KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The owners of Bar K posted on Tuesday that they are immediately closing all three of their locations due to “a variety of challenges.”
Bar K’s location near Berkley Riverfront Park is included in the locations that have closed.
“As is often the case, there isn’t one single cause, but rather a variety of challenges that ultimately proved too difficult for our start-up business to overcome,” the owners posted on their website. “Among many other factors, we faced the same severe economic challenges as the rest of the hospitality industry, including inflationary costs and expenses, an extremely difficult labor market, and sharply reduced consumer spending.”
In addition to the Kansas City location, Tuesday’s announcement impacts locations in St. Louis and Oklahoma City.
The owners said each location had its own challenges, but specifically highlighted construction adjacent to the Kansas City location that “made access difficult at best and consumed much of its parking.”
The Kansas City location opened in August 2018.
Bar K co-founder Leib Dodell penned his thoughts in a statement Tuesday.
“The closing of Bar K is utterly devastating to me personally. As one of the co-founders, I put literally everything I had into the business — emotionally, financially, and in every other way,” Dodell wrote. “From the opening of our first pop-up location in January 2017 until a new leadership team took over in May 2024, I worked on and in the business, full-time, every day, 7 days a week. I wanted it to succeed — and believed it would succeed — as much as I have ever wanted anything.”
Port KC, the agency leading redevelopment in the Berkley Riverfront, said it was saddened to hear of Bar K’s closure.
“For the past eight years, Bar K has been more than a dog park and restaurant; it’s been a community hub for dog lovers across the region and a symbol of the vibrancy and potential of the riverfront,” Port KC said in a statement. “Since its founding, Bar K has brought innovation and energy to Kansas City, setting a new standard for pet-friendly spaces and urban placemaking. Port KC extends its sincere gratitude to the Bar K team for their entrepreneurial spirit, dedication, and the experiences they created for people and their pets alike. We recognize the many challenges that contributed to this difficult decision, including ongoing construction in the area, complex access issues, and the broader economic pressures impacting the hospitality industry nationwide.”
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