This Kansas City business has closed. KS.City keeps its page on the record.

Colby + Megan Garrelts chef-owner fine-dining operation in Westport; opened March 15, 2004; closed December 19, 2020 after 17 years. Helped redevelop Westport’s culinary scene + put Kansas City on the national fine-dining stage. The Garreltses’ sibling restaurant rye continues.

Description

Bluestem was the chef-owner fine-dining operation of Colby and Megan Garrelts — a husband-and-wife culinary partnership who met working in Chicago (Colby as chef; Megan as pastry chef) and moved to Kansas City — where Colby grew up — to open Bluestem in 2004.12

The couple signed the lease on a 1,100-square-foot corner space in Westport one month after their wedding and opened Bluestem on March 15, 2004. They did much of the initial space-buildout work themselves on a shoestring budget; the tiny 13-table restaurant launched and quickly became a destination. In 2006, the Garreltses expanded by opening a lounge next door to the dining room.2

Across 17 years, Bluestem became one of Kansas City’s most-decorated fine-dining operations. Colby Garrelts earned the 2013 James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Midwest award; Megan Garrelts is a Beard Semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Bluestem itself was a Beard Semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Coverage in Wall Street Journal, Food & Wine, Saveur, Bon Appétit.

Bluestem served its final dinner on December 19, 2020 after 17 years — closing during the pandemic. The Garreltses’ second restaurant rye continues operating; the closure ended Bluestem’s specific contribution to KC’s fine-dining stage but the Garrelts chef-ownership tradition continues at Rye.

Tier classification (at time of closure)

Tier 1 — KC-native chef-owner, founder-led, independent. Colby’s KC-native status meets the criterion’s strictest reading.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Bluestem — Colby and Megan Garrelts. http://www.bluestemkc.com/colby-megan-garrelts/. ↩

  2. Ateriet — “Meet Colby and Megan Garrelts of Bluestem and Rye Restaurants, Kansas City.” https://www.ateriet.com/colby-and-megan-garrelts-interview/. Source for: Chicago meeting; Colby KC-native; 2004 Westport founding; one-month-after-wedding lease; 2006 lounge expansion. ↩ ↩2

See also

Categories
  • Locally owned
  • American
  • Founder Led
  • Westport