District Pour House + Kitchen has opened its doors in downtown Shawnee, officially relocating from its long-time spot in the Kansas City Waldo area.
Solid plans to open a new location in Shawnee first started taking shape last summer when signs announcing the restaurant was “coming soon” were posted in the windows of the old Shawnee State Bank building at 11101 Johnson Drive.
District Pour House + Kitchen officially opened over the Memorial Day holiday weekend and has ramped up to regular service over the past couple of weeks. The new spot seats about 100 people and isn’t currently accepting reservations.
The building itself, which is right at the corner of Nieman Road and Johnson Drive, is a major element in downtown Shawnee and sits across from city hall.
District Pour House + Kitchen serves up American fare, craft cocktails
- District Pour House + Kitchen in downtown Shawnee has pretty much the same menu as the old Waldo location, said owner Dan McCall, which features what he calls “modern American cuisine” with “some comfort kind of foods.”
- He told the Post some of the most popular menu items are the fried risotto balls appetizer served with a roasted red pepper sauce, the gumbo and the fried chicken sandwich.
- It’s also known for its bourbon slushes and special cocktails made with house-infused liquor, like strawberry rhubarb vodka, pickle vodka or brown sugar bourbon.
- The restaurant is open daily, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. during the week, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. On the weekend, the gastropub also offers brunch.
District Pour House + Kitchen started in 2013
- It operated in the original Waldo location for about a decade.
- However, earlier this year, it closed its doors.
- That makes the new downtown Shawnee restaurant the one and only.
The building has undergone significant upgrades
- Formerly home to the bank, the downtown Shawnee building is more than 100 years old.
- Most notably, the glass and steel wrapping — which the building owner, Dan Pflumm, believes had been added in the 1950s — was stripped from most of the building, exposing the original stone work.
- The entrance on the corner of the building was also restored, as were the windows on the facade facing Johnson Drive.
- “We put the building back the way it was over 100 years ago,” Pflumm said previously.
- The project got $300,000 through the Shawnee Entrepreneurial and Economic Development forgivable loan program to help support its redevelopment efforts in 2021. In a rare feat, it got unanimous support from the Shawnee City Council.
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