Prime rib deal on Fridays, karaoke on Tuesdays: New KC bar wants to keep it special
The Thirsty Gnome is now open in Kansas City’s Northland.
The bar, at 5044 N.E. Parvin Road, is a family affair. Husband-and-wife pair Laurie and Paul Gehrt own the place; their son Nick is the general manager; and their other son Jon runs the kitchen. A couple of Laurie and Paul’s grandkids work there too.
“We’re first-time bar owners, but we’ve all been in and out of hospitality for years,” Laurie said. “My parents owned restaurants, I’ve bartended and waited tables. Our sons have cooked for country clubs and managed restaurants. So, we’re very customer-oriented.”
The space is the former home of Outpost Bar and Grill, which closed in August of 2022, and before that One-Eyed Jacks. Inside the bar are several TVs, three pool tables (league nights are Tuesdays and Wednesdays) and a small stage (live music on Fridays, karaoke on Tuesdays). Music bingo is on Thursday.
The food menu features chips with homemade salsa, Gnome Hats (jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, served with honey) and sandwiches like the Monte Cristo (ham, turkey, Swiss and American cheese on honey wheat, battered and dusted with powdered sugar and served with apricot preserves).
Among the daily specials are Reubens on Thursdays ($11) and a prime rib dinner on Fridays ($26).
Laurie said the name is “a bit of a shoutout to the old English pubs.”
“Where we are over here — scrunched between Gladstone and North Kansas City — is kind of a desert for bars,” Laurie said. “So we’re just trying to be a local bar with good food, good service, fun times.”
