Dave’s Stagecoach Inn
Dave’s Stagecoach Inn
One of Kansas City’s true dive bars, Dave’s Stagecoach Inn of 316 Westport Road in Kansas City, MO, first opened in 1952 as Dave’s 423 Club, but was located just down the street at, you guessed it, 423 Westport Road. A mainstay of Westport nightlife, Dave’s was owned and operated by a single family for more than 70 years.
Born in Cedar Rapids, IA, Dave Golad and his twin brother Louis were the youngest of five children to Russian immigrants, Julius and Sarah Golad. Crazy about the sounds of laughter and fun radiating from the bars on his paper route, Dave knew from a young age he wanted to own a tavern someday. After serving in World War II, Dave returned to Cedar Rapids, met his wife Sonia (a Holocaust survivor) on a blind date, married her in 1949, and with their first daughter, moved to Kansas City in 1951.
While working at the Ford automotive plant, Dave worked part-time at Fox’s Tavern, a relative’s bar in the famed 18th and Vine jazz district. There, he learned the bar trade before purchasing the first 423 Westport Road location.
In 1972, when Westport redevelopment forced Dave’s move to its final location, Dave sawed his 35-foot long bar into pieces, rolled it down the street, and reassembled it in the newly titled Dave’s Stagecoach Inn. A shotgun-style layout, tables sat against the wood paneled west wall across from the bar. A single pool table sat in back. Regulars knew to park and enter through the rear door. In 1977, former Dave’s bartender and artist working at Keith Coldsnow Art Supplies, Carl Martin, Jr. painted “Dave’s Famous Stagecoach” mural in exchange for free beer. The beloved work depicted Westport’s place in history as the starting point for 19th century traders and trappers headed west.
Out front, the bar’s classic red, yellow and blue sign outlined Dave’s name with white neon. Predating 1951 when Dave bought it used, It too was relocated from the 423 Club to the Stagecoach Inn. Its animated arrow of yellow bulbs wrapping the sign, pointed the way for Dave’s diverse crowd of regulars, including Manor Bakery shift workers, mail carriers, retirees, college students, artists and punk rockers. Even Kansas City mayors Wheeler and Berkley were patrons. Everyone was welcome. Dave, a short but scrappy boxer, himself, had a mantra: Just get along. The neighborhood of regulars became family.
Like every respectable dive bar, Dave’s kept long hours. “My dad was pretty much there almost 24/7” said Dave’s daughter, Joyce Hess. “He would drop us off at school, then go straight to the bar, come home and have dinner with his family, take a short nap, then turn around and go back.” Shift workers came in as early as 8:30 a.m. “Dave’s Famous” hot dogs, sandwiches and tacos brought in the lunch crowd. After-work regulars set the evening’s social drinking revelry in motion. As local businesses changed, the regulars grew younger and arrived later. In 2010, Dave’s petitioned for and received a 3 a.m. liquor license. Eventually, Dave’s opened at 2 p.m. and closed at 3 a.m. By its closing, peak hours were from 1 – 3 a.m.
Dave’s served the neighborhood. Some cigarette smokers only smoked at Dave’s–he kept their cigarettes behind the bar for them. Dave’s also hosted fundraisers, a few memorial services, and even a wake, complete with hearse and casket parked in front. Friends and mourners filed in from around the block, each taking a shot of Irish whiskey to honor the deceased.
Joyce and her husband Jim Hess took over the business in the 80’s. Joyce kept her day job as an accountant, Jim took on the night shift and Dave stayed on during the day. In 1986, Dave’s was home to Kansas City’s first Missouri Lottery license. Excited buyers wrapped the block in hopes of being among the first winners. In the 2000’s, Kansas City’s smoking ban drove away a few regulars and gave way to an outdoor patio in back. After that, recession and lifestyle changes reduced bar traffic further. Despite its changing landscape, Dave’s was always proud to call Westport home. “Westport has always been very good to us,” said Joyce Hess. “All of those businesses…next door to us and across the street, are locally owned small businesspeople.” In 2006, due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease and Pancreatic Cancer, Dave Golad passed at age 85, survived by Sonia, his wife of 57 years, and his loving family.
Dave’s Stagecoach Inn closed permanently on Valentine’s Day, 2024, a bittersweet occasion as Joyce reflected, “There are so many memories, and so much community was built there.” Thanks to LUMI, Dave’s Stagecoach Inn, a.k.a. “Scoach,” devotees can still gather and reminisce in the glow of its classic mid-century neon.
