Charlie Hooper's Bar & Grille

Charlie Hooper’s Bar & Grille is a long-running Brookside neighborhood bar and grille at 12 W 63rd St — Kansas City’s self-described original craft beer bar, pouring since 1984 and serving its full from-scratch comfort-food menu until 2 a.m. daily, with cocktails until 3 a.m.¹²

Description

Charlie Hooper’s bills itself as “a true neighborhood bar and grille and Kansas City’s original craft beer bar,” anchored in the historic Brookside shopping district at 12 W 63rd St.¹ The kitchen does American comfort food from scratch — burgers (frequently cited as among the best in Brookside), French dips, pulled-pork sandwiches, buffalo chicken wraps, mac ‘n’ cheese variations, and Kansas City strip steak.³ Its defining feature is the beer program: 30 taps and over 100 options in bottles and cans spanning local, craft, seasonal, and unusual brews.¹ The room runs wall-to-wall TVs for sports, daily food and drink specials, and a Sunday Bloody Mary bar, and is open 365 days a year.²

Ownership and history

Charlie Hooper’s served its first draft beer in 1984, per longtime Kansas City Star food writer Joyce Smith, and has operated in Brookside for roughly four decades — the establishment’s own materials describe being in Brookside “for 40 years.”³¹ A change in management took the helm around 2014, after which the operators rebuilt the kitchen around scratch cooking and added roughly 100 beers to the list, cementing the bar’s craft-beer identity.³ The current legal ownership entity is not publicly disclosed on the business’s materials.¹ The bar sits within Brookside, the J.C. Nichols-planned shopping district built starting in 1920, and functions as a durable neighborhood gathering spot.⁴

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-17 · Source: Charlie Hooper’s official site (food + drink menus) · URL(s): https://charliehoopers.com/kansas-city-historic-brookside-charlie-hooper-s-food-menu, https://charliehoopers.com/kansas-city-historic-brookside-charlie-hooper-s-drink-menu · Confidence: High (prices not posted online)

Signature pub food

• Smash Burger (Classic & Spicy) — smashed beef patties with American cheese, pickles and caramelized onions; available as single, double, triple, or quadruple stack.⁵
• The Pub burger — beef or chicken with queso and bacon, stone-ground mustard, on a pretzel bun (the house “best burgers in Brookside” line).⁵
• Mac ‘N’ Cheese (build-your-own) — scratch mac in styles including Pig Butt (BBQ pulled pork + onion strings), Buffalo Chicken (bleu cheese), Cajun (blackened shrimp + smoked Gouda), and Brisket Burnt End Sausage.⁵
• Strip Steak & Frites — 10 oz. Kansas City strip cooked to temperature with garlic-herb butter.⁵
• The Hemingway Wrap — pressed Cuban-style sandwich with pulled pork, pork loin, Swiss, and pickles.⁵

Appetizers / starters

• Smorgasbord — shareable combo of fried pickles, Turbo Tots, Bavarian pretzel, queso, and hummus.⁵
• Chicken Wings — 6- or 12-count (or boneless) in Buffalo, Honey Garlic, Hoopty, Blackened, or BBQ.⁵
• Turbo Tots — fried potatoes stuffed with cheddar and green chiles, chipotle ranch.⁵
• Fried Pickles — Boulevard Wheat–battered long-cut dills with chipotle ranch.⁵
• Cheese Curds, Nachos, Quesadillas, Spicy Shrimp (Dragonfire aioli), and Bavarian Pretzel round out the starters.⁵

Burgers & sandwiches

• Burgers beyond the smash line include the Hickory (bacon, BBQ, fried onions, cheddar, smoked Gouda), Black & Bleu, Double Trouble (two patties, bacon, fried egg), and plant-based Impossible / Spicy Veggie options.⁵
• Sandwiches (“Sammies”) include the Brookside Banh Mi, Kickin’ Chicken (beer-battered Buffalo chicken), California Club, Reuben (corned beef or smoked turkey), and Salmon BLT.⁵
• Dawg Pound — a full lineup of specialty hot dogs (Chihuahua chili dog, El Perro, Mastiff BBQ pork, plant-based Frog Dawg, and a giant Great Dane).⁵

Tacos, salads & entrées

• Tacos — Baja Fish, Blackened Mahi, Fried Avocado Shrimp, and Spicy Chicken.⁵
• Salads — Cobb, Kickin’ Chicken (fried Buffalo), Fajita (tortilla bowl), and Chopped Charlie Chicken.⁵
• Other entrées — Grilled Salmon (teriyaki honey glaze), Fish & Chips basket (hand-battered cod), and TTP cavatappi pasta.⁵

