Anton's Taproom

Anton’s Taproom is a Crossroads steakhouse and bar opened in October 2012 by owner-operator Anton Kotar, built around in-house dry-aged, grass-fed beef sourced from Kotar’s own Missouri ranch — one of the largest grass-fed beef operations in the region.¹

Description

Anton’s Taproom occupies a restored 1898 building at 1610 Main Street in Kansas City’s Crossroads Art District. The restaurant centers on dry-aged, grass-fed beef: Kotar cuts and ages steaks in-house at an attached butcher shop visible from the dining room, then sears them at high heat to develop a proper crust. The result is a self-contained meat program rare among KC steakhouses — the animal moves from Kotar’s ranch to the plate without leaving his operation.

The space itself is a deliberate act of preservation. When Kotar acquired the building, much of Main Street was still shuttered; he restored original walls and floors, sourcing period-appropriate materials where needed, and opened the restaurant as part of an early wave of Crossroads investment. Beyond the dining room, Anton’s runs a full tap program (reported at 72 beers on draft), a retail butcher shop, an indoor tilapia farm in the basement, and an aquaponics herb garden — a farm-to-table infrastructure embedded in the building itself.

Kotar has also built a community-hiring program into the restaurant, hiring nearly two dozen people with prior criminal records since opening. That social-mission layer runs alongside the food program and has received press attention alongside the steakhouse concept.²

Ownership and history

Anton Kotar is described consistently in press as a “longtime restaurateur” and rancher, though his origins and background prior to Anton’s Taproom are not well-documented in available sources. He developed one of the region’s largest grass-fed beef farms, with a processing plant near Cape Girardeau, Missouri, supplying Anton’s and wholesale accounts across Kansas City and beyond.²

Kotar began planning Anton’s around 2011–2012, originally weighing whether the “Anton’s” name had been used previously in Kansas City before proceeding. The restaurant opened in October 2012 — during a period when the 1600 block of Main Street was largely vacant — and is credited with contributing to the Crossroads corridor’s early revitalization.³

Since opening Anton’s, Kotar has extended his KC footprint: he later reopened the iconic Cascone’s Grill space as Estelle’s Diner (named after his daughter), using the same grass-fed beef sourcing from his ranch.² Anton’s itself has remained at 1610 Main through 2026, with active Yelp reviews updated as recently as June 2026.⁴

Links

• Official site: https://antonskc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antonstaproom/

Sources

Disputes

None at this time.

Footnotes

1. Her Life Magazine KC — “Anton’s Restaurant and Taproom: History, Ambiance and Great Steaks” — https://www.herlifemagazine.com/kansascity/cravings/antons-restaurant-and-taproom-history-ambiance-and-great-steaks/ — Asserts: name, address, owner Anton Kotar, 1898 building, dry-aged beef program, founding context. ↩

2. Feast Magazine / Fox 4 KC / Kansas City Magazine — multiple profiles of Anton Kotar — Asserts: Cape Girardeau ranch operation, Estelle’s Diner, community hiring program. (Feast: https://www.feastmagazine.com/the-feed/kansas_city_news/article_cd4f7afe-3b7a-11e9-8acf-eb63e3c7ecdb.html) ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. The Pitch KC — “Anton Kotar opening a new butcher shop and restaurant on Main Street” (2011/2012) — https://www.thepitchkc.com/food-drink/article/20571449/anton-kotar-opening-a-new-butcher-shop-and-restaurant-on-main-street — Asserts: opening timeline, 1610 Main address, name deliberation; restaurant described as opening “mid-March” with actual opening confirmed October 2012 per Her Life profile. ↩

4. Yelp — Anton’s — 1610 Main St, Kansas City, MO — updated June 2026 — https://www.yelp.com/biz/antons-kansas-city-2 — Asserts: currently active, operating hours. ↩