where our food scene,
the heart of our food scene
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:14):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
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Speaker 3 (00:36:15):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:36:15):
With over a hundred restaurants, obviously barbecue restaurants here in Kansas City, that,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:18):
That is so wild. I remember hearing that when we first moved here 10 years ago, and I was like, how do
you even hit them all?
Jenny Vergara (00:36:23):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:24):
How do you decide?
Jenny Vergara (00:36:25):
Right. Yeah. Well, and it's really, really informed by the American Royal Barbecue competition. Yeah.
Because that is a, um, a national competition for sure. But it's the world's largest. I mean, it's one of the
biggest barbecue competitions. So we have a particular style of competitive barbecue here.
Speaker 3 (00:36:42):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:36:42):
Um, it's not necessarily the hallmarks of what we do, but it certainly informs like it's a, it's a red tomato
sauce that's typically sweet brown sugar that we have, you know? Yeah. There's all these hallmarks that
you think about when you think about Kansas City style barbecue.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:55):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:36:56):
So I would say first and foremost, that's where we sit. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So you gotta do that.
Speaker 3 (00:37:00):
Yep.
Jenny Vergara (00:37:00):
Um, from there, we have an absolutely fantastic fine dining scene with chefs that all know each other and
support each other. Other do,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:07):
And I wanna say, you know, moving here from Chicago, people all the time are like, oh my gosh, do you
miss the food? And I'm like, honestly, no. Right. We have such an incredible food scene here that mm-
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hmm <affirmative>. And I still haven't been to all the places that I want to go to. Right. You know, like
we are so lucky to have the talent that we have here.
Jenny Vergara (00:37:23):
When we think about kind of James Beard, I mean, we have at least seven or eight chefs still in town that
are James Beard Award winners.
Speaker 3 (00:37:29):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:37:30):
Um, or their restaurants have been award winners, and every year we have four or five chefs typically, or
restaurants that are, are bars that are nominated as well.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:38):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:37:38):
So I think the, the second thing we need to talk about is kind of the, the, the other end of the spectrum,
which is our fine dining. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:37:44):
And
Jenny Vergara (00:37:44):
Then I think kind of in between, I would say that one of the things that Kansas City has is like, we have
one of everything.
Speaker 3 (00:37:51):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:37:51):
You wanna try Taiwanese food, we got a restaurant, you wanna try Vietnamese? We got a restaurant. You
wanna try Japanese Omae, we got a restaurant maybe two, three.
Speaker 3 (00:37:58):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:37:59):
So it's one of those where we don't have like maybe a, um, an Asian district or, you know what I'm
saying? Yeah. Where you could go and shop all the things that maybe bigger cities might have, like
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:08):
Chicago or Correct.
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Jenny Vergara (00:38:10):
San
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:10):
Francisco. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:38:10):
Right. We don't have a Chinatown
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:12):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:38:12):
Um, but we do have like important cultural areas in the city where you can go and find things. I think
Columbus Park is kind of turning that corner now. Right now it's kind of like, oh my gosh, there's gonna
be kind of this nice little hub of things to do and see in, in Columbus Park. So I'll be anxious to see how
that kind of develops as people go.
Speaker 3 (00:38:30):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:38:31):
But um, yeah, I mean the other thing too is that one of the things I get asked about all the time is, well, I
live out south, you know, I don't live in the crossroads. It's really expensive to get an Uber, you know,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:40):
Speak to that. 'cause I live out south and I'm like, everybody, you gotta keep going north. You gotta go.
Right. I mean, we have a lot of great restaurants too out south. Yes. Like shout out to Of course. And
different places like that. Right. But yeah, I'm like, you gotta get out. You gotta go past a hundred 19th
and
Jenny Vergara (00:38:52):
<laugh>. It's true though. There is a,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:53):
People shy away from it.
Jenny Vergara (00:38:54):
There's a handful of independent people that are out there that are doing God's work.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:57):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:38:57):
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Of course. Kitchen and Catering is one of them. I would definitely shout out Suha is, you know, in a class
of her own up there. Amazing.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:03):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:39:03):
Really amazing.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:03):
We want more of those out outside. Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:39:05):
<laugh>. But that is the, the big kind of conversation. And I said, well, you know, here's the thing. So I
think what people don't realize about kind of Overland Park into Leewood is that there is a high
population of, um, different Asian and Indian, Southeast Asian restaurants that are out there. There is a
whole rich, deep, um, grocery stores you can shop at, um, areas, you know, casual dining, places where
you can get a Korean corn dog, you know, with all the fun toppings on it. Yeah. Great
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:34):
Reminder.
Jenny Vergara (00:39:34):
Or you know, there's, um, Asia, I mean, there is a world of international cuisine right now out in Overland
Park. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. In a way that we have never seen it before. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:39:42):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:39:42):
Um, we certainly don't have it downtown. We certainly don't have it in Midtown. Um, so I would tell
people that, I think that's one of the things that out South has going for it. You just have to kind of the
world market. Yeah. That's a great point. That opened up out there at a hundred and third. Um, it's right
off of Metcalf. I, I don't know if you've been there, but I think it's called World, world Market or World. I
haven't. It is a grocery store that covers literally like four different, um, segments of cuisine. So you've
got, you know, Mexican, well, now I have to go eastern. I gotta check that out. My bucket list. I know.
It's, they're, they're doing kind of everything under one roof.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:12):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:40:13):
And I think that's a real telltale sign when we start to see that where lots of, um, kind of international
communities are coming together and getting represented in one spot. Mm-hmm. It's really a, a sign of
like, Hey, we've got some really good, and it's because the communities have settled. There
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:27):
Are so good. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:40:28):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, the Sprint campus, Garmin, yeah. They're bringing these, these folks who have
kind of international experience, um, here to Kansas City and they want grocery stores that can service
them. They want, you know, their restaurants. And so we are so lucky to have that kind of cultural
overlay and you can find those areas all over. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I mean, up North has an amazing
kind of Italian, like they are really rich and deep in that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:50):
What are some of the Italian that you like that you Oh my gosh. Met
Jenny Vergara (00:40:53):
Up with? Oh gosh. Well, you know, I think too Italian in Kansas City is really tricky because we have
what I call kind of the overflow of the red sauce from St. Louis has Hill. Right. So if St. Louis has the
Hill,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:04):
Which
Jenny Vergara (00:41:04):
Is their kind of neighborhood of Italian spots, we have those type, you know, just kind of red sauce,
Italian, Sicilian. Like that's what we have in Kansas City. Okay. So there's a lot of fam, very old
traditional family run. They've been around a long time. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:41:19):
<affirmative>. They're
Jenny Vergara (00:41:19):
Very precious to the kind of the Italian community and to all of us who love Italian.
Speaker 3 (00:41:23):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:41:23):
Um, but it's just a specific, we don't have a lot of like, regional Italian cuisine. Like this is from Tuscany
or this is from, you know. Okay. Makes sense. Lydia's is the, the one exemption of that because obviously
she's from a kind of a different part of, um, Italy and represents that I think in her cuisine. Yeah. But
ultimately we don't have a lot of choices when it comes to Italian in Kansas City.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:43):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:41:44):
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Um, but I'm telling you, like, could I, can
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:46):
You bring Zes back?
Jenny Vergara (00:41:47):
Yeah. <laugh>. I don't, I don't know about that. I don't, you know, zes was fine for what it was. Yeah. But
I do think you can definitely find, um, kind of your neighborhood Italian spot. Yeah. Like, there's Jaspers
and Scones and Zos. I mean, these are people who have been around a long time, um, and have long,
long, rich, deep history. I mean, I think Jaspers has been around like 70 years. I mean, there are people
that's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:07):
Wild, right. These multi-generational, going back to like Mr. D's, like mm-hmm <affirmative>. Was that
family that's family owned.
Jenny Vergara (00:42:13):
Yeah. So it was past God. Yeah. Godsend.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:16):
I thought so. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I was like, it's really interesting to hear like how people, um, are
able to take that on mm-hmm <affirmative>. And keep the spirit and the brand alive mm-hmm
<affirmative>. And evolve with what's happening. I mean, it's just, it's super special. Think
Jenny Vergara (00:42:26):
About the pressure of that too, because obviously the older clientele wants you to stay frozen in time with
what they remember.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:30):
Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:42:31):
And they've celebrated their anniversaries and their birthdays and all the things they love about you, but
you also want obviously to attract a new diner. So how are you kind of, you know, juggling that
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:40):
And the world changes and you have to adapt to what people are doing if they're not eating out as much
or things like that too. Correct.
