‘28 wonderful years’: Asian restaurant in Kansas City closes, blames staffing issues
It’s been a rough few years for restaurants on the southwest corner of 39th and Bell streets in midtown Kansas City.
Blue Koi Noodles & Dumplings, at 1803 W. 39th St., closed in 2021 after two decades in business. D’Bronx Authentic Deli and Pizzeria closed the following year, after 32 years at 3904 Bell.
On Friday, Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill, open since 1995 at 3906 Bell, announced it would join its former neighbors in the restaurant afterlife, effective immediately, “due to the shortage of staffing that was needed to provide quality service and food of our standard.”
“It has been more than 28 wonderful years,” owner Ling Chang wrote on Facebook. “We sincerely appreciate the friendship, support and the patronage. It is time for the next chapter in our life. We are grateful to you!”
The post was quickly flooded with so many grateful comments from customers that Genghis Khan decided to reopen Saturday for egg rolls, crab rangoon and bowls of all-you-can-eat Mongolian barbecue. “We’d like an opportunity to serve you one last time and to say goodbye,” Chang wrote later on Friday.
The restaurant was packed for much of Saturday, with several patrons posting photos from their final meal and other memories on Genghis Khan’s Facebook wall.
“This place has been a part of my birthday celebrations for 20 years,” one customer shared. “I don’t know what I’ll do without that sesame chicken and crab rangoon — there was nothing like it.”
“Thank you for being a place that our family enjoyed gathering over the years,” another said. “You held our babies and watched them grow! We will miss our favorite foods (especially the chicken wings) but mostly, we will miss the warm welcome and the feeling of being treated like your family for over 20 years!”
Chang did not respond to a request for comment.
Cadence Commercial Real Estate leases and manages the property that Blue Koi, d’Bronx and now Genghis Khan have vacated. The block is under a great deal of construction, owing to the incoming Jamestown Square apartments, a $66 million project that is bringing 226 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units to the area.
