Em Chamas Brazilian Grill

Em Chamas Brazilian Grill is a family-owned churrascaria in Kansas City’s Northland, opened in 2007 by Sam and Jana Silvio with brother Nick Silvio — billed as the metro’s original traditional Brazilian-style rodízio steakhouse.

Description

Em Chamas Brazilian Grill is a Brazilian churrascaria located in The Village at Burlington Creek in Kansas City’s Northland. Opened in 2007, it is widely described as the greater Kansas City metro’s first traditional Brazilian-style churrascaria, and brands itself “Kansas City’s Original Brazilian Churrascaria.”

The restaurant centers on the rodízio service style: skilled meat carvers (passadores) circulate through the dining room offering successive cuts of fire-grilled meat carved tableside, complemented by a hot-and-cold gourmet salad bar and side dishes. Guests use a two-sided card to signal whether they want more meat or a pause.

The concept originated from a family travel experience — co-founder Sam Silvio observed the popularity of the churrascaria format while vacationing in Argentina and judged it a fit for the meat-loving American Midwest.

Ownership and history

In 2007, Sam Silvio and his wife Jana Silvio, together with Sam’s brother Nick Silvio, opened Em Chamas as a first-of-its-kind dining experience for the greater Kansas City area. The business is explicitly family-run.

The Silvio family’s footprint in Northland dining later expanded: their sister Gina Silvio purchased the Riverside-area barbecue shack Hawg Jaw Fritz (from Bud and Marlye Laub), and hired her brothers Sam and Nick to help operate it — a sibling-linked but separate venture.

A second Em Chamas location in downtown St. Joseph, Missouri exists (confirmed 2026-06-23 via its own Yelp listing and News-Press Now coverage; it relocated within downtown St. Joseph c. 2012 to the Ballinger Building at 7th & Edmond). This corrects the base data’s “Lenexa” guess — the second location is St. Joseph. (Source 6.)

Tier classification

Tier 2 (provisional). Em Chamas is a family-owned, owner-operated independent restaurant rooted in the Northland for nearly two decades, and the Silvio family is woven into the local food scene (Hawg Jaw Fritz). It introduced and still anchors the Brazilian churrascaria experience in the metro. Tier could move to Tier 1 if the Silvio family’s born-and-raised KC-metro roots are confirmed; pending that, the strong-but-unverified local-roots question and the multi-location footprint place it solidly at Tier 2.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-24 · Source: official site (Popmenu) — Rodizio Menu, Dessert Menu, and Inferno Lounge pages · URL(s): https://www.emchamas.com/menu · https://www.emchamas.com/menus/rodizio-menu · https://www.emchamas.com/menus/dessert-menu · https://www.emchamas.com/menus/the-inferno-lounge · Confidence: High (full rodizio pricing structure, meat roster, gourmet-bar roster, desserts, and lounge à la carte menu captured from the official site; happy-hour and drink menus also published at emchamas.com/menu but not itemized here)

Brazilian churrascaria / rodízio. 6101 NW 63rd Ter, Northland (Village at Burlington Creek). Hours per official site: Mon–Fri 5–9pm (Inferno Lounge from 4:30) · Sat 4–9:30pm · Sun 4–8pm.¹

Rodizio pricing (per person)

• Rodizio Dinner — full meat rotation + gourmet bar — $54.95¹
• Gourmet bar only — $26.95¹
• Children 6–12 — $19.95¹
• Children 5 and under — $7¹
• Seafood Upgrade — additional seafood trio plate: 3 shrimp, 2 scallops, 3oz salmon — +$16.95¹
• 20% gratuity/service fee added for parties of 5 or more.¹

Rodizio meats

Passadores (meat carvers) circulate tableside offering successive fire-grilled cuts; a two-sided table marker signals “more” or “pause.” Roster per the official rodizio menu (items showing a price are also sold à la carte in the Inferno Lounge):

