A James Beard pizza restaurant coming to KC’s River Market? Technically, yes
The River Market will soon be home to a James Beard restaurant.
Not a James Beard Award winner — not yet, at least. Jimmy B’s Pizza and Wings, owned by a gentleman named James Beard, will open next month inside River Bluff Brewing, at 201 Main St.
Beard has been serving Detroit-style slices in the back room at the Strawberry Hill bar The Davenport since January. Demand from UberEats and DoorDash was high enough that he quit his full-time telecommunications job in March.
But business has been slow at the bar itself.
“There just weren’t enough dine-in guests,” Beard said.
On a recent trip to River Bluff Brewing, Beard noticed that Caldwell’s Burgers appeared to have closed its counter inside the brewery. He talked to the owners and came to an agreement to lease the space.
This past Saturday was Jimmy B’s final day in Strawberry Hill. Beard is aiming for a July 1 opening at River Bluff, possibly sooner if the Health Department gives him the all-clear.
The new space will allow him to stretch his ambitions. Gone is Beard’s $800 oven, replaced by a much larger, $25,000 model that can crank out up to 190 pies an hour. He’s also upgrading the menu to add calzones, more wing sauces and eventually hand-tossed pies.
“But Detroit-style is still our primary focus,” Beard said. “It’s a niche for us. A few other places locally offer it, but mostly as a limited-time-only deal or an afterthought on the menu. We want it to be our flagship thing.”
He’ll be closed Monday and Tuesdays, but otherwise hours at Jimmy B’s will mirror River Bluff’s: Wednesday and Thursday from 3 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11 to 8 p.m.
