If you follow Kansas City restaurant news, you’ve probably come across Whitney VinZant’s name. His restaurant group, W. VinZant Restaurants, has 14 locations under its portfolio now. Recently, VinZant and his team acquired the Plaza’s Café Trio, in business since 2004. The restaurateur keeps a low profile, but his influence is growing.
W. VinZant Restaurants began over a decade ago with the opening of Louie’s Wine Dive, VinZant’s first concept in Des Moines. “At the time, the restaurant scene was dominated by chains,” VinZant says. “In many ways, Louie’s was the antithesis of that.” Louie’s introduced lesser-known wine varietals and allowed guests to order any bottle by the glass—an uncommon practice then. Rather than opening in a strip mall or shopping center like most restaurants at the time, VinZant opened Louie’s in the Drake neighborhood, a trendy older section of town surrounding Drake University.
Although his restaurant empire has grown, VinZant’s philosophy has stayed the same. The foundation to success is the people, he says…