Beer program

• ~30 taps and 100+ bottles/cans spanning local, craft, seasonal, and unusual brews — the bar’s defining draw as “Kansas City’s original craft beer bar.”¹ Local breweries on tap regularly include Boulevard, KC Bier Co., and Perennial, with styles ranging from pilsners and wheats to IPAs, stouts, sours, and ciders.⁶ (The live online drink list shows a larger rotating tap count (~40) and ~80 bottles/cans; the page leads with the official “30 taps / 100+ bottles” figure. Exact current counts rotate.)
• Cocktails — 20+ signature drinks including the Hooper’s Mule, Spicy Jalapeño Margarita, and Hooper’s Old Fashioned; cocktails served until 3 a.m.⁶
• Specials — Happy Hour Mon–Fri 3–6 p.m. ($4.50 domestic drafts, $1 off wells); $5 Boulevard Wheat on Fridays.⁶ (prices subject to change)

Links

• Official site: https://charliehoopers.com/
• Order online (Toast): https://www.toasttab.com/local/order/charlie-hooper-s-brookside-bar-grille-12-w-63rd-st

Sources

Disputes

• Founding year: official materials say “40 years” in Brookside (implying ~1984–86); Feast/KC Star pins first draft beer to 1984; one business-records source cited 1980. Page uses 1984 as the best-supported date. No active dispute.

Footnotes

1. Charlie Hooper’s — official site / About Us. https://charliehoopers.com/kansas-city-historic-brookside-charlie-hooper-s-about-us — asserts: “Kansas City’s original craft beer bar,” 40 years in Brookside, 30 taps and 100+ bottles/cans, address 12 W 63rd St. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

2. Charlie Hooper’s — official site (home/hours). https://charliehoopers.com/ — asserts: open daily 11 a.m.–3 a.m. (365 days/yr), full menu until 2 a.m., cocktails until 3 a.m., Happy Hour Mon–Fri 3–6 p.m., 2026 World Cup watch parties. ↩ ↩²

3. Feast Magazine, “Kansas City Staple Charlie Hooper’s Melds Comfort Food and Craft Beer.” https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/kansas-city-staple-charlie-hoopers-melds-comfort-food-and-craft-beer/article_ea5726c0-8d80-11e5-b291-73246d4e43ff.html — asserts: first draft beer poured 1984 (per Joyce Smith/KC Star); new management c. 2014; from-scratch comfort food; 120+ bottled beers added ~100 under new management; menu items (French dips, pulled pork, mac ‘n’ cheese, KC strip). ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Visit KC, “Brookside.” https://news.visitkc.com/facts/brookside — asserts: Brookside planned/built starting 1920 as J.C. Nichols’ first suburban shopping area. ↩

5. Charlie Hooper’s — official site, Food Menu (accessed 2026-06-17). https://charliehoopers.com/kansas-city-historic-brookside-charlie-hooper-s-food-menu — asserts: current food menu — Smash Burgers (single–quadruple), The Pub burger, build-your-own Mac ‘N’ Cheese (Pig Butt, Buffalo, Cajun, Brisket Burnt End), Strip Steak & Frites (10 oz KC strip), Hemingway Wrap, Smorgasbord starter, chicken wings (Buffalo/Honey Garlic/Hoopty/Blackened/BBQ), Turbo Tots, fried pickles, Sammies (Banh Mi, Kickin’ Chicken, California Club, Reuben), Dawg Pound hot dogs, tacos, salads, salmon, fish & chips, TTP pasta; no prices posted online. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶

6. Charlie Hooper’s — official site, Drink Menu (accessed 2026-06-17). https://charliehoopers.com/kansas-city-historic-brookside-charlie-hooper-s-drink-menu — asserts: rotating draft + bottle/can beer program (local incl. Boulevard, KC Bier Co., Perennial; styles pilsner–IPA–stout–sour–cider); 20+ signature cocktails (Hooper’s Mule, Spicy Jalapeño Margarita, Hooper’s Old Fashioned) served until 3 a.m.; Happy Hour Mon–Fri 3–6 p.m. ($4.50 domestic drafts, $1 off wells), $5 Boulevard Wheat Fridays. Note: live online list showed ~40 taps / ~80 bottles vs. official About page’s “30 taps / 100+ bottles” — counts rotate. ↩ ↩² ↩³