‘We’ve had an incredible run.’ Owner closing his Kansas City-area Mexican BBQ eatery
Months after announcing he would sell his Mexican barbecue restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas, its owner has now decided to close it.
Carlos Mortera opened Poio Mexican BBQ at 800 S. Seventh St. in May 2021. He plans to close at the end of business on Saturday.
For now he will continue to concentrate on his The Bite Catering Co. and restaurant consulting operation.
“Putting together all the pros and cons, there were more cons than pros,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “We are doing a lot of private and cannabis dinners (in Missouri), weddings, tasting menus, six courses. Less employees, less overhead and less of my time to do that.”
He first opened Poio at 1000 W. 25th St. in 2018, on the city’s West Side. It closed in November 2020 due to the pandemic.
Then he bought a former Subway in Kansas City, Kansas, painted it black with bright red and white accents, and opened Poio.
It offers grilled chicken, pork spare ribs, Filipino adobo pork carnitas, jackfruit carnitas, rice bowls, nachos, pork sandwiches, tortillas, salsa and house pickles, and sides such as chili lime charred broccoli, lemon pepper potatoes, charred carrots, cabbage slaw, and poblano macaroni and cheese.
Mortera used Mexican and Asian flavors and techniques that he grew up with and later made for his family.
First lady Jill Biden and her entourage took a detour on the way to the airport to pick up lunch at Poio during the final week of National Hispanic Heritage Month in October 2021.
But he put the 2,000-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru up for sale in September.
“I work 16-hour-days, six-days-a-week, sometimes seven,” he said at the time. “I have a 2-year-old and a 7-month-old that I sometimes don’t see for two or three days.”
“And I have some health reasons that I need to relieve stress. I don’t care about the money, I care about the time.”
On Instagram this week, he said: “We’ve had an incredible run, and we are grateful to our devoted patrons for supporting us over the years. Our team is humbled by the endless positive feedback we have received on our concept, menu, and unique approach to dining.”
Fans left such comments as:
▪ Hope you all come back sometime. I’ll miss the adobo ribs
▪ nooooo!
He is in negotiations to lease the building to another restaurant. But he still hopes to franchise the Poio concept.
“It needs someone with deeper pockets than I have and more time,” he said.
He also has a Poio restaurant at the new Kansas City International Airport terminal. Its menu includes grilled chicken sandwiches, pork carnitas sandwiches, nachos and house-made tortilla chips.