January can be a slower time in the restaurant industry — but it’s also the perfect moment to take a moment to reminisce and appreciate the food that shaped our city.
KCUR’s Up to Date recently took a look at the best new restaurants around Kansas City. But we also strolled down memory line to talk about the Kansas City restaurants past that defined birthday dinners, date nights, family traditions and some of your fondest memories around the table.
Longtime James Beard Award–winning food critic Jill Silva and food historian Dr. Andrea Broomfield joined KCUR’s Brian Ellison to reminisce about since-closed spots, explore why the best places don’t last forever, and ask whether recent closures point to deeper challenges in the local food and restaurant industry.
Jill Silva’s missed restaurants:
Corvino Supper Club: With almost a decade in business, clearly the restaurant was a great success with a very talented chef at the helm. Investors, lease terms, new career ambitions, life changes all can spur a restaurant to close even when the food is excellent. In this case, I suspect live music may have added significantly to costs of operation…