Former Kansas City movie theater coming back to life. First up: an upscale restaurant
These days, the name Screenland is associated locally with the historic movie house on Armour Boulevard in North Kansas City.
But from 2004 to 2013, Screenland also operated a single-screen, 150-seat boutique theater in a former cold storage warehouse on the West Side, at 1656 Washington.
The building houses a few assorted businesses, including the headquarters of Three Dog Bakery, but has been largely sleepy since the movie theater closed.
Lately, though, signs of life are stirring. Denver developer Ken Wolf bought the 47,000-square-foot building in 2021, announcing plans at the time to make it a restaurant destination. Last week, the first of those restaurants debuted: Triune.
“I’ve been describing it as ‘fine casual,’” owner Steven Blakley said Monday. “It’s upscale dining but a little bit casual. The menu is modern American fusion — we’re infusing Hispanic and Middle Eastern and Southern flavors into classic American dishes.”
Blakley is the founder of UHUNGRY?, a local restaurant group that operates the burger stand Sauced in a courtyard outside the Corrigan Building.
Triune occupies just shy of 3,000 square feet of Wolf’s building, with about 90 seats inside and another 30 or so on the patio facing 17th Street. (Blakley said they haven’t opened the patio yet due to the heat, but plan to soon.)
Earth tones abound — green velvet banquettes, exposed brick, concrete tables, and plenty of plants, including curly dock weeds that hang from the ceiling above the bar.
The name — it’s pronounced “try-oon” — is meant to conjure an image of “three things coming together at once,” Blakley said.
“Space, service, and you — the individual customer,” Blakley said. “We want to have all three of those working together cohesively here as one functioning unit.”
Starters on the menu from chef Rodolfo Rodriguez, formerly of La Bodega and Blu Hwy, include a kofta (pork sausage, lamb, grilled pineapple chutney, flatbread; $15), charred asparagus (pickled mustard seeds, lemon, sunny side egg; $14), Cubano sliders (mojo roasted pork, mustard seed aioli, brioche roll, pickle; $12) and avocado toast ($15).
Among the entrees are coffee short ribs (espresso-orangedemi, ancient grains, Dalkon radish; $29), a roasted duck (sauteed greens, pan jus, hibiscus tea reduction, crispy skin; $34) and scallops (brown butter basted, lme, cumin, grilled chayote squash, spring onion; $32).
The cocktail list from bar manager Evelyn Torres-Chico ranges from $12 to $15 and features original creations like the Sunflower (Bulleit bourbon, St. George’s spiced pear liqueur, orgeat syrup) and classics like a smoked old fashioned made with reserve straight bourbon from local distillery Union Horse.
“A lot of our cocktails you can also order as mocktails,” Blakley said.
Hours for now are 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Blakley said they plan to offer brunch on Saturday and Sunday starting in September.
