Former Johnson County Italian restaurant will become ‘fresh-Mex’ taco spot
A former Leawood Italian restaurant will be transformed into a taco and margarita restaurant.
Local Lime — an Arkansas-based “fresh-Mex” restaurant — will open a spot at 5005 W. 117th St., in the former home of Bravo! Italian Kitchen. This will be the fourth spot in the country and first in the KC metro. If all goes as planned, it will open in August or September.
The brand markets itself as more of a coastal Mexican restaurant, aiming to stand out in a state flooded with Tex-Mex establishments.
Their aim is more fish-focused, colorful dishes, said Amber Brewer, chief marketing officer for Local Lime.
“It’s not even a spin; it just is what it is,” Brewer said. “We’re just showcasing the more vibrant and fresh side of the cuisine.”
Menu favorites include shrimp and brie quesadillas, ribeye tacos, crispy ahi tuna tacos, salmon Veracruz and tres-rum spiked tres leches.
The restaurant makes six different salsas, made of fresh fruits and vegetables, every morning from scratch. Salsa flavors include Caribbean mango, verde tomatillo, tres chiles and chipotle.
Good news, margarita lovers: The juice is squeezed every four hours.
“Every syrup, every sauce is gonna be made from scratch,” Brewer said.
True to its name, a lime is served with almost every dish.
Local Lime first opened in Little Rock 15 years ago.
With locations in Little Rock; Rogers, Arkansas; and Germantown, Tennessee, Brewer said they’d frequently hear customers from out of town request spots closer to their homes.
One of the most requested spots was Kansas City.
“We had so many people sit around our bar and say, ‘Wish y’all were in Kansas City,’” Brewer said. “When this space came open in Leawood, we were like, ‘This is great for us.’”
It offers full table service, but Brewer doesn’t want it to be a stiff, uptight place. Customers can come in sweaty gym clothes or date-night garbs.
Brewer said they’ve been training Kansas City’s management team for over a year to open the new spot and keep the flavors as true to the brand as possible.
“Our kitchen and our crew is classically trained because that’s important to us, not because we’re trying to offer a fine-dining experience,” she said.
Arkansas’ Yellow Rocket Concepts owns Local Lime, along with several other restaurant brands. Burger chain Big Orange, Taco & Tamale Co., and pizza restaurant Zaza Fine Salad & Wood-Oven Pizza Co.
Bravo closed its Leawood location in May 2023 after two decades at its Town Center location.