"In the middle of town, manageable, and I didn't want it to feel too big. It's a size we can control," Brandon Hayden told Startland News this month. He was explaining why he and partner Brad Barta picked a 2,300-square-foot space at 1739 Oak St. for The Shuckers Union, the oyster bar they're aiming to open in December.
The East Crossroads lost two of its biggest draws in August. What's moving in is smaller and more personal, and most of it is built to be one stop in a longer night.
Two Long Runs Ended in the Same Month
Parlor KC, the multi-level food hall at 1707 Locust St., opened in 2018 and served its last night on Saturday, Aug. 22. KCTV reported that the owners pointed to a "shift in the environment" in the Crossroads District when they announced the closure.
Eight days later, Session Taco closed after nine years at 409 E. 18th St. The Kansas City Star reported its final service was Sunday, Aug. 30. Startland News tied that closure to a company downsizing that has also hit the brand's St. Louis locations.
Nobody has announced a new tenant for either space. One more gap was already there. Double Shift Brewing closed at 412 E. 18th St. in March 2025 after 10 years, as the Star reported at the time.
Parlor filled several floors with food and drinks under one roof. Each business moving in nearby takes a single room, and the largest is 2,500 square feet.
What's Filling In, Measured in Square Feet
Here's every new or announced business around the corner of 18th and Oak as of Oct. 19, 2026, with the size and timing each owner has given publicly.
| Business | Address | Size | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiki Taco | 412 E. 18th St. | 2,500 sq. ft. | Opened Oct. 13, 2026 |
| Moody Sue's | 406 E. 18th St. | 1,600 sq. ft. | Announced for mid-November |
| Kata Nori bar | 400 E. 18th St. | 800 sq. ft. | Announced, no date |
| The Shuckers Union | 1739 Oak St. | 2,300 sq. ft. | Announced for December |
Tiki Taco is the only one open so far. It remodeled the freestanding former Double Shift building and opened in mid-October. It's the locally owned chain's seventh location. CEO Eric Knott told Startland News that the neighbors made it a good fit, naming Grinders Pizza, King G, Cosmo Burger XR, Jim's Alley Bar and Take Care by OLEO Coffee.
The other three are smaller, and each owner describes the business around a purpose more than a menu.
Moody Sue's is owner Susan Skelding's "working person's" bar. She described it to Startland News as a neighborhood bar where the person on the lease is the one behind the bar, with cold beer and "lots and lots of country music." She called it a refuge "in an era of $16 cocktails and $6 cans of beer."
Kata Nori Hand Roll Bar has been at 404 E. 18th St. since September 2023. It plans to take the 800-square-foot corner space next door for a bar with limited seating, Japanese cocktails, a sake menu and possibly a few small bites. The bar will open into the 24-seat restaurant and double as its waiting area. Bar director Chris Connors told Startland News it "will allow people to hang out a little longer." The Crossroads expansion comes after Kata Nori opens a new location at Overland Park's Hawthorne Plaza, which is scheduled for November.
The Shuckers Union will open with a raw bar of oysters, crab legs and shrimp cocktail, plus lobster rolls, a few upscale desserts like chocolate mousse, and a full bar. Hayden told Startland News he wants it to be downtown's "before or after space," with oysters and a "fun glass of bubbles" before an event and maybe an espresso martini and dessert after. The plan is to open Wednesday through Saturday and possibly add a fifth night later.
A waiting-area bar, a before-or-after oyster room and a neighborhood bar: two of the three are built to connect to something else nearby. Northland diners may already know Hayden's work. His résumé includes Sea Capitán Cocina Costera in the South Plaza and The Parker Hollow in Parkville.
The Smallest Room Has the Biggest Reputation
Anjin, an izakaya at 1708 Oak St., opened in July 2025, and it shows that a small room can still put a block on the map.
In August 2026, Bon Appétit named it one of the year's best new restaurants, as the Star reported. In September, The New York Times added it to its unranked list of the 50 best restaurants in the country. According to the Star's coverage, Anjin was the only Missouri restaurant on that list and the only Kansas City restaurant named a James Beard finalist this year.
It has 20 seats, arranged around the kitchen. The seasonal menu has included yakitori, a tempura-fried soft-shell crab sandwich and seared summer eel. Anjin takes reservations through OpenTable, linked from its website. The Infatuation wrote in March 2026 that tables before 10 p.m. were hard to get.
That's the practical reason the new small bars matter. With 20 seats and late reservations, people end up with time to fill before or after dinner. A 1,600-square-foot country bar, a sake bar next to a hand-roll counter and an oyster room built for "before or after" are all within a short walk of 1708 Oak.
Why the Spaces Are Filling Now
Several of the new tenants sit on a half block of the East Crossroads that Andy Surface's family has owned since the mid-1880s. Surface told Startland News he has watched downtown go from bad times "to the heights in the last five to 10 years," and that "a lot of family owned businesses are moving in." He said he recently put "a lot of money" into a resurfaced parking lot and new roofs.
Ryan Holcomb, a developer with Fishman Commercial Real Estate who is leasing the spaces with Surface, gave the same outlet the economic reason. "These spaces have sat underutilized and vacant for years and people are noticing," he said. "It gives them a chance to get their business off the ground level without having $10,000 in rent due every month."
Two more spaces could join the block. Holcomb is negotiating for the 2,500-square-foot former Nimble Brewing space at 1735 Oak, which has a bar and a garage door that opens onto the brewers alley. Next door, a 2,500-square-foot former martial arts studio at 1737 Oak is still available.
That puts the two accounts in context. Parlor's owners described a changed environment for a large, multi-level hall. The landlord and developer describe affordable small spaces drawing owner-operators who want to stay small. Both can be true. Surface and Holcomb are describing a block that suits a 1,600-square-foot bar better than a food hall.
A Calendar for the Rest of the Year
For anyone who lives downtown or drives in for dinner, here's the order things should happen, based on what owners and the district have announced.
- Now. Tiki Taco is open at 412 E. 18th St., and the existing neighbors are still there: Kata Nori, Grinders Pizza, King G, Cosmo Burger XR, Jim's Alley Bar, Take Care by OLEO Coffee and International Tap House.
- Friday, Nov. 6. Crossroads First Friday brings Beggars Bazaar, a local-art pop-up at Beggars Table Church & Gallery, 2010 Baltimore Ave., from 6 to 9 p.m. The listing is on the Crossroads Community Association's site.
- Mid-November. Moody Sue's is set to open at 406 E. 18th St. Skelding told Startland News she would share more details soon, so watch for an exact date.
- December. The Shuckers Union is aiming to open at 1739 Oak St. No exact day has been announced. December's First Friday falls on Dec. 4 under the district's monthly schedule.
- No date yet. Kata Nori's bar at 400 E. 18th St. comes after the Hawthorne Plaza location opens in Overland Park.
If those dates hold, Moody Sue's and The Shuckers Union will both be open by the end of the year, a short walk from Anjin's 20 seats at 1708 Oak.
The Shuckers Union's move from Parkville kitchens to the East Crossroads is a reminder that Kansas City's restaurant people travel the whole metro, and so do the people who follow them. If you're weighing how much walkable evenings like this one should count in your next move, or you'd like to know what your current home is worth before deciding, Sweeney Team KC can help. Get Your Free Instant Home Valuation, and we'll walk through the numbers with you.
