Michelin-starred chef to open restaurant on KC riverfront, but not by World Cup
The name of the restaurant has yet to be revealed. But Michelin-starred chef Nicholas Sefanelli is set to open an Italian restaurant on Kansas City’s riverfront, the KC Current announced Friday.
“This will be Stefanelli’s first announced project outside of his native Washington, D.C.-area,” the Current said in a statement.
Although the Current originally said the restaurant was to open by the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June, the organization later amended that that statement to say it would not open by the World Cup. An opening date has not been set.
The statement about the restaurant, however, also comes one day after the Washington Business Journal reported that Stefanelli on Wednesday had also filed for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy, although the operation of his restaurants are not affected. Federal bankruptcy records show that his annual salary has gone from approximately $300,000 in 2024 to $90,000 last year. It shows he currently had debts of $800,000.
Stefanelli’s restaurant, Masseria, in Washington’s Union Market area, has earned a Michelin star, an award for culinary excellence, since opening in 2015 and has maintained it since. Stefanelli, who is from Washington and is of Italian and Greek descent, also operates a more causal restaurant, Officina, along The Warf, on Washington’s waterfront.
“We are honored to work with Chef Stefanelli, a chef and business owner who is eager to get to know our city and become a part of our community,” Chris and Angie Long, the principal owners of the KC Current, the professional women’s soccer team, said in a press release.
The Longs of Mission Hills, Kansas, are also the principal forces behind a 10-year, $1 billion development along the revitalized riverfront to include hundreds of apartments, as well as bars, shops, restaurants and businesses in an area known as Current Landing.
“Our partnership with Chef Stefanelli highlights the appeal of Kansas City’s waterfront,” the Longs’ statement continued, “and our commitment to making Current Landing our city’s culinary epicenter.”
The Landing, first announced in 2025, is being erected at a heady pace. Its first phase is set to open by June. Two multi-unit apartment residences, the River’s Edge, and Confluence, have begun pre-leasing.
Stefanelli, as part of the prepared statement, said, “Kansas City has a rich culinary landscape that I look forward to embracing, and Current Landing builds on that tradition. I am grateful to Angie and Chris Long for bringing me into this project.”
A look at Masseria’s menu online (no prices listed) include plates such as a hand-rolled Puglian pasta, Orvia duck ragu and parmigiana cheese. Another: potato gnocchi with tomato, basil and mozzarella. It also lists a roasted veal loin, porcini sausage, hay-smoked sweetbread, celery root, black trumpet mushroom and salsa verde.
Stefanelli’s new restaurant is expected to face the waterfront.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 4:16 PM.
