Earl’s Premier owners are opening a market and new Mexican restaurant
Todd Schulte and Cory Dannehl, owners of East Coast-style oyster bar Earl’s Premier and Italian restaurant Bacaro Primo, are expanding their fledgling restaurant empire.
The duo is expanding Earl’s Premier (651 E 59th St., KCMO) to include a market, which is exciting, but there’s more. They’re also opening a new restaurant in the former Blu Hwy steakhouse restaurant (5070 Main St., KCMO) in the South Plaza.
Earl’s Provisions
Schulte and Dannehl bought the space next door to Earl’s last year. Schulte says that, for a while, they were using it as an office and place to store “used restaurant equipment.”
“We figured we should do something with it,” Schulte says. “We’re huge fans of the French Market in Prairie Village, so we’re taking a page from their playbook and seeing how it works out for us.”
Earl’s Provisions is slated to open the first week of June. The 2,000-square-foot space will sell prepared foods, including some of their restaurant’s big sellers like soups, crab cakes, dips and salads. The additional space will also allow for the expansion of Earl’s Premier’s kitchen, which will enable the restaurateurs to expand the menu.
Sea Capitán Cocina Costera
Schulte and Dannehl also signed a lease for the space that formerly housed Blu Hwy steakhouse restaurant, which closed in September 2024. The duo hopes to finish putting their personal touch on their restaurant, Sea Capitán Cocina Costera, by the end of June.
Sea Capitán Cocina Costera is about 5,000 square feet and the largest restaurant Schulte and Dannehl have ever operated.
“You could put Earl’s and Bacaro inside [the restaurant],” Dannehl says.
The food will be inspired by coastal Mexico, anywhere from Yucatán to the Baja Peninsula.
“It’ll be a lighter, fresher take than most of what the offerings are here in town,” Schulte says. “There’ll be a good selection of ceviches, aguachiles and some oysters, of course. There’ll be all kinds of proteins and vegetables. It’s not exclusively seafood, we’re just going to lean into that.”
Schulte and Dannehl are particularly excited about the large black and copper bar that seats 20. The bar program will focus on tequila and mezcals, and they plan to offer a membership program for those particularly interested in tastings.
Tequila lockers separate the private dining rooms and will be available for customers to rent.
Beloved Chingu closes
Chef-owner of Korean restaurant Chingu, Keeyoung Kim, took to his restaurant’s social media to announce it will be shuttering its doors (4117 Pennsylvania Ave.).
“This choice wasn’t easy, but it’s what’s best for my health and my family—especially after welcoming our baby boy this past March,” the post states.
The son of first-generation Korean immigrants, Kim opened Chingu in 2022 with the intention to serve a strictly Korean menu. Social media users mourned the restaurant in the comment section of Chingu’s Instagram post. “KC won’t be the same without y’all,” wrote one user.
Waldo Thai isn’t closing
Kansas City restaurateurs and husband and wife duo Pam and Ted Liberda recently announced their decision to leave their restaurant, Waldo Thai, on Instagram.
“A grateful farewell to Waldo Thai. Our last day of service will be Saturday May 17th,” the post states. The post continued with a heartfelt farewell from the couple and refers to the decision as “[turning] the page on a new chapter in [their] lives.”
While the Liberdas are moving on, the restaurant will remain open under new management. The couple still own and operate two restaurants: Buck Tui and Muni in the River Market.
The Thai spot has been a KC food scene staple over the past seven years. It’s also the restaurant where Pam was nominated as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: Midwest in 2023. We even included it in our 30 Best Restaurants in KC list released in January.
Slow Rise doughnuts is opening a brick and mortar
Back in February, we asked the question, “Is Slow Rise doughnuts the most popular pop-up in KC?” The answer from social media users was a resounding yes, with many noting how hard it was to get their hands on the handcrafted filled sourdough doughnuts (customers were getting in line for the pop-up as early as 4 am at the Overland Park Farmers Market).
Cult followers of Slow Rise now have reason to rejoice. Owner Jessica Dunkel will be opening a permanent spot in a strip mall in South Overland Park (11228 W. 135th St., Overland Park).
“I want to make it feel like a home,” Dunkel says. “We’re not fancy people. This venture is really personal to me, not just a business move.”
Dunkel is hopeful that a commercial kitchen will allow her customers to enjoy her doughnuts fresh. Without the commute to farmers markets and pop-ups, Slow Rise customers can enjoy the doughnuts practically hot out of the fryer (Dunkel is a firm believer that donuts are meant to be eaten as fresh as possible). Until the new site’s opening, Slow Rise will continue to pop up every other Saturday at the Lawrence Farmers Market (824, New Hampshire St., Lawrence).
Keep updated with Slow Rise on Instagram, @slowrisekc.
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