Kansas City restaurant closes, but owner is opening a burger joint with beer and BBQ
Guy’s Broadway Bodega has closed at 2101 Broadway.
The location, a part of the Guy’s Snacks company and a sister operation to Guy’s Deli & Pizza in Westport, opened in March 2023. It sold sandwiches alongside prepackaged chips, dips, salsas, sauces and other snacks. It also had a full bar.
Guy’s Snacks owner Andy Miller confirmed the closing but said his company is soon to open a new concept called Caldwell’s Burgers inside River Bluff Brewing in the River Market.
“The name is derived from Guy Caldwell, the founder of Guy’s Chips,” Miller said. “It should open the second week of April.”
The burger-centric menu includes items like the Brew Burger (a 4-ounce patty with caramelized onions, onion strings and beer cheese sauce made from the brewery’s River Cream Ale) and the Arthur Burger, which is topped with pulled pork, candied bacon, onion rings, pickles and Arthur Bryant’s barbecue sauce. (In early 2023, Miller purchased the iconic barbecue restaurant.)
A couple of sandwiches, sliders, soft pretzels and nachos will round out the food menu.
“We’ve been carrying Guy’s chips in the taproom since we opened in 2022 and we are excited to continue and expand this partnership,” said Hootie Wales, general manager for River Bluff Brewing.
Guy’s old location on Broadway has seen a few rapid closings: Foodlove Cafe lasted there less than two years. It had replaced Broadway Deli, which also lasted less than two years; that owner blamed a lack of parking. Before that, Pezzettino Italian Deli & Market operated there less than three years.
New burger joints opening inside existing bars is somewhat of a local trend lately. Cosmo Burger debuted inside Dodson’s Bar and Commons in 2020, and Disco Burger is partnering with the River Market bar Varsity Club on a concept that plans to open later this spring.
This story was originally published April 1, 2024 at 11:33 AM.