One of Kansas City’s true dive bars, Dave’s Stagecoach Inn of 316 Westport Road in Kansas City, MO, first opened in 1952 as Dave’s 423 Club, but was located just down the street at, you guessed it, 423 Westport Road. A mainstay of Westport nightlife, Dave’s was owned and operated by a single family for more than 70 years.
Born in Cedar Rapids, IA, Dave Golad and his twin brother Louis were the youngest of five children to Russian immigrants, Julius and Sarah Golad. Crazy about the sounds of laughter and fun radiating from the bars on his paper route, Dave knew from a young age he wanted to own a tavern someday. After serving in World War II, Dave returned to Cedar Rapids, met his wife Sonia (a Holocaust survivor) on a blind date, married her in 1949, and with their first daughter, moved to Kansas City in 1951.
While working at the Ford automotive plant, Dave worked part-time at Fox’s Tavern, a relative’s bar in the famed 18th and Vine jazz district. There, he learned the bar trade before purchasing the first 423 Westport Road location.
In 1972, when Westport redevelopment forced Dave’s move to its final location, Dave sawed his 35-foot long bar into pieces, rolled it down the street, and reassembled it in the newly titled Dave’s Stagecoach Inn. A shotgun-style layout, tables sat against the wood paneled west wall across from the bar. A single pool table sat in back. Regulars knew to park and enter through the rear door. In 1977, former Dave’s bartender and artist working at Keith Coldsnow Art Supplies, Carl Martin, Jr. painted “Dave’s Famous Stagecoach” mural in exchange for free beer. The beloved work depicted Westport’s place in history as the starting point for 19th century traders and trappers headed west.
Out front, the bar’s classic red, yellow and blue sign outlined Dave’s name with white neon. Predating 1951 when Dave bought it used, It too was relocated from the 423 Club to the Stagecoach Inn. Its animated arrow of yellow bulbs wrapping the sign, pointed the way for Dave’s diverse crowd of regulars, including Manor Bakery shift workers, mail carriers, retirees, college students, artists and punk rockers. Even Kansas City mayors Wheeler and Berkley were patrons. Everyone was welcome. Dave, a short but scrappy boxer, himself, had a mantra: Just get along. The neighborhood of regulars became family.
Like every respectable dive bar, Dave’s kept long hours. “My dad was pretty much there almost 24/7” said Dave’s daughter, Joyce Hess. “He would drop us off at school, then go straight to the bar, come home and have dinner with his family, take a short nap, then turn around and go back.” Shift workers came in as early as 8:30 a.m. “Dave’s Famous” hot dogs, sandwiches and tacos brought in the lunch crowd. After-work regulars set the evening’s social drinking revelry in motion. As local businesses changed, the regulars grew younger and arrived later. In 2010, Dave’s petitioned for and received a 3 a.m. liquor license. Eventually, Dave’s opened at 2 p.m. and closed at 3 a.m. By its closing, peak hours were from 1 – 3 a.m.
Dave’s served the neighborhood. Some cigarette smokers only smoked at Dave’s–he kept their cigarettes behind the bar for them. Dave’s also hosted fundraisers, a few memorial services, and even a wake, complete with hearse and casket parked in front. Friends and mourners filed in from around the block, each taking a shot of Irish whiskey to honor the deceased.
Joyce and her husband Jim Hess took over the business in the 80’s. Joyce kept her day job as an accountant, Jim took on the night shift and Dave stayed on during the day. In 1986, Dave’s was home to Kansas City’s first Missouri Lottery license. Excited buyers wrapped the block in hopes of being among the first winners. In the 2000’s, Kansas City’s smoking ban drove away a few regulars and gave way to an outdoor patio in back. After that, recession and lifestyle changes reduced bar traffic further. Despite its changing landscape, Dave’s was always proud to call Westport home. “Westport has always been very good to us,” said Joyce Hess. “All of those businesses…next door to us and across the street, are locally owned small businesspeople.” In 2006, due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease and Pancreatic Cancer, Dave Golad passed at age 85, survived by Sonia, his wife of 57 years, and his loving family.
Dave’s Stagecoach Inn closed permanently on Valentine’s Day, 2024, a bittersweet occasion as Joyce reflected, “There are so many memories, and so much community was built there.” Thanks to LUMI, Dave’s Stagecoach Inn, a.k.a. “Scoach,” devotees can still gather and reminisce in the glow of its classic mid-century neon.
