Inside 3 restaurants recently added to Kansas City’s River Market district
.jpg "Car No. 551 offers The Hog & Heifer, a half-pound double cheeseburger with a quarter-pound of kielbasa.")
Kansas City’s River Market is already home to several popular restaurant and retail spots — Thou Mayest, Pigwich and Brown & Loe, to name a few.
Now William Jordan, owner of a newly opened deli concept in a vintage trolley, has recently joined the district, along with two other concepts. HIs business, Car No. 551; Sushi Nami; and The Paella Mix have all opened in the River Market in the past few weeks.
So far, it’s been a successful spot for serving sandwiches, Jordan said on Friday as dozens of Detroit Lions fans wandered past ahead of Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
“I always thought it was a great spot,” Jordan said. “But until we were actually here and now we see the foot traffic, you don’t realize how many of the out-of-town tourists that we get.”
Car No. 551
On the corner of Fifth and Delaware, the smell of burgers and fries float through the air. Jordan grills inside a 1940s street car known as “Trolley Tom.”
A few customers gather on the patio, and a few more sit inside. At Car No. 551, customers can enjoy their cuisine on site or take it to go. Sandwiches are served in boxes either way.
So far, it’s been a lively run at the former Donutology site (and Made in KC before that). He’s had fun greeting customers and their pups.
“The neighbors have been really supportive,” Jordan said. “Everybody’s excited to see the concept.”
Jordan’s liquor license is pending, but he plans to offer drinks. More vegetarian options are on the way, too.
At the moment, his lunch menu consists of several hot and cold sandwiches. His most popular — and largest — offering is The Hog & Heifer for $17. It contains a half-pound double cheeseburger with thin-sliced, seared kielbasa (from Jason Kelce-approved Peter May’s).
“Our core focus was just to get together a small menu that we could execute really well, that’s quality, and start with that,” he said.
On the weekends, he serves breakfast sandwiches and plans to add some dessert options (Jordan also owns catering company Tasty Unicorn). He’s thinking more along the lines of root beer floats and other things that won’t encroach upon existing businesses like Betty Rae’s.
“We’re all locally owned small businesses here,” Jordan said. “That’s kinda nice.”
Jordan found out about the spot in the first place through his other company, Fountain City Printing, which helped update the outer wrap on the Donutology trolley a few months ago. During that time, the property owner told him the space’s lease would be up soon.
That’s when the two began brainstorming ideas for what could come next, and Jordan thought a quick but quality restaurant would make for the perfect option on the busy River Market corner.
“I’ve always been really drawn to the trolley to begin with, so we started throwing out some ideas,” he previously told The Star. “Here we are.”
It’s open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Jordan has big plans for the holidays: a pop-up holiday train with a live pianist that will make customers feel like “1950s Christmas threw up in here.”
Tickets for the pop-up have yet to be released.
The Paella Mix
Inside the City Market, owner Carlos Saura simmers massive pots of paella at his new restaurant, The Paella Mix.
It lives at 25 E. Third Street, in the old Tenderloin Grill spot.
While Saura had his elbows deep in stew late Friday afternoon and was unable to answer many questions, he confirmed to The Star that it had been a busy start.
The list of paella spots in the metro is fairly short, but it includes La Bodega at 703 Southwest Blvd. and La Cubana at 5716 NE Antioch Road.
The Paella Mix offers tapas (small bites to share), bocadillos (savory sandwiches), desserts, and of course, varying amounts of paella.
For $80, the paella negra feeds about four people. It contains squid ink with prawn, octopus, white wine and calamari.
Individual pans offered include the paella valenciana ($12) with chicken, pork, red pepper and rosemary.
It’s open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Sushi Nami
Sushi Nami has opened its second spot at 108 E. Fifth St., replacing Bo’s Kitchen.
Its original spot is in the Northland at 200 NE Barry Road. Its owners could not be reached for comment.
Specialty rolls on its menu include the Doggy Dog (shrimp tempura, cream cheese and avocado topped with crab meat, eel sauce and spicy mayo), caterpillar roll (BBQ eel and cucumber topped with avocado, eel sauce and spicy mayo) and Mr. Fantastic (tuna, mango, cream cheese and lime topped with yellowtail, white tuna, jalapeno and cilantro).
Sushi Nami is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.