Buffalo State Pizza Co.

Buffalo State Pizza Co. is a Kansas City-local, owner-operated New York-style pizza company with two locations — downtown Overland Park and the Crossroads arts district — run by co-owners and trained chefs Philippe Lechevin and Steve Robson.¹

Description

Buffalo State Pizza Co. serves honest, old-school New York-style pizza — not deep dish, not cracker crust, not hyper-artisanal — from a landmark 6,400-square-foot building in downtown Overland Park. The concept is rooted in approachability: big slices, a full bar, and room for live entertainment alongside the kind of pizza that brings people together rather than performing for them.²

The downtown Overland Park location, opened in October 2025, occupies the historic Ford building at 7932 Santa Fe Drive — a circa-1918 structure that Lechevin and Robson chose to purchase outright rather than absorb a rent increase at their previous OP address. The $400,000 build-out added a proper dining room, a full bar, a dedicated to-go area, and a mezzanine level seating 50, funded in part through a Honeycomb Credit crowdfunding campaign that raised $62,942 from 51 local investors.¹

Their second location at 1815 Wyandotte St in the Crossroads opened in late 2017 and remains open alongside the new OP flagship.¹

Ownership and history

Philippe Lechevin and Steve Robson are trained chefs who first crossed paths in 2008 while both working for food service company Compass Group USA. They later collaborated under Aramark at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. In 2013, Lechevin found a restaurant listing for a downtown Overland Park pizza shop online at 2 a.m. and called the broker immediately. The sellers required the buyer to honor the existing Papa Keno’s licensing agreement, so Lechevin and Robson ran the location under that brand for the duration of the agreement.¹

When the Papa Keno’s license expired around 2019, they created their own brand: Buffalo State Pizza Co., named as “a nod to the official state animal of Kansas.” The rebrand freed them to control the menu, pricing, and identity. In 2017, before the rebrand, they had already expanded to a Crossroads location at 1815 Wyandotte St, signaling confidence in the concept.¹

The business has built notable staff loyalty — approximately 30% of employees at the time of the 2025 relocation had tenures of nine years or more, a meaningful indicator of workplace stability for an independent restaurant.¹

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-24 · Source: official site (menu page) · URL(s): https://www.buffalostatepizza.com/menu/ · Confidence: High³

New York-style pizza. Two KC locations (Overland Park + Crossroads). Full bar (bar/drinks not itemized on the official menu page). Dine-in, by-the-slice, and to-go; online ordering via Toast.

Specialty pizza³

Prices by size: slice $7.95 · calzone $15 · medium 14” $27 · large 18” $35 · Sicilian 18” $36 · XXL 26” $62 · gluten-free 12” $20

• Buffalo Bill — roasted chicken, green onion, blue cheese, banana pepper, buffalo sauce
• The Maverick — meatball, spicy capicola, salami, banana pepper, provolone cheese
• Stockyard — ground beef, pepperoni, bacon, Scimeca sausages, parmesan
• Hawaiian Five-0 — Canadian bacon, pineapple, blue cheese, jalapeño, green pepper
• Parma — prosciutto, blue cheese, caramelized red onion, romano
• Pesto Pete — roasted chicken, sun-dried tomato, cream cheese, house-made pesto, pine nuts, parmesan cheese
• Green Queen (vegetarian) — roasted broccoli, red onion, green pepper, black olives, spinach, goat cheese
• Tallgrass — artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, mushrooms, ham, roasted red pepper, goat cheese
• Don Pepe — pepperoni, spinach, Roma tomato, feta, parmesan cheese, roasted garlic
• The Greek — kalamata olives, green olives, artichoke hearts, feta, red onion, Roma tomatoes
• Billy The Kid — Canadian bacon, Roma tomatoes, roasted red pepper, green pepper, red onion, mozzarella cheese
• Le Royale — Scimeca sausage, pepperoni, bacon, green peppers, mushroom, black olives, red onion, extra cheese
• Chicken Ranger — roasted chicken, bacon, Roma tomato, jalapeño, green onion and ranch drizzle
• The Outlaw — marinated anchovies, pepperoni, green onion, Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella
• KC Q — roasted chicken, red onion, provolone cheese, fresh cilantro, BBQ sauce
• La Tomatina — Roma tomato, fresh mozzarella, extra red sauce, roasted garlic, fresh basil
• El Patron — ground beef, jalapeño, Roma tomato, fresh cilantro pesto, pickled red onion, taco sauce