• Picanha — a specialty top sirloin cut¹
• Alcatra Com Queijo — top sirloin stuffed with provolone cheese¹
• Carne de Alho — garlic beef¹
• Fraldinha — bottom sirloin (Brazilian flank steak)¹
• Cordeiro — marinated leg of lamb¹
• Lamb Chops — marinated T-bone chops — $16 à la carte¹
• Costela de Porco com Barbecue — KC style St. Louis barbecue ribs¹
• Presunto Caramelizado — caramelized pit ham¹
• Linguica — Brazilian pork sausage¹
• Sobra Coxa de Frango Picante — spicy chicken thighs¹
• Drumsticks — marinated 48 hrs, slow-roasted over the custom-built wood-burning rotisserie¹
• Spiedini de Frango — chicken spiedini — $9 à la carte¹
• Shrimp Spiedini — Italian breaded shrimp skewered and flame-grilled, lemon-garlic amogio — $14 à la carte¹
• Abacaxi Grelhado — grilled pineapple, rotisserie caramelized¹

Gourmet bar (included with rodizio; 30+ items, made in-house daily)

• Dressings: Caesar, Silvio Family Italian, Brazilian vinaigrette, ranch¹
• Condiments: baguette bread, chimichurri, farofa¹
• Lettuces: romaine, mixed greens¹
• Cold salads: roasted asparagus, green bean & feta salad, cherry peppers, Italian pasta salad, creamy crab salad, broccoli salad, assorted Italian olive salad, artichoke heart & sundried tomatoes, cucumber & onions, sesame pineapple salad, baby bay shrimp ceviche (lime, tomato, peppers, cilantro, tortilla chips), heirloom tomato salad, assorted cheeses oreganato, mango coleslaw¹
• Hot items: Brazilian stroganoff, Brazilian black beans, mashed potatoes, sautéed seasonal vegetables with garlic & olive oil, Brazilian rice, feijoada, soup of the day¹

Desserts (Sobremesas) — $7 each¹

• Mousse de Maracujá — slightly tart passion fruit mousse, raspberry coulis — $7¹
• Chocolate Mousse Cake — chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse, fudge frosting, raspberry coulis, vanilla ice cream — $7¹
• Pudim de Coco — baked coconut flan, toasted coconut, caramel sauce — $7¹
• Coffee Crème Brûlée — crème brûlée infused with coffee liqueur — $7¹
• Abacaxi Grelhado — rotisserie caramelized grilled pineapple — $7¹

The Inferno Lounge (à la carte bar menu, opens 4:30 weekdays)

Small plates and grilled meats off the wood-burning fire, without the full rodizio commitment — highlights:

• St. Louis Spare Ribs — half-pound, slow braised then wood-fire grilled, KC-style BBQ sauce — $9¹
• Brazilian Cheese Steak Sliders — shaved fraldinha, caramelized onion, provolone, chimichurri, crispy baguette, house-made chips — $14¹
• Spiedini Parmesan — wood-fire chicken spiedini, melted provolone, pasta of the day — $14¹
• BBQ Beef Sliders — BBQ beef, creamy slaw, crispy baguette, house-made chips — $14¹
• Bangers and Mash — linguica with garlic mashed potatoes — $10¹
• Rice and Beans — classic black beans over Brazilian rice — $7 · Feijoada and Rice — $8 · Brazilian Stroganoff and Rice — $8¹
• Blackened Salmon — sautéed spinach, pineapple salsa, balsamic reduction — $14¹
• Scallops — pan-seared, butter sauce, French green beans, red bell peppers — $16¹
• Bacon Wrapped Shrimp — jalapeño-stuffed Gulf shrimp, chipotle aioli, mandarin fennel salad — $14¹
• Wings — buffalo or passion fruit habanero — 6 for $9.99 / 12 for $18.99¹
• Grilled meats à la carte: Picanha $13 · Medalhão com Alho (garlic beef medallions) $13 · Alcatra com Queijo $13 · Fraldinha $17 · Cordeiro $12 · Fraldinha Caesar $18 · Spiedini Caesar $14¹
• Salads/soups/pastas: Caprese $10 · Caesar Salad $8 · House Salad $8 · Soup of the Day $8 · Pasta of the Day $8 · Asparagus (bacon lardons, sweet onion, dried cranberry) $10 · Italian Olive Salad & Cheese Oreganato Plate (with pão de queijo) $14¹

