Restaurant row stretches along 47th Avenue

A new restaurant row is forming along a little stretch of 47th Avenue in Kansas.

Taco Republic and Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que operate on the west end of the stretch at Mission Road and G. Berto Cucina is among the restaurants scheduled to open in the upcoming Woodside Village development on the east end at Rainbow Boulevard.

In between, there’s the new Lulu’s Asian Bistro.

Malisa Monyakula, owner of Lulu’s Thai Noodle Shop in the Crossroads Arts District, took over a building at 2701 W. 47th Ave., Westwood, and spent months remodeling the spot. She lives in the area and said the site is easy for area residents to walk or bike to, and a short drive from the Country Club Plaza and other communities.

“Westwood is such a gem and so centrally located,” she said.

The menu includes such items as suckling pork, confit salmon, chicken curry pot, noodle dishes like Pad Woon Sen and rice dishes like Massaman Curry. It also serves specialty cocktails and desserts like salted caramel apple cobbler.

Longboards Wraps & Bowls opens in Mission

Longboards Wraps & Bowls wants to give its customers a mini-vacation.

“We want it to be like you are at an island for a hour when you come in and you leave with a big happy smile. Let’s have a good day,” said Gilbert Macapagal, founder of the locally owned Longboards.

Macapagal moved to Kansas City from the Philippines when he was 16 years old. He later lived in San Diego, Calif., where he embraced the laid-back surfer lifestyle.

But Kansas City was home, so he returned in 1998. He worked for several Kansas City restaurants and corporate kitchens before opening his first Longboards, a fast-casual concept, in the Northland in 2004.

“Every chef dreams of their own restaurant. But I didn’t want the complications of a full-service operation,” Macapagal said.

A decade later he added a Liberty location with business partner John Bailey. Their new Mission location opened Monday at 5415 Johnson Drive.

The menu includes a wide variety of choices: Cool Style Wraps like the Thai Roll (choice of chicken or steak, pepper jack cheese, vegetables, thin rice noodles, lettuce and peanut sauce), and Grilled Style Wraps like the Cabo Chicken (chicken, guacamole, pepper jack cheese, pico de gallo, rice and chipotle ranch), as well as Hawaiian Sliders, Grilled Flat Wraps, salad bowls, hot noodle bowls, and super-size wraps like the Bad Mofo (steak, hard-boiled egg, pasta salad, mozzarella, lettuce and choice of sauce).

Longboards offers a variety of house-made sauces and dressings, including Thai peanut, Thai chili vinaigrette, wasabi mayo, honey mustard, orange sauce and chipotle ranch.

Overland Park’s Frida’s Taqueria relocating

Just two-and-a-half years after opening in Overland Park, Frida’s Taqueria is relocating.

The locally-owned concept closed Friday in The Fountains, 6537 W. 119th St. It plans to reopen by mid-December at 6705 W. 119th St. in La Paloma Plaza, just west of the Fountains.

Ivan Marquez, founder and owner of Frida’s Taqueria, said he will nearly double his space in the new location and it offers more visibility.

“You can get in and get out in no time,” he said. “We’ll also offer some new menu items.”

Frida’s Taqueria opened in spring 2012 with such menu items as soft shell tacos, tamales, and flautas.

Marquez also owns a full-service Overland Park restaurant, Frida’s Contemporary Mexican Cuisine at 7200 W. 121st St.

This story was originally published October 28, 2014 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Restaurant row stretches along 47th Avenue."