d'Bronx

d’Bronx was a Kansas City New York-style deli-and-pizzeria institution, founded in July 1990 by Robert and Janet Bloom and later owned by Don Foringer, known for from-scratch pizza (the “D’Bronx Special”), overstuffed deli sandwiches, and its fresh-baked bread. Its flagship at 3904 Bell St (39th & Bell, Volker/West 39th St) anchored the brand for over three decades before closing in 2022; the small local chain’s last operating store, in Overland Park, closed in March 2025, ending the run. This is an In-Memoriam Registry entry honoring a 30-plus-year KC tradition — closed, not failed.

Description

d’Bronx was one of the Kansas City metro’s few blends of New York-style deli and pizzeria cultures — a “slice shop” serving from-scratch, New York City-style pizza (available by the slice or in 16-inch and 30-inch pies) alongside premium deli sandwiches on house bread.¹² Pizza accounted for more than half of the restaurant’s sales, and its best-selling pie, the “D’Bronx Special” (a loaded thin-crust with pepperoni, Italian sausage, meatballs, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, onions, olives and green peppers), was a longtime fan favorite.¹² In August 2025, Food Network recognized d’Bronx as the best pizza slice in Kansas.¹ The business grew from its original 39th & Bell storefront into a small metro chain with locations on both the Missouri and Kansas sides.

Ownership and history

d’Bronx was opened in July 1990 by Robert and Janet Bloom, who drew the name and concept from family ties to a deli in The Bronx, New York.³² In 2004, Don Foringer bought the business and set about systematizing its operations, running it for the following two decades.³² Under the Bloom-then-Foringer ownership, d’Bronx expanded from the original 39th & Bell deli into sister locations including Crown Center (2450 Grand Blvd, KCMO), Mission, KS (6846 Johnson Drive), and Overland Park, KS (7070 W 105th St).²⁴

The original flagship at 3904 Bell St — in the Volker/West 39th Street area of KCMO — operated for roughly 32 years before closing in 2022.⁴ That storefront was later briefly occupied by a Zhoug Mediterranean concept, which also subsequently closed (see Zhoug Mediterranean).

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-24 · Source: archived official d’Bronx menu PDF (“dBronx-Menu-2021.pdf”), served from the official site dbronxkc.com’s Bell Street page, Wayback capture 2022-01-12 — the flagship’s final-era menu, preserved as a historical record (business closed; no current menu exists) · URL(s): https://web.archive.org/web/20220112213259/http://dbronxkc.com/wp-content/uploads/dBronx-Menu-2021.pdf · https://web.archive.org/web/20220112213259/http://dbronxkc.com/bell-street/ · Confidence: High (full official capture of the 2021 menu; historical — prices are as of 2021)

Scope: this is the official 2021 menu published for the Bell Street (Mid-Town) flagship, captured weeks before the flagship’s 2022 closure; the PDF also listed the Overland Park and Mission stores (Mission marked “closed for remodel” at capture, and Crown Center no longer listed).⁵

Pizza & calzones (all whole pies large 16”, 8 slices)

• D’Bronx Special Combo (best-selling signature pizza) — 8 bestselling toppings: spicy pepperoni, Italian sausage, Italian meatballs made with ricotta and romano, Canadian bacon, fresh mushrooms, imported natural black olives, oven-roasted onions and green peppers — $28.00⁵
• Whole Cheese Pie — $18.00; create-your-own toppings $2.50 regular (pepperoni, ground beef, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, roasted green peppers, roasted white onions, sliced tomatoes, fresh garlic, black olives, pineapple, spinach, jalapeños) / $3.00 premium (extra cheese, Italian sausage, sliced Italian meatballs, grilled chicken, housemade roasted red peppers, green olives, artichokes, ricotta, anchovies)⁵
• New York pie by the slice — Plain Cheese $3.35 · Pepperoni $3.85 · Pepperoni & Sausage $4.35 · All Meat $5.65 · D’Bronx Special $5.65⁵
• Traditional Calzone — aged mozzarella, ricotta and provolone blend with choice of three toppings, baked, topped with marinara — $10.95⁵

Deli favorites

• Grilled Reuben — corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut, Russian dressing on grilled rye — $11.99⁵
• Pastrami on Rye — Gold Label smoked pastrami navel from Sy Ginsberg — $11.99⁵
• Corned Beef on Rye — house-prepared Boyle’s corned beef on New York-style rye — $11.49⁵
• Roast Turkey on Grilled Rye — house-roasted turkey, lettuce, tomato, honey mustard — $9.49⁵

Signature sandwiches

• Chicken Parmesan — breaded chicken breast, provolone, marinara on Italian roll — $9.49⁵
• Hot Wild Bill — sizzling Genoa salami, provolone, cole slaw, spicy mustard on toasted poppyseed onion roll — $8.99⁵
• Meatball Parmesan — meatballs, provolone, marinara on Italian roll — $9.49⁵
• Cheesesteak — grilled Angus steak, onions and peppers, provolone on Italian roll — $10.49⁵
• Grilled Chicken — chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, honey mustard on wheat roll — $8.99⁵
• Turkey on Wheat — turkey, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, honey mustard — $9.49⁵

Sub sandwiches, East Coast style (Italian sesame sub roll, balsamic vinaigrette)

