Leinenkugel’s plans March 7 opening in the Power & Light District
View article at KansasCity.com
Bratwurst sliders, lobster tacos and beer cocktails will be among the menu items at the new Leinenkugel’s Kansas City.
Wisconsin’s Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co.’s flagship restaurant and bar will be taking a 6,000-square-foot space in 1323 Walnut St. in the Power & Light District. It plans to open March 7.
Dick Leinenkugel, president of Leinenkugel and the fifth generation to operate the brewey, said it has a strong following in the Kansas City area and the new location will give fans a place to try some of its beers that are not currently available here.
Leinenkugel’s Kansas City will have 16 different beers on tap, 30 different bottled beers, featured cocktails and wine.
Chef Matt Livers, a longtime Kansas City resident, created the menu in collaboration with the Leinenkugel family, blending Leinenkugel’s “German and Wisconsin heritage with the best Kansas City farm-to-table foods.” He had previously been with J. Alexander’s in Florida, as well as operating partner for The Capital Grille on the Country Club Plaza.
Menu items will include a barbecue brisket burger (brisket with house-made barbecue sauce and white cheddar cheese), Reuben bratwurst (grilled bratwurst on a hoagie bun with Thousand Island dressing, melted Swiss cheese and caraway sauerkraut) and North Atlantic salmon (pan-roasted with barbecue rub, cheese grits, frilled asparagus and lemon mosto oil). Desserts include monkey bread and Leinenkugel Berry Weiss Floats.
It also will serve a variety of beer cocktails, beer blends and specialty beer drinks like the Creamy Dark Ice Cream Float (Leinenkugel’s Creamy Dark beer with two scoops of coffee-flavored ice cream).
The location will have an expanded beer garden area on the Live! Block.
Eric Flanagan is the general manager. He previously was general manager at Westport Ale House.
Hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. Weekday happy hours will be 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and a late-night happy hour will be from 10 p.m. to close daily.
Leinenkugel’s is one of the nation’s oldest operating breweries. Brewer Matthias Leinenkugel brought his family to the U.S. from Germany in 1845 and settles in Sauk City, Wesconsin. Leinenkugel taught his four sons the art of brewing. His third son, Jacob, started Leinenkuegl’s in Chippewa Fall in 1867, serving lumberjacks in the booming economy of northwestern Wisconsin.
Miller Brewing Co. acquired the company in 1988 and MillerCoors is now Leinenkugel’s parent company.
Year-round, Leinenkugel’s offers Sunset Wheat, Honey Weiss, Berry Weiss, Red Lager, Creamy Dark, Classic Amber and Original. Its seasonal beers include Oktoberfest and Summer Shandy.
The company opened a second brewery in downtown Milwaukee in 1997. In fall 2010, it opened the 1,500-square-foot Leinenkugel’s Beer Garden in Baltimore’s Power Plant Live!, also a Cordish development.