After two years as a cocktail pop-up, Kansas City couple plans to open their own bar
For a few years now, the cocktail pop-up Moon Bar has been collaborating with local bars and restaurants for one-night-only events featuring Asian-inspired drinks.
Now owners Saranya and Zachary Hubbard are preparing to open a brick-and-mortar spot of their own, on a Columbus Park block that’s also home to Café Cà Phê, Wolfepack BBQ, and Swoon Cookie Crafters.
“It will be a tea house during the day, with Asian tea hand-selected by myself,” Saranya said. “And at night we’ll be serving cocktails.”
The space — 911 E. Fifth St., formerly a hair salon called Hair Bar — is currently under construction. Saranya said she hoped to have Moon Bar up and running there by the end of the year.
Moon Bar has gained a following over the past two years through its monthly pop-ups at venues like Swordfish Tom’s, Mitch y Amaro, XO and Chingu. Saranya had the idea to start it after moving to Kansas City in 2020 from Bangkok, where she worked at a bar that specialized in Japanese-style bartending, which emphasizes precision and harmony of flavors.
“The style is Japanese, but the influences come from all of Asia: China, Thailand, Korea, even the Middle East,” Saranya said.
Among her creations are the Sweet Peas & Bamboo, made with Japanese shochu and absinthe, and a kimchi-infused tequila drink topped with house-made ginger beer.
The pop-ups will continue while the Hubbards build out the Columbus Park space. Next up is an April 24 event at Triune that will pair Moon Bar’s cocktails with that restaurant’s American fusion cuisine. After that is a to-be-determined May date at Of Course in Overland Park celebrating AAPI month with a collaboration between Of Course chef Swetha Newcomb, Chewology’s Katie Liu-Sung and Waldo Thai’s Pam Liberda.