Build your own pizza³

• Sizes: slice $5.25 · 14” medium $17 · 18” large $22 · 26” XXL $37 · calzone $12 · Sicilian $23 · GF crust $12
• Toppings (per topping: slice/calzone/GF $1.15 · 14” $2.15 · 18” $3.15 · 26” $6.15): anchovy, almond, blue cheese, bacon, capicola, roast chicken, salami, pine nuts, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, feta, basil pesto, goat cheese, ricotta, meatball, giardiniera, artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, sun-dried tomato, caramelized red onion, kalamata olives, pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage, beef, Canadian bacon, cream cheese, provolone, romano, fresh cilantro, black olive, roasted broccoli, green olive, green onion, green pepper, red onion, jalapeño, mushroom, pepperoncini, Roma tomato, spinach, sauerkraut, pineapple, BBQ sauce, buffalo sauce, taco sauce

Munchies³

• Bread Sticks Naked — 3 large bread sticks with house-made marinara — $7
• Bread Stick 1/2 Naked — topped with choice of roasted garlic or mozzarella, with marinara — $7.50
• Bread Stick Fully Clothed — topped with both roasted garlic and mozzarella, with marinara — $8
• Fromage — roasted garlic cream cheese + romano sauce layer with pesto or marinara + any 2 toppings, served with two bread sticks — $9.75
• Scimeca Meatball — simmered in marinara, topped with romano — single $3.50 / 3 for $9
• House Made Chocolate Chip Cookie — $2.75
• Gooey Cinnamon Stick — $7.50

Sandwiches³

Fresh sliced meats on toasted bread, served with chips and a pickle — all $12.

• The Vinnie — capicola, pepperoni, salami, pepperoncini, mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, red onion, garlic vinaigrette
• Tuscan Turkey — turkey, bacon, pesto, provolone, lettuce, tomato, red onion, garlic vinaigrette
• Chicken Popper — roasted chicken, cream cheese, parmesan, provolone, jalapeño
• Chicken Parmigiana — chicken breast, red sauce, basil pesto, provolone cheese
• Meatball Grinder — Scimeca meatballs, parmesan, red sauce, mozzarella cheese
• The Club — turkey, ham, bacon, pepperoncini, provolone, lettuce, tomato, red onion, garlic vinaigrette
• Twisted Muffuletta — capicola, pit ham, salami, house giardiniera, provolone

Salads³

• Plain Jane — mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, house-made croutons, choice of dressing — sm $5.50 / lg $7
• Chef Salad — mixed greens, pit ham, roasted turkey, bacon, red onion, tomato, mozzarella, house-made ranch — sm $8.50 / lg $10
• The Greek Salad — mixed greens, feta, kalamata olives, green olives, artichoke hearts, red onion, Roma tomato, house garlic vinaigrette — sm $8.50 / lg $10
• Fake Caesar Salad — mixed greens, almonds, anchovies, romano, house-made croutons, Caesar dressing — sm $7.50 / lg $9
• Antipasto Salad — mixed greens, salami, pepperoncini, mozzarella, red onion, kalamata olives, house garlic vinaigrette — sm $7.50 / lg $9
• Dressings: house garlic vinaigrette, Italian, Caesar, ranch, 1000 island, blue cheese, jalapeño ranch · add roasted chicken $2–3

Full menu and current specials: https://www.buffalostatepizza.com/menu/

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Links

• BuffaloStatePizza.com
• Facebook — Buffalo State Pizza Co. OP

Sources

Disputes

None at this time.

Footnotes

1. https://www.startlandnews.com/2025/10/buffalo-state-pizza-overland-park/ — Startland News. Asserts: owners Philippe Lechevin and Steve Robson; founding history from Papa Keno’s (2013) through rebrand (~2019); Crossroads expansion (2017); Santa Fe Dr purchase; $400K build-out; Honeycomb Credit crowdfunding; staff tenure figures. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

2. https://www.buffalostatepizza.com/ — Official website. Asserts: two locations (Overland Park, Crossroads/Kansas City); New York-style pizza concept. ↩

3. https://www.buffalostatepizza.com/menu/ — Official website, Menu page (accessed 2026-07-24). Asserts: full current menu with prices — 17 specialty pizzas with size-based pricing (slice through 26” XXL, Sicilian, gluten-free), build-your-own pizza with full topping list, munchies, seven $12 sandwiches, five salads with dressings; Toast online ordering and gift cards. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