Howard’s Grocery, Cafe & Catering opens on Wednesday
Craig Howard thinks he makes the best cheeseburger in Kansas City.
It’s too soon to say, but I can tell you that it’s very good. And Howard has put in enough hours to justify some bragging.
The 34-year-old entrepreneur has spent most of a year turning the long-vacant former auto garage at 1708 Oak into a combination market, lunch café and catering kitchen. (He owns the business with Cory Imig and has hired general manager Allison Muller.) Wednesday, September 2, he unveils Howard’s Grocery, Café & Catering with a soft opening and a limited menu. When the business officially opens the next day, the chalkboard mounted near the cash register will show more options, including daily specials.
Naturally, those specials will change often, but Howard says the menu will always feature his distinctive burger: two patties of grilled beef from Golden Rule Meats in Walker, Missouri; two slices of his house-made American cheese; pea shoots; a sauce made with house-made mayonnaise, ketchup, organic Worcestershire sauce and pickling juice; pickled vegetables; and organic tomatoes. A Farm to Market potato bun holds it all together.
The other constants on the menu: a veggie burger, two kinds of salads and a pasta selection. Howard is very big these days on his own ravioli, stuffed with golden chanterelles, coated with a pea-shoot pesto and set in fresh tomato “Sunday sauce.” It’s delicious.
When Howard’s operation is up and running, he’ll serve food from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday (with Tuesdays added before the end of the year). First Fridays, he says, he’ll serve burgers until 9 p.m. “We’ve got ideas for special-event dinners that we’ll be hosting from time to time,” he adds. “As long as we can fit it around our catering business.”
Howard’s catering clientele is the main reason that his storefront is closed Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. He designed his open kitchen so that he can effectively use it for both a weekday lunch café and a commercial catering kitchen. During the week, customers will be able to e-mail their lunch orders to the café and pick them up later.
The third component of the new business might be his most ambitious: a 24-hour market, selling locally sourced organic food and running on the honor system. Members of his market who have paid the $60 annual fee will use an access code, allowing them to shop at any hour. Those who shop after-hours will fill out their own sales tickets, which will be entered into a computer system the following day.
There’s not a lot of seating in this operation. A 12-seat communal table, made of reclaimed wood, dominates the dining area. Howard figures that much of his lunch business will be takeout, sold to office workers in the surrounding neighborhood. A grab-and-go refrigerated section will feature salads, sandwiches and side dishes.
There seems to be plenty of afternoon street parking on this stretch of Oak Street, and Howard says the city has plans to add back-in spaces.
