Barrel Hall will include a craft cocktail bar by The Bull Creek Distillery and Boulevard Brewery’s first
barrel-aged tasting experience.
July 13, 2023
Brynn Winkler
Master-tenant developer DAVINCI KC announced today its first primary tenants for Pennway Point, a new family-friendly entertainment and experiential district under construction between the I-35 and Pennway bridges.
The redevelopment, led by Vince Bryant of 3D Development, will include restaurant and beverage concepts by DAVINCI KC in reclaimed industrial buildings. The new concepts, Talegate and Barrel Hall are estimated to open in the first quarter of 2024 and will take over buildings that formerly housed the Funkhouser Equipment Company and Pennway Oil Company.
Pennway Point will also include a 150-foot ‘observation wheel’ attraction by Icon Experiences south of the concepts at 25th Street, a mini golf experience by Icon, and two sand volleyball courts.
With operations led by Dante Passantino and DJ Belfonte, DAVINCI KC has master leased about an acre of ground at Pennway Point and is programming food, beverage and entertainment operators for the space, according to Passantino.
The Funkhouser building will be transformed into DAVINCI KC’s Talgate concept, a 30,000+ square foot indoor-outdoor space with the adjoined Talegate Park. Talegate’s Beef & Bottle is an elevated burger and cocktail concept planning to serve up Wagyu Beef offerings from KC Cattle Company.
Beef and Bottle, along with the Funk House Lounge concept on the floor above it, will both be operated and managed by Chuck and Jack Naylor of The Brooksider Sportsbar and Harpo’s Columbia. The Funk House Lounge will include a full bar, 5 VIP suites overlooking Talegate Park, and plenty of T.V.s mounted in its corners. “The Talegate building will have an indoor-outdoor experience with half of the roof removed,” Belfonte says. “It will have this urban oasis feel to it, with trees inside these buildings. It’s a very unique and fun concept to bring here downtown.”
Master-tenant developer DAVINCI KC announced today its first primary tenants for Pennway Point, a new family-friendly entertainment and experiential district under construction between the I-35 and Pennway bridges.
The redevelopment, led by Vince Bryant of 3D Development, will include restaurant and beverage concepts by DAVINCI KC in reclaimed industrial buildings. The new concepts, Talegate and Barrel Hall are estimated to open in the first quarter of 2024 and will take over buildings that formerly housed the Funkhouser Equipment Company and Pennway Oil Company.
Pennway Point will also include a 150-foot ‘observation wheel’ attraction by Icon Experiences south of the concepts at 25th Street, a mini golf experience by Icon, and two sand volleyball courts.
With operations led by Dante Passantino and DJ Belfonte, DAVINCI KC has master leased about an acre of ground at Pennway Point and is programming food, beverage and entertainment operators for the space, according to Passantino.
The Funkhouser building will be transformed into DAVINCI KC’s Talgate concept, a 30,000+ square foot indoor-outdoor space with the adjoined Talegate Park. Talegate’s Beef & Bottle is an elevated burger and cocktail concept planning to serve up Wagyu Beef offerings from KC Cattle Company. Beef and Bottle, along with the Funk House Lounge concept on the floor above it, will both be operated and managed by Chuck and Jack Naylor of The Brooksider Sportsbar and Harpo’s Columbia. The Funk House Lounge will include a full bar, 5 VIP suites overlooking Talegate Park, and plenty of T.V.s mounted in its corners. “The Talegate building will have an indoor-outdoor experience with half of the roof removed,” Belfonte says. “It will have this urban oasis feel to it, with trees inside these buildings. It’s a very unique and fun concept to bring here downtown.”
The integrated indoor-outdoor spaces of the Funkhouser building will trickle into the outdoor space dubbed Talegate Park, set to have three VIP spots for private events and a central stage and screen for year-round events like game day experiences, movie nights, and live music. Space reserved for yard games in warmer months will be transformed into an ice rink as winter approaches.
Next door, the former Pennway Oil Building will house the Barrel Hall concept, including Chef J Barbecue and an attached Smoke Shack where guests can watch Chef J’s signature ‘live fire’ smoking approach. The hall will include a craft cocktail bar by The Bull Creek Distillery and Boulevard Brewery’s first barrel-aged tasting experience.
Amber Ayres, Director of Customer Experience at Boulevard, says the concept will have a cellar where guests can taste beer aging at different points in the process and learn more about barrelaged beer.
“Out South, we have a warehouse that’s massive with 5000 barrels that we barrel-age our beers in, but you can’t see that at our current concept at the tourism rec center,” Ayres says. “So it’ll be cool for them to get to see the volume of that and the romance of what it takes to barrel-age beer.”
Between Barrel Hall and Talegate concepts will be Neon Alley, a walkable alley fitted with 30- foot I-beams on either side and displaying a collection of Kansas City’s vintage neon signs, curated by the LUMI Neon Museum. When selecting tenants, DAVINCI’s managing partner Dante Passantino says they wanted to focus on well-established, known Kansas City brands.
“This site was a piece of Kansas City’s history. It helped build Kansas City for the past 100 years,” Passantino says. “By repurposing it into food, beverage, and entertainment spaces, we want to really showcase what Kansas City is, where it came from, and the brands that have helped build it. And when people come to Kansas City, we want to show off what we’ve got.”
The target opening date for this first stage of development at Pennway Point—including Talegate, Barrel Hall, Neon Alley, and the observation wheel—within the first quarter of 2024.