• D’Bronx Special Sub — turkey, Genoa salami, ham, Swiss, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, black olives — $8.49⁵
• Napoli Italian — Genoa salami, spicy capicola, mortadella, pepperoni, provolone, roasted red pepper, pickled vegetables, tomato, onion, green olives — $10.49⁵
• Bell Street Bomb — roast beef, turkey, Genoa salami, provolone, veggie cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo — $9.89⁵
• Hot Pastrami & Swiss Sub — hot pastrami, Swiss, lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion, black olives — $11.99⁵

Salads, soups and sides

• House Mixed Greens — red onion, black olives, croutons — side $4.95 / entrée $6.95 · Caesar — side $4.95 / entrée $6.95 (add grilled chicken +$2.95)⁵
• Chef Salad — mixed greens, roast turkey, ham, Genoa salami, provolone and Swiss, tomato, red onion, black olives, croutons — $10.49⁵
• Antipasto Salad — mixed greens, Genoa salami, capicola, mortadella, pepperoni, provolone, tomato, red onion, Sicilian olive relish — $10.99⁵
• Chicken Soup — housemade with chicken, carrots, celery, onion — cup $4.95 / bowl $5.95 · Chicken with Egg Noodles & Matzo Ball — bowl $6.50⁵
• Sides: Pasta Salad $2.55 · Cucumber Salad $2.55 · Cole Slaw $2.55 · Sicilian Olive Salad $3.25⁵

Dinners

• Meat Lasagna Dinner — housemade lasagna with premium meats and cheeses, side salad, garlic bread — $10.25 · Spinach Lasagna Dinner — $10.25⁵

Desserts made in-house

• Carrot Cake slice $4.95 · Red Velvet slice $4.55 · Chocolate Cake slice $4.55 · New York Style Cheesecake slice $4.95 · Black & White Cookies $3.50 · “Big” Brownies $3.00⁵

Beverages

• Boylan cane-sugar craft sodas (root beer, crème, grape, black cherry, ginger ale) $2.75 · Pepsi products 20oz $2.25 / 2-liter $3.00⁵

Note: press coverage also describes 30-inch party pies alongside the 16-inch pies;¹² the 30-inch size does not appear on the archived 2021 flagship menu PDF (likely ordered as a special/catering item).

Links

• Historical social presence (business closed): Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/dbronxkc/ · Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/dbronxkc/

Sources

Footnotes

1. KCTV5 — “D’Bronx, Waldo Pizza named top slices in Kansas, Missouri” (Aug 22, 2025). https://www.kctv5.com/2025/08/22/food-network-recognizes-kansas-city-pizza-restaurants-tops-missouri-kansas/ — asserts: Food Network named d’Bronx the best pizza slice in Kansas; d’Bronx was a New York-style slice shop established in 1990; pizza accounted for more than half of sales; the “D’Bronx Special” was a fan favorite; the final d’Bronx location in Overland Park closed in March 2025. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Feast Magazine — Feast 50, “Sandwich Shop: D’Bronx” (2015). https://www.feastmagazine.com/feast-50/sandwich-shop-dbronx/article_eb988262-268e-11e5-806f-e752425acbce.html — asserts: Robert and Janet Bloom opened the d’Bronx slice shop in Kansas City in July 1990; voted best sandwich shop in the 2015 Feast 50; a NY-style deli-and-pizzeria; the “D’Bronx Special” toppings; owner Don Foringer operated the original deli plus sister locations in Crown Center, Overland Park KS, and Mission KS. (Publisher page is bot-gated to automated fetches; content corroborated by ³ and ¹.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Pizza Today — “d’Bronx: Evolution of a Brand.” https://pizzatoday.com/departments/features/d-bronx-evolution-of-a-brand — asserts: d’Bronx was opened by Robert and Janet Bloom in Kansas City in July 1990, with the name/concept inspired by family ties to a deli in The Bronx; Don Foringer bought d’Bronx in 2004 and systematized operations. (Publisher page is bot-gated to automated fetches; content corroborated by ² and ¹.) ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Pizza Franchise Hub — “Kansas City’s Iconic D’Bronx Pizza Shop Closes Its Doors For Good.” https://www.pizzafranchisehub.com/archives/14649 — asserts: the last remaining d’Bronx location at 7070 W 105th St, Overland Park closed permanently (article dated March 26, 2025); prior/closed locations include the original at 39th & Bell Streets, 6846 Johnson Drive in Mission, and Crown Center; no d’Bronx locations remained open; framed as the end of a long-standing Kansas City tradition. ↩ ↩²

5. d’Bronx official menu PDF, “dBronx-Menu-2021.pdf,” published on dbronxkc.com (official site) and linked from the Bell Street location page; Wayback Machine capture 2022-01-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20220112213259/http://dbronxkc.com/wp-content/uploads/dBronx-Menu-2021.pdf — asserts: full flagship menu with 2021 prices (pizza/calzones, sandwiches, subs, salads/soups/sides, lasagna dinners, in-house desserts, beverages); locations listed as Mid-Town 3904 Bell St (816) 531-0550, Overland Park 7070 W 105th St, and Mission 6846 Johnson Drive (“closed for remodel”); Crown Center absent from the location list at this capture. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