BARBECUE AND PICKLEBALL
Anyone who’s ever visited the Char Bar in Westport to taste their smoked meats, play a round of lawn games, or sip a wood-smoked-infused cocktail quickly notices originality and flavor.
Now, a new Char Bar Smoked Meats & Amusements is heading to the Creekside development near Interstate 435 and Hwy. 45 in Parkville.
Char Bar serves up smoked meats with a variety of sauces, salads, and beverages paired with tastes of the Midwest.
James Westphal, Mark Kelpe, and Mitch Benjamin founded Char Bar in October 2014. The Parkville restaurant at Creekside will become Char Bar’s second location.
The smoky barbecue sauces and rubs used at Char Bar were developed by pitmaster Mitch Benjamin, owner of Meat Mitch Barbecue.
For Benjamin, it started more than two decades ago when he was competing in Kansas City’s American Royal World Series of Barbecue. Each year, he honed and crafted his own take on sauces and eventually bottled a line of signature sauces for public consumption.
Char Bar describes itself as a southern-inspired smokehouse featuring a Kansas City-style barbecue. While the chef’s specialties may be burnt ends and ribs, the menu also has a special selection of salads, platters, and sides. Michael Peterson, culinary director, works closely with the restaurant team to elevate recipes.
“We were trying to do something a little different,” said James Westphal, a partner with the Culinary Virtue Restaurant Collective. “We wanted to not only serve fantastic barbecue, but we really wanted to provide a menu that offered something for people who like a variety of choices.”
When it came time to name the restaurant, the partners wanted to give credit to the food’s unique cooking process.
“Char Bar has giant Southern Pride BBQ Smokers and a wood-fired grill, where a lot of meat is cooked over an open flame,” said Westphal. “So, char made a lot of sense.”
The word bar was added to the name to let people know it was also where they could come for an adult beverage. The full name of the restaurant is Char Bar Smoked Meats & Amusements.
Culinary Virtue has enhanced the visitor experience by adding pickleball courts.
The new 6,000-square-foot restaurant will consist of about 200 indoor seats, about 50 outside seats, with four indoor and two outdoor pickleball courts. Paddles and hollow plastic balls will be available to customers.
“It’s no secret that pickleball is a big deal around the country. From what I understand, it’s the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. It’s a lot of fun for all ages, so we just thought it would be another great amusement for our customers,” said Westphal.
For those who are new or reluctant to the “fast-paced” sport, there are plans in the works to eventually offer pickleball game instruction to customers who request it. For those who want to engage more competitively, Westphal says Char Bar eventually plans to roll out a regular pickleball league.
The allure of being a part of the new Creekside development and its convenient highway accessibility is what attracted the entrepreneurs to be a part of the 337-acre development, Westphal says. Creekside features retail space, a hotel, and six tournament-quality youth baseball fields.
“We think the development is fantastic and the community is a perfect fit for what we do,” said Westphal. “Parkville is a place that is well respected in the Kansas City metro. Certainly, highway access allows us to connect with individuals north and south, and with all the surrounding communities just east and west of the Creekside development.”
Char Bar in Parkville will offer seasonal and specialty beverages much like their Westport location. Their most famous cocktail, the smoking gun, is infused with wood smoke. Char Bar also features a beer garden and outdoor seating.
Like many who enter the restaurant industry, the varying shifts and positions initially attracted Westphal to the field in college. He says he immediately fell in love with the restaurant business and its energy.
“I loved the fact that every day was something different—a new set of challenges. In 1997, Mark and I opened our first restaurant together. Since then, we have done everything in the business, from opening and operating restaurants to consulting. Over the years, we have found some great partners to help grow our restaurant concepts, and we are really excited about Char Bar’s expansion to Parkville.”
Char Bar at Creekside is slated to open this November. Exact address will be 15348 Old Town Drive, Parkville.
“It is time for Char Bar to expand from the Midtown area and introduce itself to the suburbs,” added Westphal.