Jenny Vergara (00:42:45):
But there is a nostalgia I think about our Italian restaurants Yeah. In Kansas City for sure. So although we
may not have like a wide breadth of cuisine
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:53):
Mm-hmm
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Jenny Vergara (00:42:53):
<affirmative>. Um, you know, listen, you can get some good Italian in this town. I mean, there's plenty.
Yeah,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:57):
For sure.
Jenny Vergara (00:42:57):
Plenty of places to find that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:59):
What about, um, annual or ongoing experiences when it comes to food mm-hmm <affirmative>. Whether
it is, um, well we have KC Restaurant Week. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. It's one thing that you can do mm-
hmm
Speaker 3 (00:43:10):
<affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:10):
Um, but then what else happens around KC that people could buy a ticket for or get excited about that
maybe is centered around food mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:43:18):
That you recommend? So the two things that I always recommend to people if they're really looking for
that is the Taco tour in Kansas City, Kansas.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:24):
Yeah. Good reminder.
Jenny Vergara (00:43:25):
It really is phenomenal. And there,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:27):
And there are how many places on that list? Like,
Jenny Vergara (00:43:29):
Oh my gosh,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:29):
48 Yeah. Or something.
Jenny Vergara (00:43:30):
Yeah. I mean, and they're all family owned, they're all independent. They're not chains, you know? Right.
These are hardworking folks that are really just, you know, delivering to you, to your table. Mm-hmm
<affirmative>.
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Speaker 3 (00:43:39):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:43:39):
The stuff that they make at home, the stuff they make for their own families. Yeah. Which is really
important to understand. KCKA part of KCK has really been a hub, obviously for the Hispanic
community for a long time. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, central Avenue in particular. So when you go
and you try these folks food, you are bound to find someone that you a new favorite or two. Right. Or
three, like, there's a bakery, there's a grocery store, and there's like two taco places that I kind of frequent
now rather regularly that I never knew existed because I, before I took the taco trail.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:07):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:44:08):
And I've, I've done it now with I think three or four times with several different groups of people. That's
awesome. I did it up for somebody's birthday once. That was really fun. Like, they were like, I just wanna
do something different. Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:16):
So
Jenny Vergara (00:44:16):
I always recommend that because I think that is a way to explore a part of the city that I think ultimately
gets forgotten and it should not.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:23):
And what, what does the Taco Trail look like today? Do you buy, how do, how do you get through the
taco trail? I did it a couple years ago. Yeah. I didn't do all of them. Yeah. Um, but what does that look like
today for people if they wanna like, add that to their 2026 list of exploration?
Jenny Vergara (00:44:36):
So I, right. So I believe if you go to the Kansas City, Kansas kind of city website Yeah. Like, they have
invested in an app, I believe that now lists. Oh, right. Yeah. All the taco places on there. Okay. So it can
be self-guided. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:46):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:44:47):
I also think maybe like once or twice a year, they also kind of host like a day or two where you can buy
the ticket and literally go and they've got a map for you of all the places you can go.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:57):
Okay.
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Jenny Vergara (00:44:57):
Um, that's the one that I have done. I'm not sure they're doing that as much now that they have the app
that you can go self-guided. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:04):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:45:04):
But what I would tell you is, please don't be afraid to go in these places that these folks wanna see
friendly faces coming in.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:09):
One of my favorite things to do is to actually talk to the people behind it all. Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Like, it truly is one of the most fulfilling mm-hmm <affirmative>. Rewarding. Like their stories and their
hospitality Yeah. Are kind of unmatched, you know, sometimes in comparison to where you might go or
what you're used to doing. So I love that they're, and they're doing so much just close to their heart.
Jenny Vergara (00:45:29):
Well, I think because people don't realize that there are these, um, enclaves of community and culture
Yeah. All over our city. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. They feel like somehow they're not invited to it. Mm-
hmm <affirmative>. You know, and this is particularly a white person problem, I would tell you, you
know, somehow we feel excluded because they have built this culture and community in Kansas City,
Kansas, and we're not supposed to want to go there or experience that.
Speaker 3 (00:45:49):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:45:50):
And I think that's foolhardy. I think as long as you go in with an open mind and an open palette and bring
your manners and friendliness. Yeah. Like, they want your money like anything else. Right. Right. And
they would love to have a, you know, introduce themselves to a whole new group of people. Yep. Um, so
I, I do think, you know, one of the, the tips I use as a food person, I guess when I go into a new place that
maybe I've never been to before or a cuisine I'm not as familiar with, I'll just ask the server and say, listen,
I've never been before. Like, where should I start? Yeah. What's the place to start? Just ask for that
recommendation. Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:19):
And
Jenny Vergara (00:46:19):
Then take
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:20):
I do that too. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:46:20):
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Take
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:21):
'em up on it. 'cause I think you kind of touched on this earlier, and I did wanna ask about that. Like, for
people who are maybe, um, open to different flavors or whatever, what are some of the things that they
should do? Like for example, when we go out, we love to like have a drink at the bar, right. To first talk
to the staff and kinda get a feel for like, what's going on. Maybe figure out like, um, you know, what's to
come on the menu that we can consider before we go sit at our table mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, but
what, are there other things that you recommend doing or that you do like that mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Where you're like, you know what, this sounds really good to me. Mm-hmm. But I also wanna know
maybe something, I don't know, maybe they have off the menu mm-hmm <affirmative>. Or maybe they
have something mm-hmm <affirmative>. That, like how do you go about that? Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:46:57):
I, I think it's literally what I just said. Yeah. I mean, it's either talking to the owner, if you get a cha if you
know you're talking to the owner, you can ask those questions. Um, I always introduce myself. Yeah.
Hey, I, I love food. I'm so excited to be here. Just, you're
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:08):
Like, you don't need to introduce yourself. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:47:10):
We know who you are.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:10):
Jenny. We love you.
Jenny Vergara (00:47:12):
I'm, I'm down for the challenge. Like, whatever, whatever you've got is what I wanna try. Yeah. And
ultimately that is really the case. Like, if I just went to every Mexican restaurant in town and just ordered
the chicken tacos, because that's what I always got at every Mexican restaurant.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:24):
Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:47:25):
I would miss so much of like, what region of Mexico is this from? Where are you from? Is this
representative of, do you eat it with your hands? Do you eat it? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. You know, I
wanna know all the details. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Like, that's how I learn and get smarter Yeah. And
am able to really, um, write succinctly about Yeah. You know, a culture and cuisine that I don't belong to.
Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:44):
And I personally believe that as a mom, my, you know, Dan, my husband and I, we have two girls that are
eight and 11. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Uh, we just went to Bowlings and got dim sum Yeah. On Sunday,
which I had never done before. I actually been wanting to do it, and then finally was like, okay, let's go.
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Let's mm-hmm. I mean our, and we have a very picky eater and our 8-year-old mm-hmm <affirmative>.
But our girls loved it.
Jenny Vergara (00:48:04):
Okay. And
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:04):
We were talking all about it. They were asking like, what does Cantonese mean? You know, I mean, it's,
it's like such an interesting educational opportunity mm-hmm. For all ages
Speaker 3 (00:48:13):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:13):
Um, to appreciate the world mm-hmm. And the different, um, you know, cultures that there are right here
in Kansas City. So I think it's actually, I think it's great for kids too, for parents that are looking for a way
too late. Right. And by the way, if we go to Chick-fil-A mm-hmm <affirmative>. It's like 50 bucks mm-
hmm <affirmative>. For us to go to Chick-fil-A mm-hmm <affirmative>. Anyway as a family of four
mm-hmm <affirmative>. We might as well go to KCK
Speaker 3 (00:48:32):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:32):
And spend the, you know, same amount of money and get completely different flavors, try something
new mm-hmm <affirmative>. Get into a different pocket of town. Mm-hmm. You know, that, um, just
brings a different level of like joy and curiosity mm-hmm
Jenny Vergara (00:48:42):
<affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:43):
Absolutely.
Jenny Vergara (00:48:44):
Absolutely. Yeah. When I first started blogging in 2007, I had one blog post that really took off and it was
one that I entitled, what the Heck Is Wrong With KCK? And it was literally a blog post talking about the
fact that no one in the food scene is talking about the food in KCK. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:48:59):
What
Jenny Vergara (00:48:59):
If the best tacos in the city are over there? What if, you know, in Strawberry Hill with a huge Croatian
population, you can find, you know, amazing pastries or incredible beer bars that you didn't even know
existed. Or a neighborhood place that was now your new favorite.
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Speaker 3 (00:49:11):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:49:11):
Like, why aren't we exploring KCK
Speaker 3 (00:49:13):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:49:14):
Um, and this was back in 2007, and literally it blew up because people were like, Hey, yeah. Why aren't
we doing that? Yeah. I mean, that was, you know, one of the few blog posts that really took off for me.
