Before standing vacant for a couple of years, the historic building at 7932 Santa Fe Drive had lived a lot of different lives.
The building started out as a Ford dealership and gas station in 1918. More recently, it was home to music store Vinyl Renaissance & Radio and a tasting room for southern Overland Park-based Aubrey Vineyards.
This week will mark the start of a new era for the space, following its transformation into a pizzeria.
On Wednesday, Buffalo State Pizza Co. will celebrate its “soft opening” in the space, after moving down the street from its original home. The restaurant’s last “hurrah” at 7901 Santa Fe Drive was Saturday.
Buffalo State Pizza Co. moved to 7932 Santa Fe Drive
- The restaurant is reopening in a space a few doors south of its original space.
- The new space is next to The Peanut and Mexican eatery Red Kitchen: Cien Por Ciento Mexicana.
- Once it reopens, Buffalo State Pizza’s hours in the new space will initially stay the same — 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday. (The owners are thinking of potentially expanding weekend hours later on.)
The new location is larger and has new features
At roughly 6,000 square feet, the new space is twice as large as Buffalo State Pizza’s previous one.
The doubling in size comes with several new features. Some of those features include a private mezzanine space with room for 50 people, a stage for live music events, and a full-service bar.
As of Friday, the Buffalo State Pizza team still had some moving of equipment to do. But the walls of the new space are already adorned with pieces from local artists, with more to come — including a piece from local painter and fellow downtown Overland Park business owner Mark Freeman.
In addition to the size upgrade, the owners said the new space’s “western” feel also fit the restaurant’s aesthetic particularly well.
“It’s a historical building, and it’s a beautiful building,” co-owner Phillippe Lechevin said about the new space. “It fits really well with our concept.”
A downtown OP mainstay for more than a decade
The pizzeria originally opened as a Papa Keno’s in 1995, under different ownership.
Lechevin and co-owner Steve Robson became owners of Papa Keno’s in November 2013, before rebranding the restaurant as Buffalo State Pizza Co. in 2020.
This year marks the duo’s 12th year as the restaurant’s owners. In that time, they said they’ve watched a lot of people come together over pizza at the restaurant’s former home.
That’s a legacy they say they’re looking forward to continuing.
“We posted something about (Saturday) being our last Saturday there, and in the comments there were people like, ‘I met my wife there’ or ‘I grew up going there’, and that’s awesome,” Robson said. “I just think this is a better space to hopefully just continue to do that for people.”
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