New cocktail bar opens in KC’s Crossroads: ‘Affordable and approachable’
The Wise Guy, The Rockhill Grille, Crossroads Cantina and, now, Cleo Club.
Patrons of The Rockhill Grille in the Crossroads may have noticed a door adjacent to the restaurant, with gold lettering spelling out the bar’s name. If they pull the jungle cat-shaped handle, they’ll find a steep set of stairs winding through the dim lights.
A sizable leopard painting marks the entrance of the restaurant group’s newest cocktail bar, which quietly began welcoming customers about two weeks ago.
Rockhill Grille’s leadership — Zach Marten, Bret Springs and Clark Grant — have long used the spot at 2000 Grand Blvd. as a satellite dining room. But they wanted a spot where fans waiting to get into one of the group’s three restaurants could go. They put their heads together and came up with Cleo Club: a sleek, mellow cocktail bar with simple but quality drinks.
“Kansas City’s got a long history with great cocktail bars,” Grant said. “We wanted to do something similar but different … affordable and approachable.”
Grant, the food and beverage director for the group, didn’t want to put anything too esoteric on the menu. It’s a lot of things people would recognize: Mai Tai, jungle bird, clover club, paloma, white Russian, sea breeze and more.
All the house cocktails are $13. At happy hour (5 to 6 p.m. daily), they drop to $9.
While they may be recognizable, a few have a signature Cleo Club twist. The margarita, for example, comes with a mountain of Japanese shaved ice on top. As the pile melts, it will create a slushy-type drink, but Grant promised the ratio of ice to drink is enough that it won’t taste watery.
Inside, plush booths and velvet curtains fill the room. The dimly lit space features a mix of orange and greens.
A few leopard and cheetah-print accents are scattered throughout as well.
Grant said the group thought of the design first, then tried to find something that would fit well with the idea. They wanted a name that would be equally stylish.
“Cleo is one of the most common names for large cats, especially large female cats, dating back to Cleopatra,” Grant said.
It was a quick build-out, just about six months from start to finish.
Since Cleo Club has opened, staff at the other three concepts have been sending over customers who are waiting for a table. That’s kind of the goal, Grant said.
“In super close proximity there’s not a ton of places to go, just grab a drink and wait for a table if you’re on a waiting list,” he said.
Cleo Club has a few spots saved for reservations but is a majority first-come, first-served. It’s open 5 to 11 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 5 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
Crossroads Cantina opened just down the street, 1925 Baltimore Ave., at the end of the year. It offers modern Mexican cocktails and dishes, like taco salad, cremaqueso enchiladas, green chile burgers and more.