Reservations: OpenTable + Tock. Full menus + reservations: emchamas.com

Links

• Website: https://www.emchamas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emchamasbrazil/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emchamasbrazil/

See also

• north-kansas-city
• the-northland
• burlington-creek
• hawg-jaw-que-and-brew
• fritzs-railroad-restaurant
• Registry

Sources

1. Em Chamas Brazilian Grill — official site (2007 founding by Sam & Jana Silvio with Nick Silvio, “KC’s Original Brazilian Churrascaria,” rodízio concept, Argentina-trip origin, Burlington Creek location, Facebook) — https://www.emchamas.com/ and /about — accessed 2026-05-30
2. The Pitch — “Sam and Nick Silvio take over Hawg Jaw Fritz in the Northland” (sister Gina Silvio bought Hawg Jaw Fritz, brothers operate it; family confirmation) — https://www.thepitchkc.com/sam-and-nick-silvio-take-over-hawg-jaw-fritz-in-the-northland/ — accessed 2026-05-30
3. Yelp — Em Chamas Brazilian Grill, Kansas City (address, phone, operating status; listing “Updated May 2026,” 387 reviews) — https://www.yelp.com/biz/em-chamas-brazilian-grill-kansas-city — accessed 2026-06-23
4. OpenTable — Em Chamas Brazilian Grill (listing “Updated 2026,” actively accepting reservations, 725 diner reviews, 4.2/5) — https://www.opentable.com/r/em-chamas-brazilian-grill — accessed 2026-06-23
5. Exploretock — Em Chamas Brazilian Grill, Kansas City (live reservation availability) — https://www.exploretock.com/em-chamas-brazilian-grill-kansas-city — accessed 2026-06-23; and KC Restaurant Week — Em Chamas listing (2026 participant) — https://www.kcrestaurantweek.com/em-chamas-brazilian-grill — accessed 2026-06-23
6. Yelp — Em Chamas, St. Joseph (separately-operated St. Joseph location) — https://www.yelp.com/biz/em-chamas-st-joseph-2 — accessed 2026-06-23; relocation context: News-Press Now — “Em Chamas announces new location” (downtown St. Joseph relocation to Ballinger Building, 7th & Edmond) — https://www.newspressnow.com/news/em-chamas-announces-new-location/article_8cebbc98-5686-519a-9130-6740467efadb.html — accessed 2026-06-23

Verification

Drafted 2026-05-30 from web research; PASS-4 operating-status re-verification 2026-06-23 (status_last_verified: 2026-06-23). Verified: 2007 founding, Silvio-family ownership (Sam, Jana, Nick), rodízio churrascaria concept, “metro’s original” claim, Burlington Creek/Northland location, social links. 2026-06-23 status: flagship CONFIRMED ACTIVE (registry_status: active) — Yelp “Updated May 2026” (387 reviews), OpenTable “Updated 2026” accepting reservations (725 diner reviews), Tock live, KC Restaurant Week 2026 participant. St. Joseph second location confirmed to exist and is separately operated (relocated within downtown St. Joseph c. 2012); precise current status not separately re-confirmed. Still unverified: current explicit 2026 Silvio family-ownership statement (no closure/sale signal found — owner-of-record presumed unchanged); Silvio family KC-metro roots (bears on Tier 1 vs 2); Hawg Jaw Fritz current status.

Footnotes

1. Em Chamas Brazilian Grill — official menu pages (Popmenu): menu index (https://www.emchamas.com/menu), Rodizio Menu (https://www.emchamas.com/menus/rodizio-menu), Dessert Menu (https://www.emchamas.com/menus/dessert-menu), The Inferno Lounge (https://www.emchamas.com/menus/the-inferno-lounge) — accessed 2026-07-24. Asserts: rodizio pricing structure ($54.95 dinner / $26.95 gourmet-bar-only / children’s tiers / $16.95 seafood upgrade), full meat roster with descriptions, 30+-item gourmet bar roster, dessert menu at $7, Inferno Lounge à la carte items with prices, hours, 20% service fee for parties of 5+. ↩ ↩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 ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