And I thought, this is interesting. This is about critical thinking, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Thinking
critically about your city and how to make it better, and how to connect people into those pockets or into
those places. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:33):
Another
Jenny Vergara (00:49:34):
Place, another thing that I would really recommend is the, um, ethnic Enrichment Festival.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:38):
Oh, yeah. Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:49:39):
It's in the dog days of August. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:41):
That's what I was gonna say. I wanted to go to that have not been yet, so, oh
Jenny Vergara (00:49:44):
My gosh. So I have to tell you,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:45):
Is it in what, where is it located? Swope.
Jenny Vergara (00:49:48):
It's in Swope, yeah. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Swope Park. And, you know, I was married to a Brazilian,
obviously for 15 years. We have a beautiful son together, and we would go to that mm-hmm. Festival.
My son was dressed like a, you know, a Brazilian dancer. He would go on stage, I love it, and dance with
the Brazilian folks. We would help run the food booth. Um, I had a retail store for many years called the
Brazilian Cargo Company that sold foods, arts and crafts from Brazil.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:50:08):
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Really?
Jenny Vergara (00:50:09):
And I started it with my mother-in-law at the time mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:50:11):
<affirmative>. We
Jenny Vergara (00:50:11):
Had it for about five or six years, and I loved it. And we were so connected into the Brazilian community,
it allowed us to really see people on a regular basis.
Speaker 3 (00:50:20):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:50:20):
Um, but we also participated then at the Ethnic Enrichment Festival selling our wares. You know, there's
usually a retail side of every booth, and then there's a food side.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:50:28):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:50:28):
And so I was so proud to represent that and felt like a part of a bigger community. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:50:33):
But
Jenny Vergara (00:50:33):
The thing you need to understand about the Ethnic Enrichment Festival is that these are, um, grandmas
and grandpas that are making this food. This is not, these are not restaurateurs who are like making it at
their restaurant and then shipping it out to these little booths. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:50:45):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:50:45):
These are homegrown people in the community. Moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas that are making
the food that they serve at their table.
Speaker 3 (00:50:51):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:50:52):
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So you're getting whatever this cuisine is, whether it's Jamaican or African or you know, Brazilian, um,
you're getting what they actually make at home, which is,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:00):
And you're getting what people, something will say sometimes, like, you know, that they miss their
grandma's mac and cheese or, you know.
Jenny Vergara (00:51:06):
Right. Exactly.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:07):
Empanada
Jenny Vergara (00:51:08):
Or
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:08):
Right ponzu.
Jenny Vergara (00:51:10):
So you're not seeing it with a chef's lens. Right. Yeah. You're seeing it with like a home cook's lens. And I
think that's really, really important. So, yeah. I always tell people, if you don't, if you've never been like
for kids too, like if you just wanna,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:22):
And they have entertainment too, right? Like
Jenny Vergara (00:51:24):
You've got, oh my gosh. They have shows. People sing, they dance, they put on their traditional
costumes. Awesome. I mean, I love that mean, it's really a full cultural experience. Okay. We'll get to that
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:31):
This year and we will sweat our way through it. Yep, yep, yep. Um, okay. Let's talk about, uh, do you
have any favorite dive bars? You mentioned dive bars. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. KCK mm-hmm
<affirmative>. Or something along the lines of it. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Do you have any places that
are a little bit of a hole in the wall around Casey that you would recommend? Mm-hmm.
Jenny Vergara (00:51:45):
Yeah. So I just wrote about, in fact, last night I finished up an article about Beverly's, which is a new
place over in Casey. K it's in Strawberry Hill.
Speaker 3 (00:51:52):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:51:52):
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This is, um, woman owned. It's by Andy Ryan. She is a bartender who worked at Manifesto first and then
ended up going to Jay Rieger Distillery when
Speaker 3 (00:52:00):
Uhhuh
Jenny Vergara (00:52:01):
Ryan maybe kind of moved, obviously over there. He's one of our big bartenders in town.
Speaker 3 (00:52:05):
Yep.
Jenny Vergara (00:52:05):
Um, she, uh, moved with him. So she was part of the Jay Rieger family for a long time.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:11):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:52:12):
And she's now opened up her own bar. They're serving obviously Jay Reger spirits. Yeah. Which is
incredible. But she also has a woman in there who's doing handmade pizzas. Ooh. So the dough and the
sauce is from scratch and it's just, it's beautiful. It's in an old red brick building. It has a wood charming
wood floors, red brick walls. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:29):
A
Jenny Vergara (00:52:29):
Beautiful long bar. And then big tables, like if you want a big group of people and you're just looking for
a night out candle,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:35):
Like, would you sit with other people? Listen,
Jenny Vergara (00:52:36):
I'm telling you right now. Hear me now and believe me later. Yeah. KCK could put on one heck of a pub
crawl.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:41):
Yeah. Like,
Jenny Vergara (00:52:41):
Literally. Oh, I don't doubt it. Yeah. There are enough.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:44):
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I've thought of doing that,
Jenny Vergara (00:52:44):
Like little dive bars in KCK that you could make your way around there.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:48):
I love dive bars. Yeah. Love them. Yeah. My friend and I used to host a dive bar, pub crawl in Chicago
Yeah. When we lived there. Yeah. Um, before we moved here. And, and she lives here, actually, I should
get with her on that. Yeah. We should do a KCK.
Jenny Vergara (00:52:58):
Yeah. For, um, Chicago's is a bar that a lot of the hospitality folks like to go to in KCK. There's the Easy
Inn. He's a neighbor of mine on the West Side. Lo shout out to, to John Stoner.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:07):
Shout. You love it.
Jenny Vergara (00:53:08):
Yep. I mean, there's an awful lot of folks that are doing some really creative, fun things, um, over in
KCK, so, yeah. I mean, awesome. Okay. If you're looking for dive bar, that's, that's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:17):
Where I point you. That's, um, what about for people who are looking for kind of like a special date night,
anniversary night, something a little more elevated mm-hmm
Jenny Vergara (00:53:25):
<affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:25):
What do you typically
Jenny Vergara (00:53:26):
Think of? Well, the place that I just went to actually in December for the first time was, um, Okia, um,
Omae inside Hotel Phillips. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:33):
This sit downtown, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Hotel Phillips. Okay. Yeah. Gotta get there.
Jenny Vergara (00:53:36):
So it's 10 seats at the bar, maybe another 10 seats in the dining room. Very intimate. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:53:42):
<affirmative>. Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:53:42):
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But it's raucous and it's got a good energy and a good flow. You feel like you're in a kind of a sexy,
intimate kind of experience. I would always tell people to sit at the sushi bar if you're gonna go.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:52):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:53:53):
You don't have to have the Oma Casa experience, but if you do choose to have the Oma Casa experience,
please make a reservation at the bar. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:59):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (00:53:59):
I think you'll, you, he has two versions. One is a kind of 10 piece nigiri. Um, you get some composed
sashimi to start with, and then you get 10 pieces of a nigiri. And then you have, I think it's, um, hand roll
soup and dessert. That's the big kind of big one. Um, then he has another one that has eight courses of nri.
So a little smaller, little smaller price point. Um, but everything, but he also has an a la carte menu. Like if
you're just popping in, you're gonna see something downtown or you're downtown to, you know, have an
event or something you can pop in there, just have a little bit of sushi and move on Okay. With your
night. So it doesn't have to be, and honestly, I was in and out in probably two hours, which is kind of
unheard of really. So you won't Yeah. You won't find necessarily like the big speeches or the big, you
know, the chef telling you all about it, which we have in some of our other kind of sushi restaurants,
which are a great experience as well, but just a different feeling.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:45):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:54:46):
This is more about like convi. It's convivial, it's convenient, you know, you walk in and the chef knows
where you are and he just keeps the sushi coming as when your piece is gone, the next piece is getting
ready to go out. Okay.
Speaker 3 (00:54:56):
He
Jenny Vergara (00:54:56):
Keeps track of where you are. Um, if you have questions, you can ask them. He's more, as he's preparing
other people's things, he's more than happy to talk to you. And this is so exciting. Chef Peter owns, um,
uh, oia. Okay. And he, I just, he is such a great chef. He has incredible talents. He grew up in Parkville.
Where
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:14):
Was he before? His
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Had a sushi shop. He was all over. Okay. So he's been to Denver, New York, um, uh, Wyoming, I think
Jackson Hole. Um, and then made his way back here once he got married and had his first kid. Got it.
