Cactus Grill

Cactus Grill is a locally-owned Tex-Mex restaurant chain founded in Leawood in 1993, expanded to Overland Park’s Bluhawk in 2020 and to Lenexa City Center’s Restaurant Row in January 2025.

Description

Cactus Grill is a Tex-Mex restaurant that began in Leawood in 1993 and grew to three Johnson County locations: its original Leawood spot, a 2020 opening at the Bluhawk development in southern Overland Park, and a third location at Restaurant Row in Lenexa City Center that opened in January 2025.¹² The menu spans steak fajitas, short-rib enchiladas, quesabirria tacos and shrimp diablo, alongside appetizers (chips-and-guac, chicken wings, nachos) and a cocktail program of margaritas, palomas and sangria.²

Ownership and history

Ed Gieselman is credited with ownership of Cactus Grill in trade coverage of the Lenexa opening.³ The concept opened its first Leawood restaurant in 1993, added a second at Bluhawk in Overland Park in 2020, and celebrated a ribbon-cutting for the third at Lenexa City Center’s Restaurant Row on January 14, 2025.¹²³ The Lenexa build-out occupies a new-construction space developed by Copaken Brooks at West 87th Street and Renner Boulevard.³

Leawood and Overland Park street addresses are documented across the restaurant’s own site and directories but were not surfaced in the sources cited here; for exact Leawood and Overland Park addresses via official confirmation.

Links

• Website: https://cactusgrillkc.com/

Menu

Selected items per Johnson County Post coverage and the official website:

• Steak fajitas²
• Short-rib enchiladas²
• Quesabirria tacos²
• Shrimp diablo²
• Chips and guacamole, chicken wings, nachos, southwest egg rolls²
• Margaritas, palomas, sangria²

Full menu at cactusgrillkc.com.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Kaylie McLaughlin, “Mexican restaurant Cactus Grill opens at Lenexa’s Restaurant Row,” Johnson County Post, January 14, 2025, URL — Asserts: Lenexa grand opening January 2025; 8721 Scarborough St address; two prior JoCo locations (Leawood, Overland Park); Tex-Mex concept. ↩ ↩²

2. “This Tex-Mex restaurant has two locations in Johnson County. Get ready for a third,” Kansas City Star via Yahoo, URL — Asserts: first Leawood location opened 1993; Bluhawk Overland Park opened 2020; menu items (fajitas, quesabirria, short-rib enchiladas, shrimp diablo, margaritas). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

3. “Cactus Grill Celebrates Grand Opening at Lenexa City Center with Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony,” Copaken Brooks (developer press release), URL — Asserts: third-location status; developer partnership; Restaurant Row at Lenexa City Center location (W 87th St and Renner Blvd); ownership context. ↩ ↩² ↩³