Johnson County brunch restaurant opens in popular shopping district
A former Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant in Leawood looks different now.
It no longer dons neon yellow and red accents. Instead, Mexican music plays brightly. Churro waffles are served, and customers slurp mimosas almost as big as they are.
There is one similarity, however: A Nashville hot chicken sandwich is available. It’s on the lunch menu — something AR’s Breakfast & Brunch has never offered before. Manager Jimena Martinez said lunch has been popular among business owners and employees at Park Place shopping center.
The new spot at 11635 Ash St. opened a few weeks ago, marking the third current location for AR’s. The local brunch restaurant’s others are at 4117 Pennsylvania Ave. in Westport and 8021 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park.
It’s technically the fourth, if you’re counting the Olathe location at 105 S. Claiborne Road that closed at the end of 2024. Construction for the Santa Fe and I-35 corridor project killed the spot.
Martinez said things have been fairly busy at the new location, even more so than some of AR’s other restaurants were at this stage. It’s attracting both first-timers and longtime customers alike.
“We have a lot new. We have a lot that have gone to other (locations),” she said.
Returning customers will recognize old favorites like chilaquiles (fried corn chips in signature red or green sauce with sour cream, queso fresco, two eggs, breakfast potatoes and black beans for $13.99), a banana monster waffle (Belgian waffle with peanut butter, banana, granola and whipped cream for $10.99) and la bandera omelet (three-egg omelet with grilled chicken, mozzarella, salsa verde, salsa roja and sour cream for $13.99).
So far, Martinez said, the chilaquiles and horchata waffles (Belgian waffle with cinnamon and sugar, topped with honey cream drizzle, powdered sugar and whipped cream for $10.99) have been favorites.
Another notable feature is its giant mimosa, which contains two bottles’ worth of champagne. Martinez said it’s the biggest mimosa in the state.
Owner Oscar Romero first opened AR’s on Metcalf in the summer of 2023. After he’d worked two decades in the restaurant business in KC and Houston, the spot was an attempt to venture on his own.
In addition to his other AR’s locations, Romero opened Mexican street snack spot Snack Bar in Lenexa at 7789 Quivira Road. It debuted in early 2025.
Previously, Romero told The Star he was looking forward to opening a location in Park Place.
“It was just the perfect place for us,” he said. “The shopping center itself is pretty amazing.”
Before AR’s moved in, Nashville hot chicken restaurant Mother Clucker held a space there for a year and a half. It opened in mid-2024 and closed at the end of 2025.
Over a month ago, LaPez Mod Mex closed at 11563 Ash St. Panache also closed recently at 11555 Ash St.
AR’s Leawood location is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.