Japanese-style tea house, bar in KC will be spot ‘you can’t find anywhere else’
Saranya Hubbard’s hands moved methodically as she assembled a pickled plum martini during a recent visit with The Star.
She gripped hand-cut ice with tongs and gently placed each one into a three-piece Japanese shaker. Using a scale to measure her gin, she gave herself not a splash more leeway than her recipe allows.
She then turned her wrist gently and rhythmically, explaining that everything — from the meticulous shaking to the instruments she uses — affects the customer experience.
Hubbard’s new concept, Moon Bar, is built around the Japanese philosophy of omotenashi. The word means radical hospitality and near-perfection, treating each guest like royalty.
“Something that’s more than service,” she explained. “When a customer sneezes, you just give them a napkin right away without them asking.”
Hubbard — a Thai national from a Chinese family — is calling upon her previous bartending experience to make her new space in Columbus Park, 911 E. Fifth St., a reality.
During the day, Moon Bar will morph into a tea house with the same welcoming spirit, which opened earlier this month.
She learned the art of omotenashi by working at Ku Bar in Bangkok, which was named one of Asia’s 50 best bars in 2017 and 2018. Hubbard can attribute some of her perfectionism to a stint as a food stylist, where she scrupulously arranged food and beverages for professional photoshoots.
While Moon Bar is honing in on the Japanese bartending experience, it will offer cocktails from a few different Asian countries.
“It’s really detailed — everything from the making of the cocktail until it ends up in your hand,” Hubbard said. “Also even how we focus on the flavor, the temperature of the ice, how we stir, how we shake.”
‘I want to do it authentically’
Saranya made her way to the U.S. in 2020, just days before the pandemic hit. She made the trek west to live in the same city as her now-husband, Zachary Hubbard from Kansas City.
The move was a culture shock in many ways. For one, most Bangkok residents rely on public transportation, unlike the Paris of the Plains. But the lack of Japanese-style bars in her new city was especially disappointing.
“We found out that there’s no bar similar to what I used to work in Kansas City,” she said. “I want to do it authentically.”
So, the pair began putting on popups for Moon Bar in 2022. Many happened just across the street at Vietnamese coffee shop Café Cà Phê.
Once their loyal customer base gave them enough confidence, the two began pursuing their brick and mortar.
“We’ve sacrificed everything for this bar. Like everything,” Zachary said, laughing with raised eyebrows .
Unique aesthetic, offerings at new KC spot
To create Moon Bar’s modern yet colorful aesthetic, the pair began collecting furniture and antiques from Asia, as well thrift stores around here.
Artist friends crafted pieces that hang around the 30-seat bar. One is a Chinese phoenix flying over a sign that roughly translates to “bring money in your pocket.” (Hopeful thinking for the new business, they explained.)
The space, once a hair salon, was completely gutted and transformed.
“She’s the brain, I was the muscle,” said Zachary, a former U.S. soldier and MMA fighter.
Moon Bar’s main focus is cocktails, but sake will also be available. The couple makes Thai sake from sticky rice.
Saranya doesn’t like to give her cocktails special names — too hard to remember, she said — but options include a miso shiso Old Fashioned (with miso, shiso leaf, bourbon and maraschino cherry) and a tiger leaf cocktail with club soda, lime and pineapple.
Saranya ships some of her ingredients from Thailand, though she tries to make everything she can from scratch.
“I want to offer something you cannot find anywhere else,” Saranya said.
During the day, sister concept Tian Tea House will offer a variety of specialty Asian teas: premium jasmine rose, long jing, lumyai coconut, tea jellies and more.
Saranya called it a “slow tea bar,” saying they won’t offer anything to-go or in paper cups. Customers can enjoy tea in the traditional way by coming in, drinking a cup and taking a second to breathe.
“We want to be our own thing, and we want to be different from anything else you can experience in the city,” Zachary said.
Tian Teahouse softed open Dec. 15. Its regular hours will be Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Once Moon Bar opens in late January or early February, the space will “flip” into a bar at 5 p.m. and stay open until midnight.
Separate uniforms, playlists and signage will signify the switch.
The couple said they’re still waiting on a liquor license but wanted to go ahead and open the space to customers, hence the tea house getting a head start.
Moon Bar has been years in the making, after all. The duo hopes all their painstaking efforts will be apparent to customers.
“I really carefully created the recipes, the ingredients, everything,” Saranya said. “It’s very special.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.