‘Pizza, pasta, martinis, cocktails’: Italian tavern now open in historic KC building

Neighborhood joint, approachable food — that’s the message coming from Bret Springs and Zach Marten about The Wise Guy, their new Crossroads bar and restaurant.

“Casual red-sauce Italian,” Springs said, “and a relatively aggressive happy hour.”

“Pizza, pasta, martinis, cocktails,” Marten said. “You could do a date here, but the game’s on TV too.”

The Wise Guy is a bit more ambitious than that might sound. It’s hard not to be ambitious at 1924 Main St., an address suffused with as much hospitality history as just about any other in the city.

The building, erected in 1915 as the Rieger Hotel, served traveling salesmen, railroad ruffians and gangsters in the early 20th Century. Al Capone was said to be a regular, owing to the hotel’s close proximity to Union Station. The hotel closed in the 1960s, and its lobby was home to a series of seedy bars as downtown emptied out over the next several decades.

The modern era of the building began in 2004 with the opening of the upscale, prix-fixe restaurant 1924 Main. Its successors, The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange and its basement speakeasy counterpart Manifesto, were anchors of Kansas City’s restaurant revival in the 2010s. Both closed during the pandemic.

Now come Springs and Marten, who also own both locations of Rockhill Grille and partner with Joe’s Kansas City at County Road Ice House in the Power & Light District. (They also host the Miracle pop-up — you might have heard Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce stopped by in December.) They spent most of last year renovating the space with an eye toward preserving some of that historical feel.

“We wanted it to be the type of Italian tavern you might see in New York or Chicago — a place that kind of takes you back to a different time,” Marten said.

The Chicago is there in the pizza ($20-$25), which is the same kind of tavern-style — thin-crust, square cut — you’ll find in the Windy City. Salads, sandwiches, pasta and a few entrees (pesto salmon, chicken Parmesan, short rib) round out the menu.

“The penne vodka and chicken Parm seem to be crowd-pleasers already,” Springs said. “We think it’ll be a lot of, ‘Grab a salad, split a pizza’ type of thing. Our portion sizes are pretty good.”

Inside, The Wise Guy is darker than the Rieger was — lots of browns and reds. Light pours in only through a few wood blinds facing Main Street. They’ve covered the skylights and installed dark wood throughout. The original tile work remains, but the old drywall is down, replaced by the exposed brick beneath.

Up front, high-tops with red leather stools bleed into the dining area outfitted with lower tables and red leather banquettes. (Occupancy in the main room is about 80; a side room for private events and overflow seating will add another 30-40.) The bar is on the south side of the room now, and much bigger than before.

“We doubled the size of the bar because we want this to have as much of a bar component as it does a dining component,” Springs said.

Everything on the cocktail list is $14. Options include an Italian Margarita (Libelula tequila, blood orange sour, Solerno) and the Hoodwinked (Calabrian chile-infused mezcal, Aperol, pineapple acid, Falernum, tajin). House martinis, like the Amalfi Coast (peach infused Wheatley vodka, limoncello, basil, prosecco), are $16.

All beers — draft, bottles or cans — are $7, and the wines veer toward California and Italy (glasses range between $11 and $17).

Those prices dip during happy hour, which runs Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. and features $15 pizzas, $10 martinis and cocktails and $5 beers.

The Wise Guy will serve food later than most other Crossroads restaurants. Hours for now are Tuesday to Saturday, 4 p.m. to midnight, with a bar menu of pizza and appetizers available till 11 p.m. Parking is free in the lot on the south side of the building.

“Soon, we’ll probably open for lunch, and also probably open on Mondays, and maybe even seven days a week,” Marten said, “but it’ll be a slow burn getting there.”