Longtime KC restaurant is one of most family-friendly in US, according to Yelp
A Waldo eatery was named one of the top family-friendly restaurants in the U.S. for 2025.
Governor Stumpy’s Grill House was ranked 95th on Yelp’s recent list of family-friendly restaurants across the country.
The restaurants were chosen based on the number and rating of reviews with the words “family-friendly.” All had passing health inspections. Governor Stumpy’s was the only Kansas City area restaurant on the Yelp list, which also included the St. Louis board game eatery, Pieces.
The spot on south Kansas City’s East Gregory Boulevard has served young and old for 28 years, owner Kevin Ryan said Wednesday.
“Any time of the day you come in here, there’ll be three or four high chairs in the dining room, there’ll be booster chairs, somebody’s up bouncing a kid around,” Ryan said.
People from Waldo, Brookside, Overland Park and beyond come to the restaurant for their baby back ribs, salads and reuben sandwiches, among other dishes. Ryan said families love the corn dogs and french fries on the kids’ menu, and some diners return as many as three times a week.
The restaurant, which bears Ryan’s grandfather’s nickname, has employed some of its workers for decades, in addition to hiring students on school break and parents wanting to make extra money. Ryan says the staff make the restaurant a place where customers’ days get better.
Recently, he spotted an elderly woman stop to greet a baby while passing by a table.
“The lady just smiled, and the baby smiled, and everybody just had a good one minute,” Ryan said.
“It was so cool that someone felt comfortable being able to walk up and say hi to a little baby.”
