Kansas City area bar with a view closed in September. Here’s what’s moving in
A taste of the South Pacific in gritty-but-gentrifying Strawberry Hill?
That’s the idea, said Dan Doty. Along with partners Roxie Danner and Houston DeFoe, he plans to open a tiki bar called the Blue Palm in the Kansas City, Kansas, space Mockingbird Lounge vacated in September at 204 Orchard St.
“A really good tiki bar is almost like an immersive experience — the lighting and seating and the whole lounge-feel of the place transport you away to a different world,” Doty said. “Between the bones of the building, the view and the neighborhood, we thought this would be a great place to put a tiki bar.”
Doty works in sales but has a service-industry background, having worked in restaurants since he was a teenager. Danner is a pop-up proprietor; she’s brought her roaming tiki concept Hellfire Tiki to various venues in the city — 403 Club, the Brick, Hi-Tides Coffee — over the past few years. DeFoe is the former owner of the Northland bar Shooters Tavern.
They hope to be open sometime in December, pending permit approvals.
Mockingbird served food, but the Blue Palm will not. They’ll use the kitchen space as a commissary to prepare the heavy garnishes and fresh juices that go in the primarily rum-based cocktails the bar will serve. Eventually, Doty said, they’ll overhaul the back deck “to make it more four-season-friendly.”
He expects the bar to be open Wednesday through Sunday evenings until midnight.
“We’re planning to take reservations in two-hour blocks,” Doty said. “People will be able to stay longer than that, of course, but continually drinking these kinds of drinks will catch up with you, so we’re trying to be responsible.”
The Blue Palm won’t be the only tiki bar in town. Tiki Huna operates in North Kansas City’s Iron District at 1599 Iron St. Another tiki bar, TikiCat, closed in Westport in 2020.
