Lenexa’s Happy-X is two businesses in one

Zaid Consuegra worked as a butcher in Lenexa’s Vive Latino’s market for three years before the business downsized.

Consuegra then took over the former butcher shop’s space in Lenexa Plaza, 7775 Quivira Road, earlier this year. He spent several months turning it into a restaurant, even making his tables and chairs, display shelves and bar with the help of friends.

“You get pretty handy when you have no money,” Consuegra said.

In May, he opened the Happy-X as two businesses in one.

Monday through Thursday it’s a coffee shop and cafe selling coffee drinks, panini, salads, tapas and pastas. Consuegra also roasts his own coffee called Pirate’s Bone and is now baking items in-house, including his honey brioche.

But he didn’t want to work long hours on a daily basis. So he leases out the space Friday through Sunday to the Veramendi family to operate a Peruvian restaurant, Antojitos del Peru Peruvian Food, which sells such items as ceviche, Lomo Saltado and Milanesa.

“It’s like any relationship. It has it’s up and downs. You aren’t going to think the same and you aren’t always going to like what the other person does,” Consuegra said. “But it has been really convenient for a start-up, to bring someone else in to help with costs. But you have to talk things through.”

Johnson County shopping center updates

Leawood Town Center Plaza has confirmed two new tenants, including one that’s first to this market.

▪ Hanna Andersson will enter the metro area with a new 1,766-square-foot space at 4832 W. 119th St. The retailer is known for “comfortable, high-quality clothing for children and babies.” It plans a December opening.

▪ Sephora, a leading chain of perfume and cosmetics stores, is taking a 5,538-square-foot spot at 5056 W. 119th St. It plans an early 2015 opening.

The nearby Park Place in Leawood has signed two new first-to-market retailers.

▪ Etiquette Boutique, a locally owned shop, plans to open a 1,200-square-foot store at 5275 W. 116th Place in late October. It will offer classic and contemporary clothing and accessories and gifts. The family also has two shops in Florida.

▪ Mackech, a designer, manufacturer and exporter of jewelry and fashion accessories, has opened a 959-square-foot shop at 11531 Ash St.

Overland Park’s new Prairiefire has lost one tenant.

Bridal Extraordinaire, a 20-year-old Shawnee bridal and special occasion dress shop, opened in a 4,000-square-foot space at 5601 W. 135th St. in May and closed earlier this month.

“The developers are wonderful people, great to work with,” said Vickie Cackler, owner. “We had a short term lease with an option to extend it.”

Cackler declined to comment on reasons for the store closing.

Quick bite

The partners behind the 4-year-old Bar West in Shawnee have scheduled a mid-November opening for their new Mission location.

The former Mission Tire and Service Center at 6101 Johnson Drive is being turned into The Bar. The Bar will feature the same menu as Bar West, including wraps, entree salads, soups, specialty burgers and sandwiches, as well as daily specials from seafood to pot roast.

The Bar will seat 96 people inside and 40 on a patio facing Johnson Drive. It will keep two of the service center’s garage doors to open when the weather is nice. It will have about 20 employees.

“It’s really a unique area — all the growth there, young people moving in, a lot of walkers,” said Barry Wiser, operating partner for the restaurant group.

This story was originally published September 23, 2014 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Lenexa’s Happy-X is two businesses in one."