Prairiefire signs Grimaldi’s pizzeria and Made in KC shop

Arizona-based Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria is coming to the Kansas City area.

Joe Ciolli, chief executive officer of the chain, said Kansas has been a target for expansion for several years. Now the company, headquartered in Scottsdale, plans an early fall opening in a 4,000-square-foot space at 5601 W. 135th St., in Overland Park’s Prairiefire development. The restaurant will have a patio and private event space.

Grimaldi’s was founded under the Brooklyn Bridge in New York by Patsy Grimaldi, and the original location now draws long lines of both tourists and locals.

It has a limited menu of hand-tossed, coal-fired brick oven pizzas and calzones, along with fresh salads and desserts such as cheesecakes, cannoli and tiramisu. Seasonal features include prosciutto arugula pizza and Baileys Irish Cream Cheesecake.

The company makes its own sauces, its own mozzarella cheese that is then sliced to order, and its own dough. Its 25-ton ovens are heated by 100 pounds of coal each day to 1,200 degrees, making for a crispy, smoky, thin crust.

Grimaldi’s said the secret to New York-style pizza is often said to be in the water, so the company has a system to analyze the water of each market. Then it recreates the mineral content of the original Brooklyn location.

The pizzas come with a choice of three sauces — traditional red sauce, pesto or white pizza (garlic, olive oil and mozzarella) — and a choice of nearly two dozen toppings. They also are offered in three sizes.

In July 2014, Restaurant Business Magazine put Grimaldi’s at No. 44 on its list of the country’s 50 fastest growing restaurant groups. The company has 37 locations in a dozen states and is considering other metro sites.

“They’ve done super well in other markets. They have a national following whether it is New York, Chicago, Dallas, Scottsdale,” said Fred Merrill Jr., developer of Prairiefire. “Their pizza is outstanding, and they have a great environment with the bar opening up its doors to the patio. A … unique, identifiable atmosphere.”

Also coming to Prairiefire

Tyler Enders and Chris Harrington plan a May 15 opening for their Made in KC shop in Prairiefire.

The 300-square-foot shop will be on the first floor of the Threshing Bee in Prairiefire, 5501 W. 135th St. It will sell items made or designed in the Kansas City area, including T-shirts, socks, wallets, watchbands, jewelry, posters, woven wall hangings, ceramics, throws and potted plants.

“People who are making things in small batches,” Enders said. “There are so many people doing so many cool things. We have a lot of talent in Kansas City, and this is an opportunity to bring this talent to a shop in south Overland Park.”

Prairiefire, which opened in May 2014, is spread over 58 acres at 135th Street and Nall Avenue. Tenants include REI, the Fresh Market, Rock & Brews and the Museum of Prairiefire, which plays host to traveling exhibitions through a collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Downtown Ingredient restaurant closes

Downtown’s Ingredient restaurant has closed after more than five years.

Earlier this year, Bread & Butter Concepts acquired the restaurant, in the Town Pavilion at 1111 Main St., as well as Ingredient restaurants on the Country Club Plaza, in Leawood’s Park Place and in Columbia, Mo.

Bread & Butter re-branded the Leawood and Columbia locations as Ingredient True Eatery. The Plaza location, at 4807 Jefferson, was shut down and will reopen as República in late July.

But Bread & Butter Concepts couldn’t work out a new lease for the Ingredient in the Town Pavilion and closed the restaurant on Monday. Officials with the Town Pavilion declined to comment.

Ingredient was founded in 2007 in Lawrence.

Bread & Butter Concepts also owns BRGR Kitchen + Bar, Urban Table, Taco Republic, Taco Republic Truck, and Gram & Dun. Its G. Berto Cucina is scheduled to open in Woodside Village in Westwood.

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Prairiefire signs Grimaldi’s pizzeria and Made in KC shop."