This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Breit’s Stein and Deli is a neighborhood pub and sandwich counter at 412 N 5th Street, at Elizabeth, in Strawberry Hill, Kansas City, Kansas — best known for its Reuben. Bob Breitenstein took his severance rather than relocate with his employer in 1999 and opened Breit’s with his wife Linda in 2002, in a building that had been a pool hall and then sat vacant for 32 years. The Breitensteins sold in December 2023 to John and Katrina McClelland and Johnathan and Erin Griffiths, on the condition that longtime manager Stephenie Stewart join them as partner and GM; Bob still bartends Tuesdays. Tier 1 — locally owned, single-location, wholly Wyandotte County. Confirmed operating: own site copyrighted 2026; first-party Instagram post 30 June 2026.1234

Description

Breit’s occupies the corner of North 5th Street and Elizabeth, a few blocks from the 6th Street bars and around the corner from the 403 Club. Its own copy describes it as “the kind of place that’s rare these days… a true neighborhood pub, slightly divey but always well-kept, where everyone knows everyone and newcomers are greeted like old friends,” and frames the room as a reflection of Strawberry Hill itself — “a welcoming, diverse community of hardworking folks.”12

The house billing is unambiguous: the front page reads “Home of the Best Reuben in Kansas City!”1 Kansas City Magazine’s Kansas City, Kansas dive-bar survey recorded in 2021 that “a pint of Guinness is four dollars and the popular Reuben sandwich is $5.45 (including chips!),” and described a crowd of older city employees, Ward graduates and Breitenstein family members.3 Those are 2021 prices and are not represented here as current.

The bar functions as a neighborhood venue as much as a lunch counter. First-party copy lists community fundraisers, pub crawls, birthdays, retirements, engagements, bachelorettes, “even a wedding or two,” and what it claims are “THE BEST St. Paddy’s Day parties in all of Kansas City.”12 The jukebox is free.2

Breit’s is also a point of origin for the wider corridor: Kansas City Magazine identifies Danny Dumovich, one of the owners of Chicago’s at 6th and Central, as a former Breit’s bartender, and reads Chicago’s as a younger descendant of the Breit’s model.3

Ownership and history

Bob Breitenstein faced a choice in 1999 — relocate to Houston with his company or take his severance and open a bar, “a longtime dream of his.” He chose the latter, and in 2002, with his wife Linda, opened Breit’s Stein & Deli.12 The building had been a pool hall and had sat vacant for 32 years before the Breitensteins reopened it.2 Kansas City Magazine names the former pool hall Stanko’s and gives the same 32-year dormancy and 2002 opening.3

Ownership changed in December 2023. Per the bar’s own About page: in 2021 John McClelland and his business partner Johnathan Griffiths searched “best sandwich near me,” found Breit’s, became regulars and friends of Bob’s, and when Bob raised the idea of retiring, they and their wives — Katrina McClelland and Erin Griffiths — agreed to continue the business. They made the purchase conditional on longtime manager Stephenie Stewart joining them as a partner and general manager; with Stewart on board, the four bought Breit’s in December 2023. The new owners report cosmetic changes only — new seats, exposed brick, repurposed barnwood flooring. Bob Breitenstein still tends bar on Tuesdays.2

This is a first-party ownership record and supersedes the 2021 press attribution to Bob Breitenstein alone.32

YearEvent
pre-1970Building operates as a pool hall — named as Stanko’s by Kansas City Magazine3
c. 1970–2002Building sits vacant for 32 years23
1999Bob Breitenstein takes severance instead of relocating to Houston2
2002Bob and Linda Breitenstein open Breit’s Stein & Deli23
2021Kansas City Magazine records the $4 Guinness and $5.45 Reuben and the city-employee/Ward-graduate crowd; identifies Chicago’s co-owner Danny Dumovich as a former Breit’s bartender3
2021John McClelland and Johnathan Griffiths discover the bar and become regulars2
Dec 2023Breitensteins sell to the McClellands and Griffithses, with Stephenie Stewart as partner and GM; Bob continues bartending Tuesdays2
2023, 2025Listed by Visit Kansas City, KS among Strawberry Hill’s best dive bars56
2026Operating; own site ©2026; first-party Instagram post 30 June14

menu_status: partial. Breit’s publishes a menu page first-party, but at retrieval the page presented only a heading — “Good ingredients… Great sandwiches” — and an Order Online link out to Grubhub; no itemized list or prices rendered in the page text.7 Prices on the delivery aggregator are not treated as the bar’s counter prices and are not transcribed here.