Which is another wonderful reason why Kansas City is a great food town, because we have chefs that
may train here at J-J-C-C-C or Broadmoor, and then they bounce out. They go have experiences
elsewhere in the world. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And as soon as they have their kids, they wanna move
back to be close to grandma and grandpa. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:55:40):
And
Jenny Vergara (00:55:41):
Kansas City is also still affordable place to open up your own place. Yeah. It's a affordable place to live
and, and own your own home. It's also affordable place, obviously, to open up a restaurant. So we have an
awful lot of chefs that do that. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:51):
Well, we moved here for cost of living.
Jenny Vergara (00:55:53):
Yeah. As
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:54):
You can imagine. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:55:54):
Chicago.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:55):
Right,
Jenny Vergara (00:55:55):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:55):
Um, I do wonder how that's changing. Right.
Jenny Vergara (00:55:57):
You
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:57):
Know, with Kansas City being a little more mm-hmm <affirmative>. Present on the map mm-hmm
<affirmative>. I have no knowledge on that, so mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, happy hours. People are
constantly asking me about happy hours.
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I think that's really interesting. Like,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:08):
I used to have a happy hour guy that I kept up for a long time, and I'm not kidding. I had a list of like 450
restaurants that I would email, I don't know, twice a year. And I'd be like, and people lived for that thing,
and then it got to the point where I'm like, I can't keep up with this anymore. Right,
Speaker 3 (00:56:22):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:22):
Um, but people always wanna find a great happy hour deal. Mm-hmm. Different area. Mm-hmm. How do
you go about that? When people ask you where do we get,
Jenny Vergara (00:56:29):
Um, yeah. Happy hour is kind of an interesting thing. Um, it doesn't really impact the way I eat. Okay. So
I think I find it's usefulness, kind of like me. I mean, I get it. That's fair. I get people who wanna deal. I
understand that. And I know in this economy, like I know, think the cost of going out to eat has gone up.
Speaker 3 (00:56:46):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:56:47):
But I think one, before I kind of talk about Happy Hours, one of the things I, I think we should talk about
is the fact that, you know, going out to eat is a, feels like a luxury when you have to spend so much
money. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:58):
But
Jenny Vergara (00:56:58):
The truth of it is, is an act of preservation. Like it really is what's going to keep our food scene local,
unique and flavorful Yeah. Is supporting the local places and going out to eat. So you have to kind of
maybe put it in that mindset. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (00:57:10):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (00:57:10):
Which we talked about a lot during the pandemic, and then stopped talking about it that way.
Unfortunately, for the restaurateurs, the challenges of the pandemic have not gone away. They've just
continued to multiply on top of themselves,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:19):
Which is wild.
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Jenny Vergara (00:57:20):
So I think we have to think about it that way. So, you know, obviously Happy Hour is great. It's a way to
attract people in early and get them in. And once you're in the seat, you know, when that Happy hour pops
off, you're painful price, whether you're staying or not. It's true. Right. Yeah. <laugh>. So it is kind of one
of those things where like, I don't know about you, but I'm never like, oh, happy hour just stopped. I gotta
go to it. You know, gotta leave now, gotta move on, go home. No, no, fine. Gimme a full price entree,
you know, it's true. Just bring it on. And the restaurateurs kind of know that as well. So, um, you know, I
think Happy Hour is one of those things where, um, I think it's great for trial. Like, if you are somebody
who's on a budget and you're not really sure, like, is this place for me, will I like the vibe mm-hmm
<affirmative>. Um, does it have enough food I can eat? Especially if you have like, challenges with what
you need to eat. Like if you have to eat a certain way. Sure. Um, I think Happy Hour is a great way to just
kind of stick your big toe in the water and go, Ooh, I like the vibe. They were really nice in there, you
know, that, that was a great experience. I liked what I had. Um, now I'll go back for dinner.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:14):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:58:15):
So I, I almost consider Happy Hour kind of a trial basis. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:19):
I like that though.
Jenny Vergara (00:58:19):
Well, it's kind of like, it's a good way to dabble sitting at the bar with your husband. Right. And just,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:22):
And it's a limited menu. Correct. Obviously,
Jenny Vergara (00:58:24):
Right. Yeah. You're not getting everything.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:26):
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Um, let's talk about the world of Sweets Bakeries. Okay.
Jenny Vergara (00:58:31):
Ice
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:31):
Cream.
Jenny Vergara (00:58:31):
Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:32):
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What's on your radar? Where should people be trying this year?
Jenny Vergara (00:58:34):
You know, so I have a couple of bakeries obviously that made my list in 2026. And one of them is Corn
Flour Baked Goods. This is, which I have not heard of this, Megan Garal s new bakery. He, she's opening
up next door to Rye,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:45):
And it's not open yet.
Jenny Vergara (00:58:46):
Um, it should be open in March. Okay,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:47):
Great. So
Jenny Vergara (00:58:48):
They're working on it, working on it now, but it's out at the Rye and Leewood.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:51):
So
Jenny Vergara (00:58:52):
This retail space right next door vacated whatever was in that space.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:55):
Mission Farms. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:58:55):
Yep. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. They grabbed it, they grabbed that space. Awesome. And, um, Megan was
talking to me about it last year, and she's like, I'm so excited because I have always had my pastry team
inside of our restaurants working side by side with our savory chefs. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:59:08):
And
Jenny Vergara (00:59:08):
They've never had a space of their own. So there's an old kind of joke about, you know, when you're a
pastry chef, you have to smell every container in a, in a, a restaurant because you don't know if it chicken
broth was just in it, or goose liver or whatever. Oh man.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:20):
You know, know you
Jenny Vergara (00:59:21):
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Can't make pastry out of something that has had savory stuff in it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:24):
Sure.
Jenny Vergara (00:59:25):
Um, so there's this joke about, oh my God, if the pastry chefs had their way, it would be quiet zen, you
know, cold marble countertops. Completely different experience. Right. Completely different world
experience <laugh>. But most of them unfortunately, are asked to kind of work in the back of these really
busy kind of fine dining restaurants. So Megan's like, I'm so excited to have a place for just me and my
chefs.
Speaker 3 (00:59:42):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (00:59:43):
And we can go and expand on what we wanna do. So, you know, obviously Megan's known now for her
cinnamon rolls and her pies. Yeah. Which everybody loves.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:50):
Incredible.
Jenny Vergara (00:59:50):
And I do too. Um, but you know, and they fall under the James Beard,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:54):
Correct? Correct. It both Megan and Colby.
Jenny Vergara (00:59:56):
So it was their restaurant. It was Bluestone.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:58):
So I never made it to Bluestone, by the way. I'm so bummed. Oh. I think we had just moved here. But
Jenny Vergara (01:00:02):
Listen,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:02):
Nonetheless,
Jenny Vergara (01:00:03):
I think that was one of the saddest kind of, you know, I mean, Corvino might be a close second, but that
was kind of a really sad closing for me because when you have an award-winning restaurant that's won
awards on a national scale close, it's somehow feels like personal.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:16):
Yeah. But
Jenny Vergara (01:00:17):
I think for Colby and Megan, they just knew where they wanted to kind of steer their ship. Um, but also
that location was really challenging. It's obviously where ology is now. There's not a lot of parking on that
space in Westport. You have to kinda get creative with that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:29):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:00:30):
But honestly, it's not, you know, it doesn't stop people from, but that's where they
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:32):
Go won Did they won James Beard. Yeah. Correct. Um, but anyway, so bakeries. Any others that you
would recommend that people who love a good sweet treat?
Jenny Vergara (01:00:41):
So I think Helen Joe is gonna do interesting things at Dear Donna.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:43):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:00:44):
Um, if anybody has gone to the coffee counter inside of Hotel Kansas City Yeah. Where town company,
where they have been working is mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, she has been running pastries through
that. Okay. Like, that would be a really easy accessible way. Um, they have left, and
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:58):
By the way, hotel Can City just in and of itself is so beautiful when you walk in there.
Jenny Vergara (01:01:01):
I have to tell you, that is one of my favorite re like remodels redos. It's
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:01:06):
Incredible.
Jenny Vergara (01:01:06):
It was a pretty space to begin with. Yeah. Like they had good bones. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:01:09):
But
Jenny Vergara (01:01:10):
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I think what they've done there is really, really interesting. Yeah. And the fact that Kansas City has
always had a hard time, like famously in other bigger cities mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:01:18):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (01:01:18):
You know, hotel chefs were a big deal. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. The hotels were where we were seeing a
lot of the fine dining food come out of.
