This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Fern Bar is a locally owned, agave- and sugarcane-forward craft cocktail bar in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, opened by veteran bartender Bryan Arri in January 2024 after roughly five years operating as a pop-up. The name pays homage to the inclusive, singles-friendly “fern bars” popular from the late 1960s through the 1980s — Arri’s stated intent being “an inclusive, welcoming place.”123

Description

Fern Bar is a Crossroads cocktail bar that organizes its entire program around sugarcane- and agave-based spirits — rums, tequilas, and mezcals — alongside more obscure categories such as Japanese shōchū, northern-Mexican bacanora and sotol, and French-Caribbean rhum agricole. Most cocktails carry at least five ingredients and fall in the roughly $13–15 range.12

Despite the name, the bar is not a literal reference to the plant. Owner Bryan Arri invokes the mid-century-through-1980s “fern bar” as a cultural touchstone for an inclusive, approachable social space: “To me, a fern bar represents an inclusive, welcoming place.”1 The concept began as a pop-up and grew into a permanent brick-and-mortar location.34

Ownership and history

Fern Bar is owned and operated by Bryan Arri, a career hospitality professional with over a decade specifically in beverage. Before launching Fern Bar, Arri worked at several of Kansas City’s most respected cocktail and dining rooms, including Manifesto, The Monarch Bar, Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room, and Rye.12 He ran Fern Bar as a pop-up for roughly five years before opening the permanent space.3

The bar opened at 2041 Broadway Blvd in the Crossroads Arts District in January 2024, though some coverage frames the launch around late 2023 / New Year’s, reflecting a December 2023 target that slipped into a January 2024 opening.341 Arri credits the bar’s welcoming ethos to his late grandfather Tom and the maxim “life’s just a party, and I’m there.”1

[!note] On the seed “Sugarcane” note The audit note linked the owner to a venue called “Sugarcane.” Available press identifies Arri’s prior venues as Manifesto, The Monarch Bar, Corvino, and Rye, and describes Fern Bar’s concept as sugarcane- and agave-spirit-forward. No separate Kansas City bar named “Sugarcane” was confirmed in sourcing; the reference is most likely to Fern Bar’s sugarcane-spirits concept rather than a distinct business.

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. “Life’s a Party: Bryan Arri’s sugarcane and agave-forward Fern Bar lands in the Crossroads,” The Pitch KC. https://www.thepitchkc.com/lifes-a-party-bryan-arris-sugarcane-and-agave-forward-fern-bar-lands-in-the-crossroads/ (owner Bryan Arri; prior venues; “inclusive, welcoming place” quote; independently owned; spirits and pricing). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. “In Your Cocktail: Fern Bar,” IN Kansas City Magazine. https://www.inkansascity.com/eat-drink/bars/in-your-cocktail-fern-bar/ (concept, spirits, owner background). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Fern Bar KC — official website, About page. https://fernbarkc.com/kansas-city-fern-bar-about (address 2041 Broadway Blvd; “five years of pop-ups & preparation”; opened January 2024; sugarcane/agave concept). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. “No ferns at the new Fern Bar in Kansas City. But it serves the cocktails and vibes,” via AOL/Yahoo syndication of Kansas City Star coverage. https://www.aol.com/no-ferns-fern-bar-kansas-145213917.html (opening timing, concept). ↩ ↩2

See also

Categories
  • Locally owned
  • Crossroads