How long has Hereford House been open in Kansas City? A look at the steakhouse’s history
Kansas City area steakhouse chain Hereford House has found itself in the spotlight over the past two months after an employee was charged with unlawfully adulterating or contaminating food at the Leawood location.
Five lawsuits have been filed against the restaurant since Johnson County prosecutors charged 21-year-old Jace Christian Hanson of Kansas City with a felony of contaminating food at 5001 Town Center Drive. As of Wednesday morning, 382 people who ate at the restaurant have contacted police, Leawood Police Chief Brad Robbins said.
According to court documents, Hanson allegedly posted videos on a website under the name “Vandalizer” that showed a man urinating in restaurant-style food bins and rubbing food on his genitals and buttocks, among other types of food contamination.
Hereford House has been serving the Kansas City area for more than 60 years. Take a look at the steakhouse’s long history.
When did Hereford House open?
Hereford House first opened its doors in 1957, at 2 E. 20th St., by Jack Webb and Joe Marlo. They wanted the restaurant to be close to the stockyards in downtown Kansas City, according to the Kansas City Public Library.
They chose to call it Hereford House because of its proximity to the American Hereford Association, a Kansas City-based nonprofit that promotes the Hereford breed of cattle, according to the library.
The original location closed after former owner Rodney Anderson burned down the building with two co-workers, Vincent Pisciotta and Mark Sorrentino, in an attempt to gain insurance money in 2008.
Five years later, Anderson and Sorrentino were sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, while Pisciotta was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, all without parole.
Anderson hired Pisciotta to set fire to the restaurant after it had closed to for the day in order to collect the insurance proceeds that would pay for the remodeling that the restaurant needed, according to the United States Attorney’s Western District of Missouri office. The restaurant never reopened.
It was not the first fire to happen at its downtown location, as a fire had damaged the restaurant in 1966 and forced it to close for a year.
Who owns Hereford House?
Today, Hereford House’s four restaurants are owned by Mary Holland and her business partner, Camellia Hill. She also owns Pierpont’s at Union Station, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
She took ownership of Hereford House in 2012, according to Simply KC Magazine. She was a former president of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association.
Rodney Anderson bought the restaurant chain from David L. Simpson II in 1987 and owned it until his sentencing in 2012. Simpson had purchased the restaurant from Webb in 1980, according to The Star’s archives and the library.
What type of food does Hereford House serve?
Hereford House is a classic steakhouse, serving typical American food like steaks, burgers, chicken and more. The restaurant is known for its steaks, which are aged 21 days, flash-frozen to keep them fresh, then hand-cut and cooked over hot hardwood coals.
Other signature meals at the restaurant include the jumbo sea hogs, carrot cake and iceberg lettuce steakhouse salad with a “pink and yellow” combination of the homemade Italian and cheddar cheese dressings.
How many Hereford House restaurants are there?
There are four Hereford House locations in the Kansas City area:
5001 Town Center Drive, Leawood, which opened in 1997
19721 E. Jackson Drive, Independence, which opened in 2001
8661 N, Stoddard Ave., Zona Rosa, which opened in 2004
17244 Midland Drive, Shawnee, which opened in 2007
A location in Wichita closed in 2020. The downtown Kansas City building was demolished in 2010.
This story was originally published June 3, 2024 at 3:38 PM.