Speaker 3 (01:01:24):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:01:24):
That really wasn't the case for Kansas City for a long time. And I think, um, Johnny and Helen Joe just
absolutely prove the case that if you put the right chef and the right menu Yeah. You can absolutely drive
local traffic and tourism traffic. You love it. Yeah. Obviously through your door. So I'd love to see that
happening. There's been a few other chefs in Kansas City who have managed to make that kind of happen
inside of a hotel environment. But yeah,
Speaker 3 (01:01:46):
I
Jenny Vergara (01:01:47):
Think Hotel Phillips, you know, obviously with the introduction of Koya, you know, Omae in there, I
think that's he, that space, you can get to it from the lobby. You can also get to it from the outside door,
but that is a standalone space. He had to go back to the city and get that licensed with his own address.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:03):
That used to be a coffee shop. Right.
Jenny Vergara (01:02:05):
It was, and then it turned into like the Hilton Honors lounge.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:08):
Oh, okay.
Jenny Vergara (01:02:09):
And it's s it's like low slung kind of long and skinny. Like, it's one of those where it's like, I think they just
pulled the curtain and, you know, hey, if you were an honors double black diamond stud, you could go in
there and get a free drink or whatever. <laugh>, get coffee before everybody else. Nobody's in here, but
you're, you're in here traveling from Chicago, so why don't you get a cocktail? Right. But, um, yeah, I
think, I think they've done a good job. You know, I think the speakeasy that's in the basement, obviously
of that hotel as well. Hotel Phillips is another one that I think is kind of an interesting, but
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:34):
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Yeah. Um,
Jenny Vergara (01:02:35):
Yeah. Hotel Kansas City's beautiful. It's
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:36):
Beautiful. Um, going back to FIFA and everything happening, are you doing anything to kind of navigate
writing about that for people coming in to figure out where to eat? Like how do you think of that? How
do you, do you have ideas for restaurants here on what they should do to try to figure out how to
capitalize on, you know, new foot traffic or whatever mm-hmm <affirmative>. I mean, what are your
thoughts on that? This is such a unique Yeah. Experience.
Jenny Vergara (01:02:59):
So Yeah. I, I think it's a great question. And the truth is, you know, if we develop as content creators mm-
hmm <affirmative>. I mean, if we develop this content, this is stuff we can update and use over and over
again because I don't think this will be the end of, you know, things that Kansas City will bring to town.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:13):
Right.
Jenny Vergara (01:03:13):
Um, I think about the NFL draft, like that would've been another opportunity where we really could have
talked Yeah. More about it. And I know a lot of the restaurateurs were kind of disappointed because the
draft is really about being at the draft and staying at the draft. Right. So unfortunately, the restaurateurs
didn't really feel the push Yeah. Of that. Um, I think FIFA will be different because people will be staying
all over the city.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:33):
True.
Jenny Vergara (01:03:34):
So this is an opportunity where if you do have a restaurant in Leewood, you know, as long as you are able
to talk about it. But for me personally, I do think it's a good question. I do think we'll all be writing about,
you know, if you're in town for fifa, here's where you should go. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:46):
Yep.
Jenny Vergara (01:03:46):
Um, just because I think that content is stuff that people are gonna be wanting. You know, the question is,
which issue of the magazine do you put it in? Yeah. No kidding. Is it a June issue? Is it the May issue?
You know, is it July issue?
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:56):
Right.
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Jenny Vergara (01:03:57):
So I think that's, that's all gonna be interesting. I'll probably do something for sure online. Yeah. But, um,
I think if you answer the emails and the dms from people that come to town, like, this is kind of part of
your job. Like, I consider it part of my job as a food writer to do that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:12):
Absolutely. Um, and then do you think that there's anything that we are missing that you would love to
see added into Casey's restaurant scene? Any type of cuisine or experience, or,
Jenny Vergara (01:04:25):
I would love to see investment on the east side of Kansas City to develop that into a place, um, whether
we start at, you know, 18th and Vine and grow from there. But, you know, we have woken up in the last
few years and kind of started to write about truce in a really meaningful way. There's been a lot of
development and a lot of investment in that area. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:04:45):
I
Jenny Vergara (01:04:46):
Wanna see it go far beyond that. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:04:48):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (01:04:48):
Um, and I wanna see new and interesting cuisines. I wanna be able to traverse all the entire city and really
experience, you know, kind of all different kinds of cuisines.
Speaker 3 (01:04:57):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:04:57):
So I think it's more about investment in every area of Kansas City. I love that. And not just specific ones.
Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:05:02):
<affirmative>. So
Jenny Vergara (01:05:03):
I'd love to see that. I, I feel like there's a whole part of the city that we just don't go to, don't explore. And
you know, frankly, there's not a lot there just because of the divestment. Right. That has happened in
those areas.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:13):
Yeah. So, well hopefully playing a part in real estate Right. You can
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Jenny Vergara (01:05:16):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:17):
Sort of lead the way with that. We'll be looking to you for that.
Jenny Vergara (01:05:20):
From your mouth to God's ears. Right? That's
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:21):
Right. That's right.
Jenny Vergara (01:05:22):
Let's put it out in the universe. Yeah, absolutely. I think that's, that's super important. And we have to
support the people that are making those big leaps. Like Urban obviously is the restaurant that's over on
Truce Delicious, doing amazing things. Like there's lots of people along Truce now they're investing
Black Hole Bakery. I mean, you know, lots and lots. So I think that's something that I'd really like to see
happen is just kind of more equity in terms of I love that what we're writing about, where the investments
are being made, where people are opening things mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:05:48):
<affirmative>. Um,
Jenny Vergara (01:05:49):
More risk taking in that regard. Yeah. And I think it will happen. I mean, Kansas City is a finite city with
only so much square footage.
Speaker 3 (01:05:54):
True.
Jenny Vergara (01:05:55):
Um, you know, I also think it'll be interesting to see how having like the Barkley riverfront the West
Bottoms mm-hmm <affirmative>. You know, um, even the Bridge obviously. Yeah. That's, you know,
the, the train bridge that's gonna be opening up over in the West Bottoms kind of over there. I think
there's gonna be a lot of spaces that as they develop, will change our traffic patterns.
Speaker 3 (01:06:14):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:06:14):
As someone who lives downtown, like I'm very interested to see kind of how that shifts or changes mm-
hmm
Speaker 3 (01:06:19):
<affirmative>.
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Jenny Vergara (01:06:19):
Where we consider like hubs of dining or hubs of Right. Culinary creativity. Um, I think downtown and
the Crossroads and Midtown will always be the hub. Sure.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:29):
Um,
Jenny Vergara (01:06:29):
But there's also been a lot of investment, a lot of development happening in those areas as
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:33):
Well. Do you have any insight right now, um, on what's going into the Bridge West Bottoms or, um,
Jenny Vergara (01:06:40):
So I have heard that, um, Bradley, chef Bradley, who owns Lula's Southern Cookhouse, he is going to be
opening something there
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:49):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (01:06:50):
With a partnership with guys potato chips. Yeah. So I think those two have become friends,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:56):
Which I never would've guessed that that was a local right company.
Jenny Vergara (01:06:59):
Right. That's,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:00):
I mean, I knew that before moving here, so I love that.
Jenny Vergara (01:07:02):
Right. Um, in fact, I'm working with Price Chopper right now and I just did an exercise where I went to
four different stores. So there's four families that own the Price Chopper locations. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:11):
And
Jenny Vergara (01:07:11):
I went to four different grocery stores, one that each family owns, and I basically did a, a rough inventory.
I just walked the aisles and wrote down any local brands that I found in the aisles. Okay. And was really
surprised to find a large number of local folks that are making products that you can find on grocery store
shelves.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:28):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (01:07:28):
So I think this is kind of a fascinating, like, um, there's barbecue restaurants that maybe didn't make it in
the brick and mortar sense, but their barbecue sauce lives on. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:36):
Do
Jenny Vergara (01:07:36):
You know what I mean? Uhhuh <affirmative> and they're making a good living. Um, you know, the
Jones Sisters obviously Jones Barbecue, they were over kind of in an industrial area. They were there for
many, many, many years. They were on Queer Eye. Yeah. Obviously that was kind of how Kansas City
woke up and realized that they were around.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:07:50):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:07:51):
And they helped them kick off their sauce. You can buy their sauce online now. Love that. The barbecue
restaurant is gone, but you can obviously buy their sauce. They didn't make it through the pandemic, so.
Okay. Um, yeah. So I think it's really fascinating all the ways you can kind of support and make money.
Um, yeah. You know, if, even if your restaurant isn't, if you have a, a good condiment product, um, go
Joe's is another one. Did you ever go to Go Joe's in Westport?
