Happy Anniversary!

Story by Dave Eckert

Anniversaries, either personal or professional, are always a special time. As a food and beverage journalist, I’m particularly interested in celebrating the anniversaries of some of my favorite local restaurants and culinary institutions. This year, the moon and stars have aligned to provide us with significant milestone anniversaries for three longtime Kansas City culinary gems. I thought it would be the perfect time to recognize their past and present accomplishments and gaze into their future.

Paradise Locker Meats – 30 Years

Let’s start up north in the tiny town of Trimble, MO and Paradise Locker Meats, which celebrates three decades of their amazing family-owned butcher shop this year. Paradise recently held a Customer and Employee Appreciation Day, marking both the milestone of 30 years in business and the retirement of founder, Mario Fantasma.

Mario and Teresa Fantasma, along with their sons, Louis and Nick, transformed a small-town locker into a nationally recognized operation that supplies acclaimed restaurants, including Lidia’s Kansas City, Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room, The Town Company, and even The Fatted Calf in San Francisco. Through their longtime partnership with Heritage Foods USA, Paradise has also helped preserve endangered livestock breeds—cementing its role at the heart of the heritage meat movement.

I spoke with Nick Fantasma, Paradise’s Retail Sales and Marketing Manager, about this momentous occasion. “Thirty years is an incredible milestone for any family business. Watching how the business has evolved has been the most rewarding part of the journey. We have been so blessed with amazing support from the community and the many friends we have made along the way, many of whom we consider family. On a personal level, I could not be prouder to build on the foundation that our father, Mario, established. My brother and I plan to continue building a legacy for the next generation,” Fantasma told me.

I asked Fantasma what he thought were the key elements to Paradise’s long-term success. “I think our success is best summarized by the company’s current core values, and how we hire, fire, and promote within our company. The values we strive to live with every day include hard work, a positive attitude, working well with others, and dependability. Underlying our core values, we try to model Mario’s perseverance and desire to serve his community in the best manner possible. Mario’s commitment to doing things right, or making things right, has brought us to where we are now as a family-owned company with a reputation for some of the highest quality meats you can buy,” Fantasma shared.

As for the future, Fantasma says it’s a transition, but a positive one. “As my brother Louis and I assume ownership, we are looking at ways to take our service to the community to another level. We both have a deep desire to further the impact of local animals raised naturally on local farms and bring our dedication for quality and caring to a larger audience,” Fantasma said. “Our 10-year goal is to make Paradise Locker Meats one of the best places to work. We have a deeply rooted desire to continue to provide safe, quality products to our customers, but we also want to continue to be seen as an employer that can make a difference in the lives of our staff.” Well stated, Nick. Well stated.

Manny’s Mexican Restaurant – 45 Years

If 30 years running a family-owned butcher shop is impressive, and it is, how about 45 years operating a family-owned landmark restaurant? That’s what you will find in the heart of Southwest Boulevard and Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District at Manny’s Mexican Restaurant.

I visited with David Lopez, the current steward of Manny’s. I asked Lopez what this anniversary means to him personally. “It’s an honor, it’s a blessing and it’s beautifully humbling. God has blessed our family with the gift of service, the gift of the people of Kansas City who have supported us for these 45 years, and we couldn’t possibly begin to express our gratitude.”

As for the secret of Manny’s impressive run, Lopez says it’s one simple word. “Love, that is the simple secret. The love that Manny and Vivian Lopez shared with one another, given so freely to staff, customers, and Kansas City. My sisters Debbie, Renee, Kathy, and Kim are honoring and adding to that tradition. Love shared through our family’s recipes by consistently bringing wonderful food to families day in and day out. One taco at a time, caring for people inside and outside our doors and doing as much right as we can. When God blesses you with such responsibility and honor you have to take care of it every single day.”

Manny’s will be celebrating their anniversary at their restaurant September 18-20 with classic Manny’s favorites, including queso and dips, as well as live music, with Trio Atzlan performances on September 18 and 20.

As for a look into Manny’s future, Lopez says that’s a difficult question to answer. “The world is constantly changing, the cost of goods, tax increases, and the questions of safety and volatility of the Crossroads are cause for concern. But we will do all we can to protect our home, grow in unity with the people of Kansas City, and simply love today, tomorrow, and beyond,” Lopez shared. There’s that word again. I love it!

André’s Confiserie Suisse – 70 Years

If 30 years is impressive and 45 years extraordinary, what word could you possibly use to describe 70 years in business? Yes, that’s the remarkable anniversary that André’s Confiserie Suisse is celebrating! They’ve done so under the incredible guidance of Nancy and Rene Bollier. I asked Nancy to share some of her and her family’s thoughts. “This anniversary is a meaningful milestone. It reflects the perseverance and vision of André and Elsbeth, carried forward by the second generation, Marcel and Connie, along with Brigitte and Kevin. It’s their dedication that allows us to continue and honor the traditions of the Bollier family today,” Nancy Bollier told me. “We’ve always stayed true to our roots by remaining authentically Swiss. While many trends have come and gone, we’ve consistently upheld the unique quality and craftsmanship passed down through the two generations before us—skills we strengthened through training in Switzerland.”

Will there be a special celebration? Of course. Many! “We are marking the occasion with a series of fondue dinners throughout October. Looking ahead, we’re excited to plan even bigger festivities for our 75^th anniversary,” Bollier shared.

Summing things up, Bollier says the future of André’s looks very bright. “As we look ahead, we’re excited not only to continue those traditions but also to grow, expanding our seasonal offerings and partner collaborations as well as increasing nationwide availability through our website and valued retail partners,” Bollier said.