Advertisement

He learned to cook from grandma and gourmets. Now he’s opening a KC area restaurant

Andrew Longres grew up on his family’s 350-acre farm, Rolling Acres, near Liberty.

He would help his grandparents with the “ton of things” in their master garden — okra, corn, onions, turnips, tomatoes and more. He hunted and fished with his grandfather and made dishes with his grandmother, who baked more than she cooked, including a lemon cake, which became a family favorite.

He will pay tribute to the farm and those fresh, seasonal offerings in his new Parkville restaurant, Acre, which is scheduled to open in mid-to-late June.

Acre will stock ingredients that are “grown, procured or raised” in the Midwest. Longres is still finalizing the menu, but it will showcase dry-aged steaks, freshwater fish, pork, house-made pasta, game in the fall, and a version of his grandmother’s lemon cake.

Acre restaurant, set to open in June, had a “sip & peek” preview event in Parkville earlier this month.
Acre restaurant, set to open in June, had a “sip & peek” preview event in Parkville earlier this month.

Longres’ first job at 14 was at LaMar’s Donuts in Liberty, where he made and sold doughnuts, and then he joined a small family-owned restaurant with a scratch kitchen. After graduating from high school, he earned a degree from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona.

“I knew at a very young age that this is what I wanted to do,” he said Monday. “That instant gratification that I could make something for someone and they could enjoy it.”

He spent three months working at restaurants in England, France and Spain, learning not only different cuisines but the differences in operations and lifestyles.

He returned to the metro, working as sous chef for the former 40 Sardines in Overland Park before joining The American restaurant as sous chef.

Then he got to join the renowned restaurant The French Laundry in California.

“I got an opportunity from a friend of a friend to send my resume,” he said. “They get thousands but they asked me if I wanted to come out. I had to do a three dish tasting and I could use anything in the garden. I was very lucky to get the job.”

He spent several years there, working every station. He was offered a sous chef position but decided to return to Kansas City with his wife to start a family. They now have two children.

He joined Westport’s Bluestem as chef de cuisine and later became executive chef. In late 2017 he returned to The American as executive chef.

But he had long had a goal of opening a restaurant by age 35 — a birthday he celebrated in March.

Acre is still under construction at 6325 Lewis St.