Three popular Kansas City restaurants are coming soon to downtown Olathe — Char Bar, Third Street Social and Pizza 51.
Mayor John Bacon announced the businesses’ plans to bring new locations to downtown Olathe during his State of the City address on Friday morning at the Olathe Chamber Luncheon.
“Downtown is back and booming,” he said.
Where are these restaurants headed?
Pizza 51, a pizzeria that also serves sandwiches and beer, will move into the old Phillips 66 at 200 S. Kansas Ave. It first opened in the Kansas City Brookside area about 20 years ago in an old gas station. Previously, they forayed into Johnson County with a Fairway location that closed a few years ago.
Third Street Social, a restaurant with multiple locations on the Missouri side offering brunch, lunch and dinner, will move into an old city building at 135 S. Kansas Ave., near Loula Street.
Char Bar, a barbecue joint with locations in Westport and Parkville, plans to take over the former Olathe Housing Authority building at 200 W. Santa Fe. With the new restaurant, it’ll also bring entertainment options in the form of pickleball courts like what it offers at its Parkville restaurant.
Representatives from those businesses were applauded during the event Friday.
Mayor Bacon also said Friday new businesses — HerMEtheus Coffee and Bikes 4 the Likes of Us — plan to open soon in downtown Olathe.
Downtown Olathe has seen revived interest
In the past few years, the downtown Olathe area has seen a lot of activity, with the arrival of the new courthouse, a new downtown Olathe Public Library branch and the return of a dedicated public square.
Additionally, the city and the Olathe Chamber of Commerce intend to relocate the post office from Chestnut Street, freeing up prime real estate for redevelopment opportunities.
On top of the civic activity, both the city and the chamber have pushed to bring new businesses to the area with an emphasis on dining.
The city has been buying some buildings and also selling some of its existing property in the area. Some of those real estate transactions were given as the reason Vader’s, a long-established bar and grill with a popular gluten-free menu, was closing its doors in downtown Olathe.
Jason Pryor, owner of Pizza 51, estimated on Thursday in an interview with the Post that the restaurant’s new Olathe location will open in the spring, pending construction.
“We’re just excited to bring the concept south and expand our customer base,” he said. “With the revitalization of that area, the square and what they’ve done there and all the activities they have going on there, we’re excited to be an early participant in that.”
What comes next?
- Pizza 51 is set to go before the Olathe Planning Commission next week for consideration of their preliminary site development plan.
- The other restaurants will likely have to submit planning applications to the city for approval as well.
Lucie Krisman contributed to this report.
More downtown Olathe news: City hopes to get ideas for future of downtown Olathe in new long-term plan process
