This new restaurant serving ballpark-style hot dogs is opening in Kansas City
A new bar and restaurant serving ballpark-style hot dogs is opening in Kansas City.
Owner Matt McLain is opening a spot at 320 E. 51st St. in the South Plaza neighborhood, according to city permits.
Called Ding Dong Dogs, the quick-service restaurant will be near the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s campus. It will replace former Mediterranean restaurant Sahara.
The spot’s decor will be inspired by historic baseball stadiums — think Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and Dodger Stadium — and will offer classic ballpark snacks and “high-quality hotdogs with regional toppings,” according to a zoning permit filed in late May.
Though it’ll serve schooners of beer and boxed wine, the restaurant will be family friendly.
An opening date was not publicly available.
In 2023, UMKC announced that it was eyeing a parcel of land near the Ding Dong Dogs site (51st Street and Brookside Boulevard) to build a 5,000 seat arena for basketball and volleyball games.
Plans for the university’s stadium stalled later that year as costs were higher than anticipated.
In May 2024, the university announced in a press release that it had launched a “new vision for the project.”
“That new vision calls for a phased approach, with the first step focused on retail and a later step to include building a small arena for UMKC Division I athletics and community events,” the announcement said.
A date was not given as to when the stadium phase was expected to begin.
Ding Dong Dogs will also be along the southernmost streetcar stop as part of the city’s extension plan, expected to open this fall.