This new Kansas City bar is like ‘my best friend’s dad’s basement’
Greta Gunderson loves a good cocktail.
A stuffy, uptight bar — not so much.
While the craft cocktails of her new bar, Something Good, are inventive, the vibes are anything but pretentious. Because in Gunderson’s mind, you don’t have to be snobbish to enjoy a good drink.
“(A cocktail bar) can be intimidating,” Gunderson said, sitting across from The Star at her bar’s grand opening Wednesday. “We just wanted to create a space that was comfortable, unique. The bartender, the space itself makes you feel excited to try something that’s maybe a little bit different for you.”
The new bar is in downtown Kansas City’s Garment District at 802 Broadway Blvd. It’s not a speakeasy, but it has a clandestine feel. To enter, customers descend a flight of stairs into the bowels of the old building.
In 2022, Cliff’s Taphouse said it would open a location in that space, but those plans never came to fruition. The old building, now home to the Harvey Dutton Lofts, opened in 1903 as Harvey-Dutton Dry Goods Co.
Through a second open doorway (sans the door), customers will find a spacious lounge with moody lighting.
When in doubt on where to enter, follow the signs around the buildings and stickers on its windows.
The signs’ promises to deliver “Something Good” provide just the right amount of intrigue.
“I want it to feel like my best friend’s dad’s basement,” she said. “You can go there in your sweatpants, you can go there after a date night to debrief. … You can come as you are.”
The dad-basement feel is helped by a pool table, a few plush couches and some TVs scattered around the bar. It seats a little less than 150.
Something Good is Gunderson’s second concept. Her Columbia bar, Son of a Gun, opened in 2023.
Son of a Gun similarly serves craft cocktails in a lively, casual atmosphere. It’s aimed more at post-college young adults, unlike many of the bars in Columbia.
While Something Good is debuting several new drinks, fans of Gunderson’s Columbia bar will notice that her two most popular drinks are making an appearance.
Don’t Be a Prick is a sour, dark purple drink with vodka, tart pear, lemon and agave.
Hotter in Hell is a mango, lime and habanero drink with tequila. It gets a dip of Tajin on the side of the glass.
Bartenders poured the tried-and-true drinks while joking with customers.
“I would die on a hill for these drinks,” Gunderson said. “My girlfriends will be out drinking somewhere and they’re like … ‘I wish I was drinking a Hotter in Hell right now.’”
Another drink, this one new, is the Dirty Shirley: vodka, aperol and a berry blend with lemon-lime soda.
Something Good is showcasing a few food items, too, including a sack lunch turkey sandwich, Chicago dog, hot chocolate taquito, and potato chips with caviar.
Ultimately, Gunderson wants her space to be a friendly bar for a downtown neighborhood that doesn’t have as many nearby options as other pockets. The Garment District is fairly residential.
“It’s one of those where, it can kind of grow with the neighborhood,” she said. “I want the neighborhood to tell me what they want.”
And if patrons don’t know what to order, just say the bar’s name. Asking for “Something Good” will prompt bartenders to pour a High Life and a shot of tequila.
“That’s my personal drink of choice,” Gunderson said. “It’s nothing fancy.”
Something Good is open every day from 4 p.m. to midnight (or later).
Meanwhile, a Mexican-inspired coffee shop called Veil Cafe is slated to open soon in the same building. Its approximate opening date was not immediately available Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 4:39 PM.