Coach plans to stay at Legends Outlets

The Kansas City, Kan., Coach outlet store will go from pop-up to permanent tenant.

In May 2014, the luxury brand known for its high quality handbags opened a temporary 6,750-square-foot store in the Legends Outlets Kansas City, 1867 Village West Parkway. The retailer planned to operate it through the summer, then extended the lease through the holidays and beyond.

Now corporate officials have confirmed that they have signed a lease for a larger space in the Legends.

Coach took an 8,337-square-foot space at 1855 Village West Parkway, former home to Backfire BBQ Featuring Orange County Choppers. Backfire closed in September 2013.

Andrea Shaw Resnick, spokeswoman for Coach, said an August opening is scheduled. Coach Factory will continue to operate in its temporary location until the new space is ready.

In a statement, Dan Lowe, senior managing partner of RED Legacy, operating partner for the Legends, said he knew Coach would perform well but “the reality of its success is beyond anything we predicted.”

In other Legends updates, RED Legacy wants to put up a new multi-tenant building at 1703 Village West Parkway. The project is going through city planning with proposed tenants as Noodles & Company, Visionworks and Mattress Firm. Officials with RED declined to comment on the building.

Versona and Chipotle openings

▪ Versona, a Charlotte, N.C.-based women’s boutique chain, has opened a store in Olathe Pointe Shopping Center, 14631 W. 119th St., near Marshalls.

Versona offers women’s apparel and accessories, including jewelry, handbags, and shoes at “low prices everyday.” The stores have an easy-to-shop format with merchandise organized by color and trends. Parent company, Cato Corp., was founded in 1946 and now operates 1,300 specialty stores in 32 states under the Cato, Versona, It’s Fashion and It’s Fashion Metro brands.

▪ Chipotle Mexican Grill is now open in the Prairie Village Shopping Center, 6920 Mission Road, Suite C. It is the company’s 27th area restaurant.

Italian Gardens ToGo closes

A drive-through only operation, Italian Gardens ToGo , has closed in Overland Park.

In a Facebook post, owner John David DiCapo called the closing bittersweet. Still, he said he will not miss any more of his daughter’s basketball games or Sunday dinners with his family.

“I cooked a big pork roast Sunday with a recipe off the Food Network. I went to church, went to the gym, I got my life back,” DiCapo said this week. “It’s a tough business and it is definitely not getting any easier. Just finding employees. At the Gardens downtown we had some of the same employees for 40 or 50 years.”

The drive-through only operation opened in mid-2013 at 7335 W. 119th St. DiCapo is trying to lease or sell the 850-square-foot freestanding building.

Italian Gardens ToGo offered items made with the same recipes used at the famed downtown Italian Gardens restaurant, which closed in late 2003 after nearly 80 years of operations.

Among the selections: appetizers like toasted ravioli, salads, pizza by the slice, spaghetti and meatballs, baked lasagna, and Italian steak sandwiches, along with a children’s menu.

DiCapo first opened the drive-through only operation in 2009 on Barry Road and hoped it would be so successful that he could open more locations and perhaps even franchise the concept.

This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 11:22 AM with the headline "Coach plans to stay at Legends Outlets."