Town Topic on Johnson Drive in Mission closed its doors near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — and many local residents wondered when it would reopen.
We now know: it won’t.
The satellite location of the classic Kansas City diner is closing, and in its place is set to come another local burger joint. Overland Park’s The Snack Shack has plans to expand and move into the space at 6018 Johnson Drive.
A family business
Rayna Andrew-Tolle, who owns The Snack Shack on Santa Fe Drive with her husband Matt and son Jack, said they’re excited to join the Mission Business District and think it will be a good addition to their original Overland Park location, which will stay open.
“That location has already been, in some fashion, an American diner or burger restaurant for as long as it’s been there,” Andrew-Tolle said. “We are thrilled to kind of continue the legacy of that.”
The Tolles first opened The Snack Shack at 8039 Santa Fe Drive in downtown Overland Park, in 2011.
They say customers can expect the same menu at the new Mission location — including burgers, fries, onion rings, corn nuggets and sweet treats like floats and ice cream.
Summer opening targeted
Andrew-Tolle said the goal is to open this summer though an exact date is still not known with the ongoing uncertainty posed by the pandemic.
Still, Andrew-Tolle said The Snack Shack feels fortunate to be able to open a new location in this time.
“We are working as fast and as diligently as possible to open those doors, meet all the new businesses down there and the neighborhood folks,” Andrew-Tolle said. “And to welcome all the family and friends who have been with us all this time. We’re just super excited.”
It is unclear what ultimately caused Town Topic to close its Mission location after shutting its doors more than a year ago.
Town Topic has not responded to the Shawnee Mission Post’s multiple requests for comment over the past year as it has remained inactive.
The Post has confirmed with Mission city officials that Town Topic on Johnson Drive is no longer operational there and the transition to The Snack Shack has already started.
Still, drivers may notice that the Town Topic sign remains and printed signs taped to the doors still say the restaurant is “temporarily closed.”
Town Topic’s Johnson Drive location was originally a locally owned restaurant called Whopper Burgers and later transitioned into a satellite for Town Topic’s famous original location in downtown Kansas City, Mo.
