Story by Dave Eckert | Photos courtesy of Penny’s in the Village
I love a good Happy Hour. I mean, what’s not to like? Food and drinks at reduced prices, good times with friends and family, a chance to check out new places, different cuisine, and adult beverages, all while getting an early, happy start to your evening.
Restaurants and bars have been using Happy Hours to attract customers for as long as I can remember. In fact, before I can remember! Forty-five years before I was born, Happy Hours got their start in the U.S. Navy. That’s right, around 1913, in an effort to boost morale, the USS Arkansas began hosting “Happy Hour” events, including boxing matches, music, and movies.
To learn when eating and drinking became a part of Happy Hours, you need to fast forward a few years to Prohibition, when Speakeasies, illegal watering holes, began offering discounted drink and food specials to attract patrons looking to socialize after work. These Happy Hours were often called “Tea Parties” to circumvent the ban on alcohol.
Today’s Happy Hour refers to a specific time of the day, usually late afternoon or early evening, or, in the case of Reverse Happy Hours, later in the evening and into the night, when drinks and food are offered at cheaper prices. No boxing matches or movies, but definitely morale boosters, for sure.
There are dozens, likely hundreds, of Happy Hour offerings throughout the Kansas City metro, but here, I’ll focus on four of my favorites, starting at an unlikely spot, for me anyway, Power and Light and the great newish restaurant, Besos y Abrazos.
Beso y Abrazos (kisses and hugs) was conceived by long-time culinary veteran Joe Shirley, who provides nationwide leadership to Live! Hospitality and Entertainment’s culinary team. “Besos y Abrazos was created to provide a high-end place with great food and nightlife for the city, focused on the flavors of Latin America,” Shirley told me. Having dined at Besos multiple times, I can personally highly recommend it anytime, but the Happy Hour offerings and times are tough to beat. “We offer Happy Hour Tuesday- Friday, 4-7 pm. Our happy hour food features a variety of half-price favorites- all flavors of empanadas, shishito peppers, arroz con pollo arancini, green chili quesadilla, and watermelon salad. For beverages, we offer $5 beers, $6 wine by the glass, and $8 specialty cocktails!” Shirley exclaimed. Half price empanadas and $6 wine by the glass? I’m so there!
Next, Amante Domingo weighs in on his excellent Happy Hour at one of his three eateries – Noka. But first, a little about Domingo and how and why Noka was created. “I am a farm boy from St. Joseph. We grew produce and sold it in the Kansas City farmers’ market. My parents had a farm-to-table restaurant as well. After my father passed, I took down the family barn and built Noka. It is a story about his passing. Asian food was a love of ours and I wanted a place to keep that going,” Domingo told me. As for Noka’s Happy Hour, they have a standard one during the week with excellent food and drink options, but the real winner for me is Thursday when Noka offers half-off sushi all night! We stopped by to sample that recently, and it was amazing.
Over in Johnson County, one of my favorite Happy Hours can be found at Prairie Village’s Penny’s in the Village, which owners Penny and Doug Mufaka opened as sort of a casual hybrid of their two Leawood restaurants, Bamboo Penny’s and Aqua Penny’s. “Bamboo Penny’s is the pinnacle of our effort to offer a full experience, not just carryout food. It was the family-friendly green space that attracted Penny to that high-rent location. Penny’s in the Village adds Thai street food to the traditional Thai menus, making it unique and next-level authentic,” Doug Mufaka shared.
The Mufakas offer Happy Hours at all three Penny’s locations, and they all start with craft cocktails created by one of the best mixologists in the business, Jenn Tosatto. “I believe we have the best cocktails in Kansas City! Jenn has been in the industry for almost two decades and has won a slew of national craft cocktail contests. She has unique cocktail offerings at each location that rotate weekly or monthly. As for culinary offerings, all three restaurants serve $5-$6 Happy Hour small plates that show off Penny’s culinary improvisation skills,” Mufaka stated.
Finally, across the parking lot from Penny’s in the Village, you will find Scratch Gourmet Kitchen, which serves up its Happy Hour 4-6 pm, Tuesday-Friday. The food at Scratch’s Happy Hours, and at the restaurant in general, is great. But, as a wine lover, their Happy Hour collection of $9 wines by the glass is the main attraction. “I want our Happy Hour to be a microcosm of what Scratch is all about-a selection of wines by the glass from our award-winning wine list and samples of our cuisine from our terrific culinary team. Hopefully, after experiencing both, guests will either want to return or stay for dinner,” owner Tyler Morrison told me. Sounds like a plan!
