St. Louis-based restaurant chain will close its final KC area location
Lion’s Choice is closing its Liberty location at 129 S. Stewart Road near Liberty Commons.
An employee working at the restaurant Wednesday told The Star that management informed staff Tuesday that the last day would be Saturday, May 17.
The location was the last remaining Lion’s Choice in the Kansas City metro. The St. Louis-based chain, known for its roast beef sandwiches, closed four locations last summer in KC, Olathe, Overland Park and Lee’s Summit.
“Continuing to operate one store will help us evaluate a new Kansas City market strategy, better establish the brand, and plan for future growth here and in other markets,” CEO Fred Burmer said in a statement at the time.
Lion’s Choice’s history stretches back to 1967, when it was known in St. Louis as Red Lion Beef House. It expanded in that city over the following decades and entered the Kansas City market in 1999 with a location at 7337 W. 119th St. in Overland Park. That location closed in 2002.
The chain returned to Kansas City in 2018. “We think this is a 12- to 15-store market,” then-CEO Mike “Kup” Kupstas told The Star at the time.
The Liberty location opened in 2020.
Roughly two dozen Lion’s Choice locations remain open in the St. Louis area.
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 4:32 PM.
