Johnson County Argentine restaurant opens: Cheesecake, dancing, ‘something different’
Tango dancers. Full English teas. Spanish lessons.
Claudia Luna wants her new Shawnee restaurant to offer experiences that patrons can’t find anywhere else in the metro.
That’s in addition, of course, to its upscale Argentine cuisine: empanadas, lomo al verdeo steak, Argentine-style gnocchi, Napoleon cake and dulce de leche cheesecake, for example.
Buenos Aires Restaurante’s tagline — “a place to be” — encapsulates Luna’s vision of bringing the community together. When she opened the doors to her 10919 Johnson Drive restaurant on Saturday, her first guests sat in velvet chairs and sipped tea from tea cups while watching dancers spin around the room.
The restaurant is in burgeoning downtown Shawnee, which will also soon welcome a Spanish tapas bar called Gilda’s.
“Saturday was fully booked … I couldn’t accommodate any walk-ins,” Luna said. “They called me, they sent me messages like, ‘The opening couldn’t have been better.’”
The dining room, painted a deep red and covered in Renaissance-era paintings, draws design inspiration from European and Argentine style. Many Argentine people have Spanish, Italian and German ancestry.
Luna’s restaurant is a family affair in more ways than one.
Her father had restaurants and a catering business in Tucumán, Argentina, and Luna began to help when she was old enough.
After she moved to the United States five years ago, she started a catering business and began cooking for families around Johnson County.
Buenos Aires’ menu includes some of her father’s favorite recipes. She also employs help from her brother, children, cousins and best friends.
On Luna’s website, customers can find a full roster of events.
Every afternoon at 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, Luna offers a full English tea with pastries and sandwiches.
Tango lessons are offered Wednesday evenings, with milonga and tango dancers performing Fridays and Saturdays. Karaoke will be Thursdays.
(For more information on tango lessons or language lessons, customers can contact Luna at buenosairesrestaurantkc@gmail.com.)
While young people have some places to congregate, Luna said there aren’t as many for middle-aged folks. Especially with people spending more time at home than ever before.
“My idea is that people have something different,” Luna said. “They can come here, relax, get out of their houses … I want people to come out to a space where they feel like they are welcome and they are home.”
Buenos Aires is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday for brunch.