MO Brew is now open on West 39th Street

February 16, 2015

David Hudnall,

Rising from the ashes of the unfortunately named Kansas Town comes another state-themed establishment at 1403 W. 39th Street: MO Brew.

Where Kansas Town was an attempt at artistically progressive dining, MO Brew is going for a more casual vibe. Owner Chad Sander says, “We’re an entertainment-themed beer bar with comfort food, specializing in Midwest craft.”

Sander is also an owner of the bar next door, Drunken Worm (which is celebrating its first anniversary this month), and a managing partner at downtown joint John’s Big Deck. MO Brew has been quietly open, with a limited menu, since early February. Sander says they’ll be adding some more dishes, and possibly some beers, in the next few weeks, with a grand opening tentatively set for the weekend of February 27.

The beer selection emphasizes nearby breweries, including Weston Brewing (MO), Defiance Brewing (Hays, KS), Nebraska Brewing Co. (NE), Urban Chesnut (St. Louis), Tallgrass (Manhattan, KS), Schlafly (St. Louis), Mother’s (Springfield, MO), Free State (Lawrence), Founders (Grand Rapids, MI), Boulevard — plus a smattering of other breweries, including Abita, Odell, Oskar Blues, Left Hand, Tommyknocker and more.

“Basically, we carry every Missouri beer that distributes outside of the town where it’s produced,” Sander says.

Dishes include a handful of pizzas, like the Smoked Buff (cracker crust, Buffalo sauce, chicken, Provel, cheddar) and the Porky (cracker crust, pepperoni, sausage, Provel); a variety of potato cakes; fried plantains; and “smoke bombs” (a crescent roll stuffed with sharp cheddar and smoked burger, wrapped in bacon).

MO Brew’s kitchen also offers four different styles of specialty chicken wings (Sander says two more are on the way), which are smoked in-house. In addition to traditional Buffalo, there are the Coca-Cola Wings (marinated in Coke, baked and sautéed in a Coke reduction); PB&J Wings (marinated in peanut butter and grape jelly, and baked and sautéed in PB&J); and Waffle Wings, which are smoked, then dipped in waffle batter and maple butter sauce, and cooked on a waffle iron. Served up, they’re a sight to behold:

Eventwise, they’re tentatively doing board games on Monday, DJs on Tuesdays and Fridays, trivia on Wednesday (Sander says he’s finalizing the details of bringing in Geeks Who Drink), and live music on Thursdays and Saturdays. There are two turntables in the house, so there may also be a vinyl-sharing night at some point as well, possibly on Sundays. “We’re calling ourselves an entertainment bar,” Sander says. “So the goal is for there to be something entertaining going on any night you come in here.”