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:11):
I don't think
Jenny Vergara (01:08:11):
So. It was a Japanese kind of chop chop steakhouse Yeah. Situation. Um, and I maybe those restaurants, I,
I'm sure they're still around. I'm sure there's still some bread. I'm sure Benny ha still exists somewhere,
but
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:21):
Somewhere. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:08:22):
Um, you know, it's, it's one of those things where it exists in Westport for a long time when they closed,
um, and it was during the pandemic obviously, that they closed. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:31):
They had
Jenny Vergara (01:08:31):
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Been around for 50 years or something. One of the daughters in the family said, my dad started this
restaurant and now she's got a condiment line. So they were kind of known for their yellow sauce and
their green sauce Okay. That were dipping sauces for all the proteins they were Yeah. You know, stir
frying right in front of you. And you can buy those now in grocery store shelves. In fact, I just bought
their salad dressing so that Japanese, this
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:08:51):
Is a great addition to the conversation. 'cause I hadn't even thought about like what you can, um, you
know, get on the shelves. Right. Which is great. We're all shopping at grocery stores.
Jenny Vergara (01:08:58):
Right. It's local products. I mean, and there's a ton of local products. I discovered my new favorite hot
sauce is H Sauce. Are you familiar with H Sauce?
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:09:06):
I feel like I can picture it, but I'm not sure. Red Bottle.
Jenny Vergara (01:09:08):
Yes. You know, big H on it. I think
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:09:09):
We have, in our pantry, we have, um, something by them.
Jenny Vergara (01:09:13):
It's the, it's like, for me it's the perfect combination of like sriracha and hot sauce, kind of traditional
vinegar based kind of hot sauce. Yeah. Kind of had a baby. It's liquefy, you know, it's liquidy. It's not
super thick. Man, I'm crazy about that flavor profile. Yeah. And I wrote, I wrote her a note and I was like,
oh my gosh, where have you been my whole life? Yeah. I'm so glad to have a local, you know, kind of
hot sauce that I can get all about.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:09:34):
So people just need to dabble. They just need to go pick something out, try something maybe every
couple months, something new that they wouldn't have thought of.
Jenny Vergara (01:09:39):
Switch it up. Well, and I, for me, it's all research, right? It all feeds the food brain for me. Yeah. So if I'm
gonna write about the food scene, I need to understand like all of these different parts of the business and
how people can kind of make it. I'll, another good example that's on my list is, um, kit's Diner in the East
Bottom. So this is over where,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:09:54):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (01:09:55):
Um, Jay Rieger's Distillery is, um, just down the street
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Mindy Hargesheimer (01:09:59):
No longer called Electric Park. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:10:00):
Or it's sort of,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:10:01):
I think,
Jenny Vergara (01:10:02):
I think they're still trying to brand that area as Electric Park, which is good. Um, you know, ties back to
our history, but just down the street from there is a little tiny diner. It almost looks like a town topic kind
of building teeny tiny white. And it was where Ca, Casey Canning company. So Tim Tuy is the chef that
owned Casey Canning Company. Okay. He used to bottle, make everything and bottle everything outta
this little diner. Um, it was commercially approved and all of that. Well, he closed his business at the end
of last year or the year before. And he has now decided to turn that into a diner, like literally transform it
now into a restaurant. Oh,
Speaker 3 (01:10:33):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (01:10:34):
So it's gonna be called Kit's Diner and it's gonna be opening in January. So just kind of any day now it
sounds like. Yeah. But he's been doing a few popups at some local breweries. It's gonna have like a
chopped cheese sandwich. There's gonna be some like gourmet PB and J's that are Griddled. Ooh. Um,
he's gonna do a French onion grilled cheese sandwich. Okay. I think you'll find a lot of breakfast
sandwiches too. I don't know that he'll be doing dinner. I, I think he's planning maybe eventually to get
his liquor license there, so maybe he'll get into late night and do some different things, but Sweet. I'm
interested to see what he's gonna do.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:11:02):
Do you see, do you think the East Crossroads is gonna be seeing a lot more kind of building up around
there? Or
Jenny Vergara (01:11:07):
The East Crossroads is very industrial. Yeah. Like, if you think about it. So, um, and I'm talking about the
other side of the Barkley riverfront kind of area. Right. Right. So this is on the other side of, uh, I 35 as it
kind of cuts across with the Kit Brown Bridge.
Speaker 3 (01:11:19):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:11:20):
Um, you know, it's very industrial, so there's a lot of folks that have opened up like small spots where
mm-hmm <affirmative>. The truck drivers that are driving the trucks to what, you know, filling it and,
you know, coming and going. You know, they stop at a little diner. So I don't know that you'll see like a
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ton of expl, you know, exploration or kind of development over there. But I think the people that serve
that community Yeah. Those hardworking folks that are just like bringing the stuff from one place to
another. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:11:43):
Those
Jenny Vergara (01:11:43):
Guys want hearty, good, delicious food as well. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:11:45):
And it's adjacent to these other places where eventually you might just kinda like hop over and,
Jenny Vergara (01:11:50):
Well, if you think about it, the historic Northeast neighborhood for example, that's an incredible
neighborhood that's just kind of to the north and east of downtown Kansas City 10 minutes away.
Speaker 3 (01:11:57):
Yep.
Jenny Vergara (01:11:58):
Um, you know, another thing I'm working on with my real estate is there is a kind of new area that's a 22
acre piece of property. It's gonna have new apartments built, buildings built on it, and it's an existing piece
of property that, it was a military compound basically for years and years.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:12:11):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (01:12:11):
And all of the bu existing buildings are getting reused solar panels installed, you know, radiant heat. I
mean, it's all going to be very eco-friendly, very green development. Mm-hmm. But it's gonna have a
food hall that's gonna have 18 stalls in it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3 (01:12:24):
So
Jenny Vergara (01:12:24):
We wanna bring, you know, new food players to the historic Northeast. It's literally 10 minutes from
downtown. And this is an area of town that also has been divested in over the years. Yeah. Not a lot of
investment has happened.
Speaker 3 (01:12:34):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (01:12:34):
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So this could really turn around certain areas of town when you have people willing to do these kinds of
investments. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. But Nomad develops is the co-developer basically for the food hall
inside of there. So I'm right now talking to different restaurateurs about maybe having a little spot in the
market. Right. You
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:12:48):
Just have the pulse on everything. <laugh>. I love it. I'm just like constantly like, okay. I mean, is there
anywhere you haven't been?
Jenny Vergara (01:12:54):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:12:55):
I mean, that's what I feel like, I mean, people think that I've been everywhere just doing a content creator
for eight plus years and I'm like, you'd be surprised how many places I haven't been to, so I time and
money. Right. Right.
Jenny Vergara (01:13:03):
Well, and I've been doing it for 20 years, like religiously as a job for 20, literally working it 20 years.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:13:08):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:13:09):
And so, um, I knew at the year 10 mark is when I started seeing influencers and kind of newer food
writers. Yeah. Like discovering places that I discovered when I first moved here mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Right. It's always interesting to go, you know, and the first instinct is like, oh, that's not new. I mean, that
you're, you're not really covering new ground there, but I'm thinking to myself, but it is new to them.
Yeah. And that is important. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:13:30):
It's always new to somebody.
Jenny Vergara (01:13:31):
It's always new to somebody. Yeah. So you have to kind of remember that and everybody is at a different
place. Some people really care about food, some people don't care as much where they eat. It's, you know,
food is fuel. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:13:41):
And
Jenny Vergara (01:13:41):
Everybody has a different opinion. So, and I always think about, you know, new food news happens
really quickly. Like to me it feels like for this January issue, it's really important that I get the details right
and tell people what's coming.
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Speaker 3 (01:13:52):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:13:53):
Um, but the truth is, is that there's people who are like, I didn't even know these places opened in 2025.
Right. Much less what's coming. You know, I live, you know, out south or I live up north, or I have no
idea what's coming next.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:14:03):
You're probably like me where you have a lot of, um, you know, friends and family around you who do
not spend their time Right. Checking, keeping up with looking for mm-hmm. I mean, even when I started
Kansas City Bucket lists, people are like, how are you finding this stuff? And I'm like, but how are you
not? I thought everybody was like, looking up where to go eat, you know, or what was opening. And it's
just, they, I underestimate the fact that like, you and I live for this stuff. Mm-hmm. You know, and other
people are just Right. Not as into it, you
Jenny Vergara (01:14:26):
Know. Well, and it's curiosity. Yeah. At the end of the day, I mean, it really is about having a curious
mind,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:14:32):
Ultimate curiosity over here. Yeah. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:14:33):
And just kind of digging into it. Yeah. So, um, you know, obviously having worked with you kind of in a
PR capacity. Yeah. I'm always impressed when you come into a place and you have really good
questions. Like you have thought ahead of time about what you wanna ask.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:14:45):
Favorite, I wanna learn all the things. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:14:47):
Yeah. And you just ask really good questions. Thank you. And part of that is just really being creative,
you know, and, and open and curious and creative.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:14:53):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm just genuinely interested Sure. And totally invested in
learning it. Of course. Um, one other thing and then we'll get into some rapid fire questions, but we didn't
really touch on like cocktail bars, breweries, wineries, anything you wanna touch on there that people
should absolutely experience anything coming to the forefront this year in that realm? Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:15:12):
<affirmative>. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:15:13):
Um, anything you wanna add on that?
