Dear Donna

Dear Donna is a chef-owned daytime corner restaurant in Columbus Park, opened in March 2026 by husband-and-wife chefs Johnny and Helen Jo Leach — the James Beard–recognized team behind The Town Company — in the former Happy Gillis space, serving an approachable American lunch-and-brunch menu named for Johnny Leach’s mother.

Description

Dear Donna is a chef-owned daytime corner restaurant at 549 Gillis St in Kansas City’s Columbus Park neighborhood, just northeast of downtown. It opened on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in the space that for years housed the beloved neighborhood café Happy Gillis. Run by husband-and-wife chefs Johnny and Helen Jo Leach, Dear Donna trades the tasting-menu format of their flagship, The Town Company, for an approachable, everyday concept built on care and craft.

The restaurant operates as a counter-service spot seating roughly 36 guests, leaning into lunch with select brunch and a few always-available breakfast items. The small, rotating menu has included dishes such as a dutch baby topped with fried chicken and hot maple syrup, a meatloaf panini, mushroom croquettes, house French fried potatoes, kimchi pimento dip, daily soups, and a slate of rotating salads, vegetarian dishes, and desserts. Helen Jo Leach leads an updated pastry program. The interior is described as airy and minimalist with pastel tones and a homey, approachable feel — fine-dining sensibility delivered casually (silverware arrives in baskets; the owners mingle with diners). The restaurant currently operates Wednesday–Sunday, roughly 9 a.m.–2 p.m., and does not take reservations.

Ownership and history

Dear Donna is owned and operated by chefs Johnny Leach and Helen Jo Leach, a married culinary team best known for The Town Company, the restaurant inside Hotel Kansas City (formerly the Hotel President) downtown. Johnny Leach has been a James Beard Award semifinalist for multiple consecutive years, and Helen Jo Leach has earned James Beard recognition for her pastry and dessert work. The pair continued to run The Town Company kitchen while opening and operating Dear Donna, giving the new venture a clear lineage from one of the city’s most decorated kitchens at a more casual, accessible price point.

The restaurant is named in tribute to Johnny Leach’s mother, Donna Bennett. The Leaches purchased the former Happy Gillis Café & Hangout corner — a long-running Columbus Park breakfast-and-lunch fixture — and announced the new concept in 2025, aiming to preserve the corner café’s approachable, neighborhood-gathering spirit while introducing their own perspective. The restaurant opened in March 2026.

The seed record listed a founding year of 2026 with possible alternatives of 2023/2024; web research confirms the March 2026 opening date and rules out the earlier years (the concept was announced in 2025 for an early-2026 opening). Ownership is independent and local; there is no corporate parent, though it shares its ownership team with The Town Company.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-17 · Source: Axios Kansas City review, IN Kansas City review, Dear Donna official site · URL(s): https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/03/24/dear-donna-combines-fine-dining-with-chill-weekend-brunch · https://www.inkansascity.com/eat-drink/restaurants/reservation-for-one-dear-donna/ · https://www.deardonnakc.com/sample-menu · Confidence: Medium

Dear Donna runs a deliberately tight, rotating daytime menu — roughly a dozen items at a time, anchored by breakfast and lunch with snacks, seasonal vegetable dishes, soups, sandwiches, and a standout pastry program (the soup is always vegan; GF options available). The full, current menu is posted at the restaurant rather than online, so specific items rotate; the dishes below are documented signatures from press coverage and reviews.¹²³

Signatures

• Dutch baby with fried chicken — savory, golden Dutch baby (more egg custard than puffy pancake) topped with crème fraîche, chives, and a crispy fried chicken breast with sweet buttery maple syrup; a defining dish²³
• Pimento “kimcheese” — pimento cheese spread spiced with Korean kimchi, dusted with sesame seeds, served with Ritz crackers (a snack)²

Sandwiches

• Breakfast / egg sandwich — egg and cheddar on a soft bun with hash browns and a tangy secret sauce; hash browns baked into a crisp cracker layer ($14)²
• Meatloaf melt — griddled onions and melted provolone (served as a panini/melt)³
• Fried fish sandwich — on a long soft hoagie bun, slathered with a spicy black-olive-and-Italian-hot-pepper “tartar” sauce³

Salads & vegetables (rotating)

• Charred cabbage salad — tossed with ranch dressing and topped with crispy fried shallots²
• Mushroom croquettes — house croquettes among the rotating vegetable/snack offerings¹
• House French fried potatoes and daily soup (always vegan) round out the rotating plates¹

Pastry & dessert

• Almond cake — moist slice with sweet passionfruit frosting and candied kumquats ($12)²
• Helen Jo Leach leads an updated pastry program with rotating desserts and pastries¹²

Drinks

• Cocktails, wine, and beer, plus thoughtful non-alcoholic options²

Prices listed are sourced from individual press mentions and may have changed; full current pricing is available on location. Items rotate seasonally.

Links

• Website: https://www.deardonnakc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deardonnakc/
• Phone:

See also

• the-town-company
• Registry

Sources

• Status verified active 2026-06-23 via Yelp — Dear Donna (updated June 2026; accessed 2026-06-23) and Dear Donna official site (accessed 2026-06-23). Open at 549 Gillis St; Wed–Sun 9am–2pm.

Footnotes

1. Dear Donna — official site / sample menu — https://www.deardonnakc.com/sample-menu — (sample menu, GF options, soup always vegan; full current menu posted on location) — accessed 2026-06-17 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Axios Kansas City — “Dear Donna combines fine dining, chill weekend brunch” (March 24, 2026) — https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/03/24/dear-donna-combines-fine-dining-with-chill-weekend-brunch — (menu of ~12 items; pimento “kimcheese,” charred cabbage salad, egg sandwich $14, almond cake $12, drinks) — accessed 2026-06-17 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

3. IN Kansas City Magazine — “Reservation for One: Dear Donna” (2026) — https://www.inkansascity.com/eat-drink/restaurants/reservation-for-one-dear-donna/ — (Dutch baby with fried chicken, meatloaf melt, fried fish sandwich) — accessed 2026-06-17 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