Bolivian immigrant tending bar in Kansas City ‘very shocked’ by James Beard nod
No two nights at Fern Bar are the same.
That’s bar manager Diana Condori’s goal, anyway. If conversations between tables are bubbling over like Prosecco, and laughter is flowing freely like wine, she’ll crank the volume to a pop playlist and watch elbows rub.
On nights when patrons quietly sip cocktails, she’ll play swelling tunes. Either way, customers always have a say.
“I worked at places where that didn’t matter,” she told The Star in a recent interview inside her bar at 2041 Broadway Blvd. “But it does.”
Sitting in front of the bar top behind an exposed brick wall, Condori told The Star she’s unsure how she became a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist. She wasn’t looking to win awards, just clock in and have fun.
But she has a theory.
“It’s all about having a good time, just not taking yourself too seriously. At the end of the day we’re not saving lives here,” Condori said. “I think I’m able to curate that safe feeling of, ‘Yeah, she gets it.’”
And now that she’s gained some attention, she hopes it will fuel her next venture: a bird-themed bar that’s yet to take flight — more on that later.
For now, she’s still clocking in and out of Fern Bar, adjusting the vibe and helping create quality cocktails with the help of her teammates.
Fern Bar has a subtle Southwestern feel, with eggshell walls, brass accents, and a striking absence of ferns, despite its name. Its coffered ceilings and pendant globe light fixtures give the space a retro feel.
Owner Bryan Arri opened it in early 2024 as an homage to singles-friendly bars that emerged in the 60s. The so-called fern bars peaked in the ‘70s and ‘80s.
Arri aimed to create a communal space inside the former bank building, most recently home to antique store Architectural Salvage.
“Fern Bar’s four core pillars are honesty, integrity, generosity and kindness,” Arri said. “Those are the four elements that I feel like are the most important, especially in hospitality.”
People know each other in the KC bar scene, and Arri admired Condori’s work at TikiCat, a Westport bar that closed in 2020. When TikiCat shut down, he promised Condori that he’d ask her to help open a bar someday.
Condori moved to San Francisco and worked in the cocktail industry there. Years later, still in California, she got word from Arri that he was moving forward with his dream and wanted her assistance. Perfect timing, she said, since she desired to move closer to her mother in KC.
Condori’s hard work at Fern Bar culminated into one panicked morning this January, when she rolled over and pulled out her phone. Her heart rate quickened as she saw a dozen or so missed calls from Arri.
“The thing that came to my head was, ‘Something happened to the bar. It must’ve burned down or someone broke in,’” Condori said.
She answered and discovered that, thankfully, her workplace wasn’t engulfed in flames. Then Arri gave her the news: She’d just been announced as a semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.
The weight of vying for the prestigious award came flooding in all at once.
“I felt really confused and a little bit overwhelmed, honestly,” Condori admitted. “I was very shocked that my hard work was being noticed.”
Arri was shocked, too — “I thought it might be a few more years until we ever caught the eye of James Beard” — but he contended that, if anyone deserved it, it was Condori.
“She’s such a dedicated, hard worker who is so thoughtful in her approach to building culture,” he said. “It’s the warmth that she can bring to the entire bar top.”
‘Fell in love with the community’
There aren’t many people who intend to go into bartending, Condori told The Star. And her path into the industry was, like a lot of people’s, unexpected and unplanned.
The mixologist grew up in La Paz, Bolivia, and immigrated to the U.S. as an 11 year old.
“Didn’t know English, didn’t know anybody,” she said. “It was just me, my mom and my stepdad.”
At 16, she landed her first job in the service industry: a team member at burger chain Five Guys. She worked at District Pour House + Kitchen in Waldo at 18, and at 21, she asked her bosses at District if she could become a bartender.
There was something about bartenders, Condori said. Their poise, their confidence, the way they carried the energy in the room. She spent nights jealously watching them pour drinks and flit between customers with smiles.
“I thought they were so cool,” Condori said.
When she learned how to mix drinks and serve customers behind the bar, she discovered there was more to love about bartending. After many homesick days in the U.S., she began to develop a support system within the industry.
“I really fell in love with the community,” she said. “There’s something that I really missed having that community back home in Bolivia.”
Condori dropped out of film school and went all-in on bartending.
Working at Fern Bar and developing the menu, she seeks to infuse her Bolivian culture into the experience.
She loves tropical and tiki drinks with Latin flavors. Her dream is to bring a tasty Bolivian liquor called Singani to the area. It’s not available in Missouri just yet.
While the entire bar staff collaborates on drinks, she highlighted the No-Fly Zone, a cocktail she made with co-worker Josue Navarro.
It’s meant to mimic the iconic KCTV5 tower and has aged rum, Mazzura aperitif, lime, tepache, and a puff of pineapple foam on top. A light inside the red-orange drink makes it look similar to the real structure on Union Hill.
“I think this is the first bar where I feel like my vision came to life when it came to representation, inclusivity, and being able to build a culture that I wanted as a leader,” Condori said. “Bryan (Arri) fully supported me in every step.”
Also on the menu: Oaxaca old-fashioned (Banhez Mezcal, Tapatio Reposado, Lunazul Reposado, agave and mole bitters), the Fern Bar margarita (Libelula Joven, Tapatio Blanco, Nobleton’s Curacao, Agave Gomme and lime) and a piña colada (house rum blend, Clement Coconut, coconut cream, pineapple and lime).
Diana Condori’s hopes for the future
There are lots of great things about the KC cocktail community, but Condori said she misses the diversity she saw in San Francisco. She hopes her presence behind the bar inspires more people of color in her city to take on leadership roles in the industry.
“It was really cool to go to a city where it wasn’t taboo to go in and there was a bunch of Latinos running that bar, or people of color running that bar,” Condori said. “I want to see that more often.”
Even with the possibility of a James Beard Award looming in the distance, her days at Fern Bar are numbered. Condori is chasing a longtime dream of opening her own bar.
She purchased an Airstream camper from Oregon and is bringing it down to KC, converting it into a mobile bar concept.
She’ll call it Condor’s Cove, partially after her last name but also a nod to Bolivia’s national bird. In the next few months, she’ll start tapering back her hours at Fern Bar and start scooting around to weddings and different popups with her camper.
“I’m going into debt,” she said with a laugh.
But hopefully it all pays off. Once she drums up enough funds, she aims to open a permanent space for Condor’s Cove.
She’s grateful for everything she learned at Fern Bar and the confidence it’s given her to take the next step. She called Arri’s space the “blueprint,” and now she’s ready to fly on her own.
And maybe she’ll also win a James Beard Award.
“I never imagined I would be in that list any time soon,” Condori said. “I’ve been focusing on service … and just doing what I do.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 4:00 AM.