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Jenny Vergara (01:15:15):
Well, you know, one of the things I wanna shout out is that we have recently had kind of a whole, uh, list
of new cocktail bars that have opened up with women owners. Beverly's I mentioned earlier in KCK.
That's a great spot. Woman owned love.
Speaker 3 (01:15:27):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:15:27):
Um, re which is over near the kind of the downtown, near the courthouse. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:15:32):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (01:15:32):
Is another new kind of Latin co Latin inspired cocktail bar. Really sleek and sophisticated. Great place to
pop in. If you happen to work in that area of downtown, it's right there for you. Okay. Um, there is
something good, which is over kind of downtown in the, um, I don't know if they still call it the, um,
clothing district or the the
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:15:51):
Garment district.
Jenny Vergara (01:15:51):
The Garment District, yeah. Yeah. I, I,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:15:53):
I hear it called that loosely, but I have no idea. You know, technically,
Jenny Vergara (01:15:55):
Well, it's where all the factories were obviously that made the clothes all the years ago, but I still think
they were referred to it. But she's kind of in a, a sort of a basement space of Abu one of those red brick
buildings that have apartments above, and then she's kind of down below. Mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:16:08):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (01:16:08):
Um, that's kind of a fun little like, combination of like high, high, low, kind of like, um, does
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:16:14):
It have like a speakeasy feel to it?
Jenny Vergara (01:16:16):
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You know, I, it doesn't, okay. This is more about just everybody's welcome. Yeah. So are you a beer
drinker? Come on in. Okay. Are you a wine drinker? Great. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Do you wanna craft
cocktail? Super. I'll take thank They're doing kind fun gourmet dogs and like Oh, fun. Like funner food in
there. Yeah. She was gonna do kind of, um, potato chips and caviar, which I was like, all right, I'm in
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:16:32):
<laugh>. Oh my gosh. Perfect.
Jenny Vergara (01:16:33):
Right. I love that. In a casual spot that has a pool table or whatever, you know, something that you can do.
So
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:16:38):
There's
Jenny Vergara (01:16:39):
Several kind of newer places like that right now on my bucket list is Moonstone, which just opened down
on the riverfront.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:16:45):
Okay.
Jenny Vergara (01:16:45):
Um, haven't made it in there yet. Yeah. But it's a second story, you know, underneath is kind of a more
casual like beer bar sit outside you and I'll have to go there then. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:16:52):
Let's go ahead and Yes.
Jenny Vergara (01:16:53):
Finally
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:16:54):
Get that on the calendar. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:16:55):
Yeah. Moonstone will have an interesting view of the river, so I'm kind of interested to see the river, but I
love that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:16:59):
Yeah. Okay. Great. Um, well let's get to some rapid fire questions for you. Okay. We've touched on a lot
<laugh>, but let's see what else I can pull out of you here.
Jenny Vergara (01:17:07):
Right.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (01:17:08):
Um, you just answered this, but we'll get some more answers. What is currently on your Casey bucket
list?
Jenny Vergara (01:17:13):
Oh, wow.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:17:13):
Besides what you just said.
Jenny Vergara (01:17:16):
Um, that's a good question. What is on my bucket list right now? You are
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:17:24):
Like, I've done everything. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:17:27):
I think really it's, um, I use the list that I come out with in 2026 as kind of the guideline. Like, I literally
check off places as they start to click open. So I think for me it's gonna be following these folks. Okay.
I'm also interested, like, I can't wait for somebody like slow rise. She was a donut popup, right? Yes. So
she's gonna have her own brick and mortar. It's gonna be out in the south Overland Park Park. Right. So
you'll be able to pop in anytime you want. Those good filled Bismarck, kind of Asian
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:17:51):
Inspired donuts. Gosh, the lines in the Overland Park farmer's market that they had were unreal.
Jenny Vergara (01:17:55):
Well, and I
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:17:56):
Oh my gosh.
Jenny Vergara (01:17:56):
And the good news about brick and mortars that usually that kind of calms down. Yeah. You know, when
you're open on a regular basis, obviously you can come anytime you want, but
Speaker 3 (01:18:03):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:18:03):
Um, I get, I get the, the popup, you know, like, Ooh, I'm so excited. I've stood in the lines. Yeah. I've
done all the things. I actually drove to Lawrence at like five in the morning to go and visit them when
they were just Did you doing the farmer's market there? Where they started? Yeah. Where they started. So
I've, I've done my 10,000 hours of standing line. Yeah.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (01:18:20):
You have waiting versus now you, you just have everybody on speed dial. You're like, can I get the x, y,
Z flavors and I'll pick 'em up on your driveway. Thank you. That's it.
Jenny Vergara (01:18:28):
That's it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:18:28):
Um, okay. Who would you love to hear on the podcast, or what is something that you would love to hear
more about on the Kansas City Bucket List podcast?
Jenny Vergara (01:18:36):
Yeah. Well, I mean, obviously it's gonna be food related or somebody like the mayor, like, I wanna hear
what, like, what he, what is he thinking about? Like, not necessarily his day to day, but like Yeah. What's,
what's, what's the list of things right now? Well, boy, getting into the, the politics, right? Yeah. In terms
of maybe development,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:18:51):
Like, like going back to what you were saying about
Jenny Vergara (01:18:53):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:18:53):
East Casey.
Jenny Vergara (01:18:53):
Yeah. Okay. Like where is he thinking we need to be looking at where's the future of Kansas City?
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:18:58):
Okay. Um,
Jenny Vergara (01:18:58):
I'd love to hear more about the streetcar and what the future plans are for the streetcar. I mean, is it just a
tourist attraction or is it, is it a toy train or is it a real train
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:19:06):
<laugh>. Yeah. Like, we just need to know, well, we'll keep expanding on that. Right. Um, what about in
the food scene? Anybody that you would love to see here for me to have on? Whether it's a chef, whether
it's a, somebody behind the scenes, anybody there? Mm-hmm
Jenny Vergara (01:19:17):
<affirmative>. I think Jay Sanders, who owns Drastic Measures and Wild Child, he's
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:19:21):
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Definitely on my list.
Jenny Vergara (01:19:22):
He's, he's super spicy, but I think he'd, he'd be an interesting person to kind of maybe pull out a little bit of
his personality. You'll kind of get a Shakespeare
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:19:29):
Nominee
Jenny Vergara (01:19:29):
Yeah. Feeling of that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:19:30):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:19:31):
But, you know, I also think it's like the small, like I would love to learn more about TNT House and
Moon Bar. I wanna hear her story. Yeah. Like she came from Thailand. Well,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:19:38):
That's what this is all about, is the stories. Right? I want everyone to be able to tell their story. And that's
why this started is I hear people all the time, they're like, no one knows our story, you know? Mm-hmm
<affirmative>. Even like, um, a boutique or a jewelry company. Yeah. And they're like, people don't
know our family story and how it started. Right. And I'm like, this is the place to do it. Absolutely.
Awesome. Um, any other favorite hidden gems in KC that you, that we need to absolutely experience
Jenny Vergara (01:20:03):
Hidden gems. There are so many hidden gems that they're almost not hidden gems anymore.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:20:07):
Right? Yeah. I know right?
Jenny Vergara (01:20:07):
Every, everybody's kind of like exploded them. Um, and no one wants it to be a hidden gem. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:20:12):
They're like, we want everybody here.
Jenny Vergara (01:20:13):
Right. Exactly. Exactly. Um, you know, I think Hidden Gems are hidden gems until they're just not
anymore love. Like, there's a place that I just put on my list, it's called Haley's Eatery in West Missouri.
And it was an originally a bakery. Somebody had opened it up as a bakery many years ago. Um, he left
and she took over the space. And I'm interested in her because when I went to eat at a caa, um, Omae,
obviously downtown, the last dessert we got served was kind of an Asian style terra. So that used matcha
tea in place of like the chocolate and coffee
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Speaker 3 (01:20:46):
Uhhuh.
Jenny Vergara (01:20:46):
And it was absolutely delicious. Like it was just the perfect amount of sweet. And I thought, and so I
asked the chef, I said, who, who's making your pastry? And he said, oh, Haley Eatery. She owns, you
know, it's a pastry chef named Haley. She's classically trained and I would love to go. And just like, it's,
it's they
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:21:01):
Connected.
