A sour economy, $4-a-gallon gas and competition from the Power & Light District will probably continue to take a toll on area bars and restaurants, but Westport is mounting a comeback. Thanks to Westphal’s still-successful McCoy’s brewpub, his popular One80, Eddie Crane’s red hot Blanc Burger + Bottle and — drum roll, please — Westphal’s coming-next-week Foundry at McCoy’s.
“It’s an extension of McCoy’s, but they’re two different environments with separate kitchens, separate music, all under one roof,” Westphal says. “And with a separate deck.”
Another tres-trendy ultra-lounge?
“If you want a description, we’re a retro DJ dive bar,” Westphal says. “There’s vintage lighting, wood paneling — it looks more like someone’s basement than an ultra-lounge.”
Bottle service?
“No, no, no, no,” Westphal says. “We’re McCoy’s, and we’re going to run this business like we do McCoy’s, with great food and over 100 different beers.”
Actually as a brewpub. McCoy’s sells its own brewed-on-site brewskies.
One unusual aspect: a common hand-washing and makeup mirror zone outside the men’s and women’s restrooms.
“I guess you could call it a communal hand-washing area,” Westphal says. “So all the women will know which guys wash their hands and which don’t.”
Starfish-shaped overhead pipe lights dot the interior and blend with Art Deco-like aluminum barstools and a black “Richlite” bar.
“It’s recycled cardboard in a resin caser,” designer Dan Salazar says of the bar surface. “It’s the only material we could find that didn’t have a high sheen on it. There were two or three other options, but we couldn’t get the sheen down and since this is a dive bar …”
Westphal is playing his cards close to the vest on the specifics of the cuisine, only saying, “We’re bringing the Juicy Lucy to Kansas City. That’s all I’ll say. People will have to come in to find out what it is.”
Rock of the ageless update
The rehiring of exiled classic rock personality Tanna Guthrie by Entercom for the afternoon drive spot on soft-rock station KUDL-FM (98.1) begs the question of what may become of the EEOC age discrimination complaint Guthrie spearheaded after she, rock radio hall-of-famer Max Floyd and two other younger (but over 40) air personalities were let go earlier this year. The four were released when Entercom-owned 99.7 KY changed formats and became The Boulevard.
“I miss radio and am glad to be back, and I love working for Herndon,” Guthrie told intrepid Star reporter Tim Engle earlier this week.
Herndon is Herndon Hasty, who oversees KUDL at Entercom and was the former keeper of Guthrie’s album rock flame at the old KY102. “(Herndon) said the complaint against Entercom didn’t matter; it’s a separate matter.”
To put that into Get Smart speak: “And if you believe that …”
Guthrie, 51, also confirmed what radio insiders have been buzzing about for months. That she, Floyd and their attorney flew to New York this past spring to be interviewed for ABC’s “20/20” for a story about age discrimination that has yet to be broadcast.
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