Papa Keno’s in southern Overland Park is officially back in business.
The pizzeria at 14850 Metcalf Ave. officially reopened earlier this month with new staff and new management after temporarily closing last fall after company officials cited issues finding enough workers.
Papa Keno’s closed in November
- When the restaurant closed late last year, company officials at the restaurant’s Lawrence-based corporate office cited an ongoing struggle to gain and retain staff at the Overland Park location — a problem they said had not occurred at the Lawrence location.
- Since then, the restaurant’s staff has grown to 25 employees, who are also under new leadership.
OP Papa Keno’s has a new general manager
- Jairo Omido, the restaurant’s new general manager, said the restaurant tried a number of ways to find new staff including online postings and flyer.
- Ultimately, word of mouth turned out to be the biggest help, he said.
- “We have a lot of people here who have never been in the restaurant industry, who are eager to learn and who want to grow with the company,” he said. “People who have been here before wanted their kids to have their first job here.”
It’s now open seven days a week
- Papa Keno’s in Overland Park was previously closed on Mondays.
- The restaurant’s regular hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday.
- The menu itself has not changed, but Omido said the Overland Park restaurant will follow the recipes of its Lawrence counterpart a little bit closer than before, in terms of sauces and spices.
- Omido said the restaurant also plans to start doing deliveries, which will be available through third-party deliver apps like Doordash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.
They’re still hiring
- Omido said the restaurant is also in the process of getting licensed to sell liquor.
- In the meantime, he said one of his biggest priorities with the reopening in Overland Park is keeping the restaurant as clean and ready for customers as possible.
- “With the long hours, I get to see this grow from start to finish,” he said. “I’ve been in restaurants where it’s just absolute chaos, but the thing is, you have to learn how to manage that chaos. We want not only our guests to enjoy their time here, but for our staff to as well.”
Go deeper: Overland Park’s Papa Keno’s temporarily closed due to staffing shortage
