Mexican-style bar and restaurant opens in Kansas City with ‘great margaritas’
A stylish new Mexican-style cantina in the Crossroads bears only a slight resemblance to its former life as a telecommunications building.
Owners Zach Marten and Bret Springs bought the old brick building that was once a Mobilefone store and painted the walls sandy pink and eucalyptus green.
Then they quietly opened their restaurant, Crossroads Cantina, about a week ago at 1925 Baltimore Ave.
The duo is expanding their restaurant group’s reach — which includes The Rockhill Grille and The Wise Guy — with the new spot.
“We just kinda wanted to take that vibe and atmosphere and do the same with a Mexican concept,” Marten said. “Great margaritas, great music, fun, energetic atmosphere.”
At the cantina, cacti and other houseplants sit happily in a heated sun room with several booths and tables. Its retractable roof and side panels transform the spot into an open-air seating area when the weather’s nice.
High-top seating allows customers to sip cocktails at a tile-lined bar. Textured walls play into the restaurant’s Southwestern feel.
Chef Clark Grant cooks up a variety of Mexican-inspired dishes with a contemporary twist.
“It’s kind of a modern take on Tex-Mex, if you will,” Grant said. “We’re using more traditional techniques than Tex-Mex.”
Think dishes made completely from scratch, wood-fired protein and vegetables, and sauce from dried chilis.
The menu contains dishes Grant learned to love working in restaurants in Chicago and Georgia throughout the years. Several other cooks at Crossroads Cantina who hail from Mexico helped Grant build the menu, taste-testing the food.
“I try to pay reverence and homage to it,” Grant said. “Everybody has a voice and an opinion on things.”
It’s hard for him to pick a favorite menu item, Grant said, since they’re all “like his kids,” but he tells customers not to sleep on the rotisserie chicken. He said wood firing the meat over pecan wood gives it a flavor boost.
Grant thinks the vetting process has created a list of crowd pleasers.
“You’re not gonna find too many esoteric ingredients on our menus,” he said.
Other offerings include cremaqueso enchiladas for $18 (grilled shrimp with cremaqueso sauce and avocado salsa verde), ahi tuna tostado for $15 (ahi tuna, guacamole, salsa macha, radish, cucumber and cilantro), and portobello mushroom fajitas for $16.
As for the drinks, its seasonal margaritas (right now coconut is the featured flavor) are $14, Paloma Flaca (Libelula tequila, lime, salt and fresca) is $14, and chocolate martini is $16. Several other mixed drinks and beers are on the menu.
Marten and Springs said they wanted to keep the prices as reasonable as possible. Most items are under $30 (the ribeye is an exception at $59). From 4 to 6 p.m., dips are $4, margaritas and sangria are $10, and beers are $5.
While the spot bears little resemblance in theme to its sister concepts, the restaurateurs see Crossroads Cantina as another piece in a mosaic of nearby restaurants — both The Wise Guy and The Rockhill Grille are just down the street.
“We’re trying to diversify a little bit, and a lot of that comes from us trying to stay in this area and have a group of restaurants that are basically next door to each other,” Marten said. “We wanna continue to fill a niche here.”
“Honestly, we’re just having fun,” Springs added.
Crossroads Cantina is open from 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, and 4 to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
The duo is also running Miracle KC on the Plaza and at The Rockhill Grille until Dec. 23.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 5:00 AM.