Baseball-themed deli opening in Johnson County with soup, pasta, chili, salads

Jonathan Bent is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, first as a cook and later in communications. For the last 15 years he has operated a flooring company, Linear Flooring, in Overland Park.

But he long wanted to open a deli with his wife, Julia.

“Simple, sit down and eat and go. Buy meat by the pound as well,” he said. “I have three boys, one out of the house. I coach baseball, I love baseball and we love the Royals. So we wanted to have a baseball theme.”

The Dugout Deli & Catering, at 8100 Santa Fe Drive in Overland Park, is open for catering orders only — bicycle clubs, athletic clubs, lodges. They plan to open to the public in early June.

The menu includes Bases Loaded potato soup, Triple Tomato Bisque, and chili (with turkey, onion, tomato, carrots, three-bean mix and chickpeas). Customers will be able to get them in a bread bowl.

It will have salads such as the Field of Dreams (with tomatoes, cucumber, corn and croutons) and The Ty Cobb (with ham, turkey, egg, tomatoes, olives, cheddar and mozzarella); macaroni and cheese; Italian-style green beans with garlic and tomatoes; hot dogs such as the Major League (a chili dog with macaroni and cheese, cheese and onion crisps); grinders, subs and club sandwiches; and pastas such as the Pop Fly (Tuscany Alfredo sauce and rotisserie chicken on angel hair pasta or gluten-free rigatoni, topped with Parmesan cheese and herbs).

It will have weekly specials such as pasta dishes, country fried steak and an open-faced hot beef sandwich.