Springfield’s Grad School comes to the Crossroads with Deathstar wings & cashew chicken

Danny Schlink really didn’t have any intention of finishing college, but he finally graduated after nine years. Then he asked his friends what they were going to do next. Grad school, they said.

“If they get to go to grad school so could I,” Schlink said. “I had always wanted to open a restaurant, so I called it Grad School. My mom could put that on her Christmas card.”

Eleven years after opening that restaurant and bar in Springfield, Missouri, Schlink has brought the concept to Kansas City and the Crossroads. He took a corner space on bustling Broadway, just south of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. He called the area a “little under-served.”

Schlink spent nearly a year remodeling the spot at 1744 Broadway before softly opening Grad School in mid-July — Thursday through Saturday. Starting Sept. 5, he’ll add Wednesday hours.

Menu items include spinach salad, wings (served several ways from Thai to Deathstar), veggie burgers, Rasta Pasta (with spicy marinara), Cuban and jerk chicken sandwiches, and cashew chicken in homage to Springfield, where the dish was founded.

It also has the Spicy Meter. All dishes can be served standard or at different spicy levels — from one star to five stars.

Schlink was born in Belton, but his family moved to Springfield when he was about 6 years old to be closer to his grandparents. Still, they made the trip to the Kansas City area nearly monthly so his mother could visit her best friend.

“I’ve been a lifelong Kansas City Royals baseball fan. Worlds of Fun, baseball and everything else Kansas City has to offer,” he said.