Jenny Vergara (01:21:02):
I wonder. Right, right. So I'm kind of wondering if he lives out there, 'cause his family's from Parkville,
so I'm wondering if maybe it's just like, oh, I just kind of connected out there with her.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:21:11):
Got it.
Jenny Vergara (01:21:11):
So I'm not sure how they connected actually, but I'm like, I gotta go eat at, you know, Haley's eatery now.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:21:16):
Gotta do it
Jenny Vergara (01:21:16):
Out in Westin. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:21:17):
It's on the list now. Yeah. A Westin feature. I
Jenny Vergara (01:21:19):
Do think it'll be interesting to kind of dig into the Route 66 piece. I love that too, as we're talking kind of
next, this year. Next year. Right. So,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:21:26):
Yeah, for sure. Um, okay. What do you think makes Kansas City so great? So unique? What is going on
with Kansas City? That we are seemingly this remarkable, unique mm-hmm <affirmative>. Wonderful
place to live.
Jenny Vergara (01:21:39):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:21:40):
And visit,
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Jenny Vergara (01:21:41):
Um, you know, I think it starts with the friendliness, like mm-hmm <affirmative>. A lot of people talk
about Midwestern. Nice. Yeah. You know, the infamous, you know, we're just Midwestern. Nice. Yeah.
Which means we're not really nice at all. We're just polite.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:21:52):
Yeah. Right.
Jenny Vergara (01:21:53):
We're just being polite.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:21:54):
We're not East coast Rube. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. But we're not Bless your heart South. We're like
<laugh> Right. Our own thing.
Jenny Vergara (01:21:59):
Exactly. Yeah. Somewhere in the middle. And I think, I think it's more than that. I think that's kind of
dismissive of, you know, maybe what, what happens here in the Midwest. But I do think there is
something to, um, you know, having manners obviously, and being kind and being helpful. And I think
Kansas City is, um, a wonderful friendly town. It's a, it's a big, it's a big town that feels like a small town.
And Kansas City is getting ready to go through a huge, tremendous growth cycle. Yeah. Our city is
exploding. Lots of people are moving here. We have developers that are coming in from big cities, New
York and LA mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:22:29):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (01:22:29):
Pouring money, Denver pouring money into our city. Um, our city fundamentally is gonna change, you
know, for Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:22:34):
It's true.
Jenny Vergara (01:22:34):
Everybody who, you know, lives maybe lives in the suburbs and wants to gripe about the fact that, you
know, they don't wanna go downtown. Well get ready. There's not gonna be a parking place between the
plaza and downtown that you don't have to pay for. Yeah. Like, you're gonna have to pay for parking.
We're gonna get our big girl pants on <laugh> and we're gonna pay for parking.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:22:49):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:22:49):
Using a parking app. Uhhuh that takes five seconds for you to just,
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Mindy Hargesheimer (01:22:52):
Many other places do.
Jenny Vergara (01:22:53):
We're just fine. That's right. And it's fine. And you'll be fine. And we'll be fine. Right. We'll all be fine.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:22:57):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:22:58):
<laugh>. And on the nights that you don't want to spend that money, you just stay out south and eat some,
you know, I know. Support a local out there.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:23:03):
Not to keep talking about Chicago, but we do just laugh. 'cause when we come, when we came here, like,
nobody would travel more than, you know, x, y, z, 20 minutes or something like that. And we were like,
you have no idea how good we have it in the city, that it doesn't take that long to get anywhere. And that,
you know, even parking, I'm like, it's not that bad.
Jenny Vergara (01:23:18):
We are 20 minutes from anywhere relative. Yeah. Anywhere in Kansas City that you wanna go or you
wanna eat is 20 minutes away. Yeah. 20 to 25 minutes away. So, you know, when people, and you're not
paying $60
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:23:28):
For parking Right. And
Jenny Vergara (01:23:29):
You're not paying, you know, some of the things
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:23:30):
Where it's like, it's not
Jenny Vergara (01:23:31):
That bad. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:23:31):
And
Jenny Vergara (01:23:32):
When people go, oh, I don't wanna go to Parkville.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:23:33):
Oh,
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Jenny Vergara (01:23:33):
It's so far. Nope. Nope. Depend, you know, it's absolutely worth it. You can live out south and get there in
20 to 25 minutes, you know. So I do think, you know, we have to have some perspective on that, and it
really is like small town problems. Right. It's like, come on.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:23:46):
Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:23:46):
You know, have you ever been to a big city? Like this is how exactly, this is how they roll. And I think
we're about to get kind of a big, you know, growth spurt and learning curve. We have the most
development happening right now in the city of Kansas City that we've ever had. I'm
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:23:59):
Sure. Um,
Jenny Vergara (01:24:00):
You know, maybe since the inception of the city. Right. Right. So I think, I think it's gonna feel to a lot of
people like, oh, it's changing and what's happening. But, you know, the truth is, as I said, we're evolving
into kind of a more sophisticated, bigger city. But I think it's the friendliness. I think it's the fact that
although we are spread out, unfortunately, you know. Yeah. I mean, why is the airport out there up north?
I don't know. It's so far away. Right. We can all gripe about that, but you know, at the time they, it's the
farthest drive you'll have. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (01:24:25):
At
Jenny Vergara (01:24:25):
The time they thought the growth was gonna go north and it went south instead. Yeah. So that's basically
why the, the airport is there. So, you know, although we may be spread out, we're 20 to 25 minutes away
from anything, so we have it so good. We
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:24:35):
Really do.
Jenny Vergara (01:24:36):
And we don't have, you know, a highway where we're all kind of stuck. Listen, there's some highways
you're gonna have to start paying to ride on. I mean, in Kansas City. Yeah. We've never had toll roads
before, but get
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:24:45):
I know. I Ready, I made the thick of it out south. Yeah.
Jenny Vergara (01:24:47):
Get ready.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (01:24:48):
That construction, that's been going for a while. We're about
Jenny Vergara (01:24:49):
To pay for some things, so it'll be all right. Everybody hold hands and take a deep breath. Right.
Everybody
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:24:54):
Stay home. That's right. Okay, great. Um, where can people find you? Where can people follow you?
Read what you're doing? Yeah. Listen to what you've created. Find your real estate, whatever the case
may be.
Jenny Vergara (01:25:03):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Right. I always send people to Instagram first. That's probably the channel that
I'm most active on. So that's JJ ra. Um, and it's just my personal page. I haven't really like, kind of, I, I
always thought to myself, I'm the brand, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. I mean, I'm gonna do a lot of
things in food. I don't know what all those things are right now. Right. So I'm just gonna make myself the
brand mm-hmm
Speaker 3 (01:25:21):
<affirmative>.
Jenny Vergara (01:25:21):
Instead of my company. But, you know, foodie, LLC is still mine. And I had that on my license plate for,
for a long, long time actually. Did you?
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:25:27):
I love it.
Jenny Vergara (01:25:27):
Yeah. Yeah. I found out that a chef in, uh, St. Louis, his wife ended up snagging it for her tag. Ah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:25:32):
So
Jenny Vergara (01:25:33):
I had lived on the Kansas side for a period of time. Yeah. And then when I moved back to Missouri, my
tag was gone, so
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:25:37):
Oh my gosh.
Jenny Vergara (01:25:38):
I was sad to give up my foodie license plate, but
KCBL Podcast_S1E2_Jenny Vergara Foodie LLC_v1 (Completed 01/22/26)
Transcript by Rev.com
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Mindy Hargesheimer (01:25:40):
Yeah. All right. Well good. That's perfect. People can find you for all the foodie mm-hmm. Insights and,
you know, keep up with everything. And then also if people are looking to move, if, if you're in the, the
hospitality space mm-hmm <affirmative>. And they need real estate help, they can come to you too. Yep.
Awesome. Thank you so much. Oh my gosh, it's my pleasure. This
Jenny Vergara (01:25:57):
Is so fun. My
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:25:57):
Pleasure. We need to get together. We've gotta get our happy hour on the calendar. <laugh>, I, we keep
talking about that happy hour. I, I want like a, I don't just want a monthly get together with you. I want
like a weekly because there are so many places to go to, right. That <laugh> we need to try. So stay on
top of it. You bet. I love that. Awesome. Thanks so much, Jenny. Of course. Okay. Thank you so much
for tuning in and finding inspiration in these incredible stories. If you love what you hear, be sure to
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voices reach even more listeners.
KCBL Podcast_S1E2_Jenny Vergara Foodie LLC_v1 (Completed 01/22/26)
Transcript by Rev.com
Page 77 of 77