Decade-old Power & Light restaurant shuts its doors. It could return post-pandemic

Kansas City’s The Mixx restaurant has operated in the Power & Light District for a decade.

But no longer.

When its lease came up for renewal at the end of October, owner Jo Marie Scaglia hit the pause button. She’s shut down the restaurant at 1347 Main St. and doesn’t plan to reopen in the district until the office workers return, perhaps in six months or longer.

Then she could reopen in her former Power & Light space if it is still available or another downtown location.

“My lease was up and with the current situation it was good timing,” she said. “My other stores are doing fantastic, some even better than before COVID.”

In a statement, Nick Benjamin, executive director of the district, said: “The Mixx is an outstanding local concept that was one of our original tenants. The lines out their front door at lunch had become a downtown mainstay before COVID. We are committed to supporting them during these difficult times and are optimistic they will be back when office employees are back downtown in 2021.”

Scaglia will concentrate on her original location just south of the Country Club Plaza, as well as the south Overland Park location in Hawthorne Plaza, and her Caffetteria Modern Cafe & Marketplace in Prairie Village.

Caffetteria has expanded its marketplace since the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers heat-and-serve meals, snack items, sauces, salad dressings, and drinks to-go.

Items include jalapeno hibiscus margaritas, sangria, spinach and artichoke dip, meatball grinders, chicken salad wraps, shrimp and grits, family-sized chicken enchiladas, Salisbury steak, S’mores Kits and pumpkin crème brulée.

The two Mixx restaurants also will add market areas later this week with such to-go items as pot roast and chicken enchiladas.

This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 2:31 PM.