Bluestem. Beignet. Poi-O. The Rieger. The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic extends all too sadly to some of Kansas City’s most adored restaurants, from burger joints to fine food establishments, which permanently closed their doors over the past 10 months amid emptied tables and bars and devastated bottom lines. The local­ dining industry may never be the same. And yet … 

 

Many more places have managed to hang on, if barely. New ones are opening. KC Restaurant Week arrives as usual this month, a January routine offering the definition of comfort food in uncomfortable, unfathomable times. 

With it comes an opportunity to take stock of the city’s dining scene. In a three-part lunchtime series coinciding with Restaurant Week, ­restaurant critic Liz Cook of The Pitch visits with restaurateurs and industry workers across the spectrum to assess what has been lost, how surviving kitchens are adapting today, and what the future might hold. Can independent restaurants come back? What further adjustments are likely – for owners and operators, for their staffs, for those longing to again dine out? 

Watch the noon presentations live online at YouTube.com/kclibrary. 


The Past, Present, and Future of Restaurants in KC  (Past)
Monday, January 11, 2021 at Noon
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The Past, Present, and Future of Restaurants in KC  (Present)
Wednesday, January 13 , 2021 at Noon
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The Past, Present, and Future of Restaurants in KC  (Future)
Friday, January 15, 2021 at Noon
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