THE PHOENIX PIANO BAR & GRILL
8th & Central
816-472-0001

Located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, the Phoenix Piano Bar and Grill is one of the friendliest and most lively clubs the area has to offer. Known for its high-energy entertainment, it is also the perfect place to meet your friends or even make a few new ones.

A Kansas City hot spot for the past ten years, the Phoenix has been owned and operated by Rich Denny and Tim Whitmer since 1998. When the original owners decided to sell, Denny and Whitmer stepped up and took the reins in order to preserve what they considered to be one of the city's premiere jazz clubs.

"Our theme is: 'Let the good times roll,'" Whitmer recently explained. "The Phoenix is a fun jazz club where you can get a good meal, have a great time, and meet friends in an upbeat, positive kind of atmosphere."

An attractive escape, the Phoenix provides uplifting entertainment to a wide variety of customers, including downtown business people and loft residents, as well as suburbanites and tourists from around the world.

But the entertainment isn't the only reason for the club's ongoing popularity. There is also the excellent food.

"We are currently smoking all our own meats," Denny said. "We get whole turkey breasts and smoke them over hickory. And we do the same thing with our ham, chicken, beef, and corned beef for the Reubens."

Serving lunch from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., diners can order from a menu that includes appetizers, soups, salads and sandwiches. Or, they can enjoy the daily special, which is always offered and may include Yankee pot roast, chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, an enchilada platter, lasagna, or meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy.

Dinner is served from 5:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. and includes a separate menu, as well as different specials. The dinner menu offers a selection of soups and salads, as well as John's Jambalaya (a spicy Cajun stew made with shrimp, chicken, andoullie sausage and rice), and the Hawaiian Chicken Salad, which is a large tossed salad garnished with apple, pineapple, mandarin oranges and teriyaki marinated chicken strips. The dinner menu also includes a variety of pastas, steaks and sandwiches; dinner specials include fresh seafood.

It is the entertainment at this popular bistro, however, that remains a highlight after ten years. Seldom caught sleeping, the Phoenix always seems to be jumpin', especially at night. "The Phoenix is not considered to be a listening room," Whitmer says, "but instead an interactive room." And, as regular customers know, the musicians always strive to bring the audience into each song, which in turn brings the entire room to life.

Live music at the Phoenix kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Monday and Tuesday evenings, and at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Depending on when you visit, you'll enjoy the sounds of Tim Whitmer, Dan Doran, Russ Long, Bram Wijnands, Pat Morrissey, Jim Beisman, The Scamps and many others.

Also, if you are lucky enough to get a seat at the piano bar itself, you will feel like you're practically on stage. But, all seats at the Phoenix are good. Even passers-by on the sidewalk outside enjoy watching the entertainment through the club's floor-to-ceiling windows.

Inside or out, the Phoenix is a good times jazz spot for all the right reasons. Let the good times roll, indeed. Or, as Rich Denny says:

"We're not putting music on the stage and then telling the band to hold it down. There is no reason why you can't have good times, good food, and good music, all at once."

-- Lisa Bauer



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