The name of the restaurant has yet to be revealed. But— in time for the start of the June 2026 FIFA World Cup in Kansas City — Michelin-starred chef Nicholas Sefanelli is set to open an Italian restaurant on Kansas City’s riverfront, the KC Current announced Friday.
“This will be Stefanelli’s first announced project outside of his native Washington, D.C.-area,” the Current said in a statement.
The statement, however, comes one day after the Washington Business Journal reported that Stefanelli on Wednesday had also filed for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy, although the operation of his restaurants are not affected. Federal bankruptcy records show that his annual salary has gone from approximately $300,000 in 2024 to $90,000 last year. It shows he currently had debts of $800,000.
Stefanelli’s restaurant, Masseria, in Washington’s Union Market area, has earned a Michelin star, an award for culinary excellence, since opening in 2015 and has maintained it since. Stefanelli, who is from Washington and is of Italian and Greek descent, also operates a more causal restaurant, Officina, along The Warf, on Washington’s waterfront.
“We are honored to work with Chef Stefanelli, a chef and business owner who is eager to get to know our city and become a part of our community,” Chris and Angie Long, the principal owners of the KC Current, the professional women’s soccer team, said in a press release…