Verified first-party: freshly prepared sandwiches, the signature Reuben billed as the best in Kansas City, draught beer including Guinness, a free jukebox, and a kitchen that closes at 8:30pm Monday–Saturday and 6pm Sunday — earlier than the bar.12

Historical prices, 2021 only, not current: Kansas City Magazine recorded a $4 pint of Guinness and a $5.45 Reuben including chips.3

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Breit’s Stein & Deli — official website, home page (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: “Home of the Best Reuben in Kansas City!”; “The kind of place that’s rare these days…a true neighborhood pub, slightly divey but always well-kept, where everyone knows everyone and newcomers are greeted like old friends.”; in 1999 Bob Breitenstein chose severance over relocating to Houston, and in 2002 he and his wife Linda opened Breit’s; hours Monday–Thursday 11am–11pm, Friday and Saturday 11am–1am, Sunday 11am–7pm, kitchen closes 8:30 Mon–Sat and 6pm Sunday; address 412 N 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101; phone (913) 342-5311; General Manager Stephenie Stewart; footer “©2026 breitsdeli.com.” This is a primary operating-status verification for this page. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. Breit’s Stein & Deli — official website, About page (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: located at the corner of North 5th Street and Elizabeth in KCK; free jukebox; community fundraisers, pub crawls and St. Patrick’s Day parties; “In 2021 John McClelland and his business partner, Johnathan Griffiths, Googled ‘best sandwich near me’” and found Breit’s, became regulars and friends of Bob’s, and with their wives Katrina McClelland and Erin Griffiths agreed to continue the business when Bob mentioned retiring; they would buy only if longtime manager Stephenie Stewart agreed to be their partner and GM; “they bought Breit’s in December of 2023”; changes since include new seats, exposed brick and repurposed barnwood flooring; the building was “formerly a pool hall that had sat vacant for 32 years”; Bob Breitenstein officially retired on the 2023 sale “but you can still catch him slinging a few drinks behind the bar every Tuesday.” This is the ownership record for this page. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14

  3. “Strawberry Hill might just have the best collection of dive bars in America,” Kansas City Magazine, June 28, 2021 (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: Breit’s Stein and Deli at 412 N. Fifth St.; “A pint of Guinness is four dollars and the popular Reuben sandwich is $5.45 (including chips!)”; the building was previously a pool hall called Stanko’s and “sat dormant for thirty-two years until 2002” when Bob Breitenstein opened it; the bar attracts “an older crowd of city employees, Ward graduates and Breitenstein family members.” The same article names Danny Dumovich, a former Breit’s bartender, as one of the owners of Chicago’s. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  4. Breit’s Stein & Deli — Instagram, @breitsdeli (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: bio “Good vibes. Great sandwiches.”; approximately 1,275 followers; most recent post June 30, 2026, a “CLOSED for 4TH OF JULY” notice; prior 2026 posts June 13, May 24, May 19 and April 30. This is the second operating-status verification for this page. ↩ ↩2

  5. “Strawberry Hill May Have The Best Dive Bars In KC,” Visit Kansas City, KS, May 9, 2023 (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: Breit’s Stein and Deli is “known for reasonably priced beer and its Reuben sandwich.” Gives the address as 614 Reynolds Avenue — contradicted by the bar’s own site (412 N 5th Street) and by Kansas City Magazine; treated as an error in this article, which appears to have swapped Breit’s address with the 403 Club’s. ↩

  6. “Strawberry Hill Might Just Own the Dive Bar Crown in KC — and It Keeps Getting Better,” Visit Kansas City, KS, July 7, 2025 (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: Breit’s Stein and Deli is a currently operating Strawberry Hill bar “known for reasonably priced beer and its famous reuben Sandwich,” as of July 2025. ↩

  7. Breit’s Stein & Deli — official website, Menu page (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: “Enjoy our selection of freshly prepared sandwiches made with quality ingredients. Don’t forget to order online for easy pickup or delivery,” with an Order Online link to Grubhub. No itemized items or prices rendered in the page text on retrieval — recorded as the reason menu_status is partial rather than verified. ↩

See also

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/breits-stein-and-deli · record updated 2026-08-13