Westport bar, site of fatal shooting, closes after 10 years. Owners blame inflation
Westport Ale House has closed at 4128 Broadway.
The owners blamed inflation in a Facebook post Tuesday.
“Like numerous bars and restaurants across the United States, we are closing due to the numerous inflationary increases from food and beverage costs, insurance, and rent, which made operations unsustainable,” read the post. “We would have been forced to raise prices to amounts not feasible for our customers.”
The bar was also the site of a 2022 shooting that left one dead and five injured.
Bret Springs and Zach Marten were part of an ownership group that launched the upscale sports bar in 2014, adding a rooftop deck later that year. The pair — who also own the Crossroads and Leawood locations of The Rockhill Grille and partner with Joe’s Kansas City at County Road Ice House in the Power & Light District — exited that partnership in 2017, Springs said.
State business filings list Scott Mars as the bar’s managing partner since 2018. He could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
Before it was a bar, the building was home to Streetside Records and, before that, Pennylane Records.
This story was originally published April 9, 2024 at 12:43 PM.
