Jimmy's Jigger

Jimmy’s Jigger is a historic neighborhood dive bar at 1823 W 39th Street in Midtown Kansas City, Missouri, across from the University of Kansas Medical Center — a watering hole that traces its operation to 1933 and took the “Jimmy’s Jigger” name when Jimmy Bowers took it over in the 1950s.¹² After closing following a 1991 ownership change, the bar was relaunched under its original name in March 2024 by Jimmy’s grandson, Timmy Bowers.²

Description

Jimmy’s Jigger is a classic neighborhood dive bar on the corner of 39th Street and State Line Road in Midtown Kansas City, directly across from the University of Kansas Medical Center campus.² The establishment has been a Kansas City fixture since 1933 and is commonly described as one of the city’s oldest continuously associated watering holes; it acquired its enduring name in the 1950s when Jimmy Bowers took over the corner bar.¹² For decades it was a generational gathering spot for KU Med students, who used the phrase “study at the J-building” as code for drinking at the Jigger.²

The current incarnation pairs the historic bar with an adjoining Louisiana-style kitchen, and reviewers single out Cajun and Creole offerings such as crawdads, a fish po’ boy, and fresh oysters alongside the bar’s dive-bar character.²¹ The bar operates Tuesday through Sunday and is closed Mondays, with typical hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. midweek and later close on Friday and Saturday.¹

Ownership and history

The corner bar that became Jimmy’s Jigger has roots going back to 1933.¹ It took its name in the 1950s when Jimmy Bowers took over and built it into a Midtown institution, especially beloved by the nearby KU Medical Center community; the University of KU Med recognized the bar’s contributions in a publication marking the school’s centennial, and Jimmy Bowers was made an honorary member of multiple medical-school classes.²³ Jimmy Bowers retired in 1991, the bar was sold, and Bowers died in 1995; his ashes were spread at the location per his wishes.²

In March 2024, Jimmy’s grandson, Timmy Bowers, relaunched the bar under its original “Jimmy’s Jigger” name after new property owners gave him the opportunity to revive his grandfather’s establishment — fulfilling a promise he had made to restore it.² Timmy Bowers now operates the bar.²

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-24 · Source: Jazz A Louisiana Kitchen official site (full menu + KC-only summer menu; the Jigger’s adjoining/shared kitchen at the same 1823 W 39th St address)⁴; Facebook @JimmysJigger (primary official presence for the bar side — no itemized drink list published)² · URL(s): https://www.jazzkitchen.com/menu/ · https://www.jazzkitchen.com/summer-menu-kc-only/ · Confidence: Medium (kitchen menu = full official capture from jazzkitchen.com; the Jigger’s own bar/drink list is not published online — hence partial)

Historic neighborhood dive bar + adjoining Cajun/Creole kitchen (Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen — same address; Jazz’s KCMO 39th Street location is one of three, with Columbia MO and KCK Legends).⁴ Food selections below are from Jazz’s official menu, served at 1823 W 39th St.

Bar (Jimmy’s Jigger):²¹

• Full bar — beer, spirits, cocktails; drink list not published online —
• Jazz house cocktails at the shared address (KC summer list): Buchanita (Buchanan’s 12 + pineapple), Frozen Jazz Grenade, Mojito, Peach Bourbon Smash, Lavender Lemon Drop, Paloma — special prices, not itemized online⁴

Food — Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen (official full menu, selections):⁴

Jazzy Appetizers

• Popcorn Shrimp — Cajun-battered, with Hazel dressing — $9.75 (happy hour $7.75)⁴
• Voodoo Crawfish Tails — beer-battered crawfish tails in spicy Voodoo sauce — $12.75⁴
• Boudin w/ Beans & Rice — smoked or jalapeño boudin link with red beans and dirty rice — $12.75⁴
• Cajun Calamari — with Sauce Piquant and Parmesan — $12.75⁴
• Krab Cakes A La Mer — topped with shrimp-krab Parmesan cream — $16.50⁴
• Beans & Rice — $7.25 (happy hour $5.25); with andouille $10.25⁴
• Fried Pickles — $6.75 (happy hour $4.75)⁴

Soups

• Gumbo — New Orleans-style with dark roux, andouille, seafood, dirty rice — $5.50 cup / $7.50 bowl⁴

VooDoo Pasta (half/full, lunch pricing available)

• Crawfish Fettuccine — crawfish tails in Parmesan cream — $17 / $22⁴
• Seafood Fettuccine — shrimp, krab, scallops in Alfredo — $17.75 / $22.75⁴
• Shrimp Czarina — shrimp and julienned vegetables — $17.75 / $23⁴
• Blackened Chicken Fettuccine — $14.25 / $20.50⁴

Sauteed F’Sure

• Shrimp Étouffée — spicy dark roux and stock sauce — $19⁴
• Crawfish Étouffée — $20⁴
• Louisiana BBQ Shrimp — 8 jumbo shrimp, butter, garlic, rosemary, Worcestershire — $23⁴
• Shrimp & Scallops Pontchartrain — tequila-lime cream — $23⁴

Fresh Seafood

• Oysters on the Half Shell — $16.25 half-dozen / $26.50 dozen⁴
• Charbroiled Oysters — herbed garlic butter, Parmesan and Romano — $18.25 half-dozen / $30.50 dozen⁴
• Hot Boiled Crawfish — $16.25/lb, $27.50/2 lbs⁴
• U-Peel Shrimp — $13.25 half-lb / $22.50 lb⁴

N’Awlins Po’Boys (regular/lunch)

• Shrimp Po’boy — Cajun-battered shrimp on a baguette — $12.75⁴
• Catfish Po’boy — $12.75⁴
• Oyster Po’boy — corn-flour battered “ersters” — $16.75⁴
• Crawfish Po’boy — $13.75⁴

Blackened Dishes (half/full)

• Blackened Catfish — on rice with new potatoes — $14.25 / $19.50⁴
• Blackened Tuna with Dill Hollandaise — $17.75 / $23.50⁴

Dem Cajun Fried

• Seafood Platter — fried catfish, shrimp, oysters combo — $21.50⁴
• Alligator Bites — Cajun-country delicacy with tartar and Hazel dressing — $23.50⁴
• Fried Oysters — $15.75 / $22.50⁴

Extras

• Beignets — French Quarter doughnut, great with chicory coffee — $5.50⁴
• Hushpuppies — $4 (menu gag: “All-You-Can-Eat Hushpuppies, includes a bottle of Dom Perignon” — $300)⁴

Summer Menu (KC locations only, 2026)

• Chicken & Waffles — honey-bourbon cream — $9 half / $13 full⁴
• Blackened Tuna Czarina — $18.50 half / $24.50 full⁴
• Voodoo ‘Shroom Sandwich — chicken-fried portabella in Voodoo sauce — $10⁴
• Stuffed S’mores Beignet — marshmallow cream, hazelnut spread — $8⁴

Menu notes: $0.50 added per item to-go; $0.50 per item in lieu of cover when a band plays; 18% service charge for parties of 7+.⁴

Heritage bar since 1933. KU Med-corridor institution. “Study at the J-building.” Full kitchen menu: jazzkitchen.com/menu

Links

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimmysJigger/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmysjigger/
• Phone: (816) 531-5556¹

Sources

• Status verified active 2026-06-23 via Yelp — Jimmy’s Jigger (accessed 2026-06-23). Listing “Updated May 2026,” dive bar at 1823 W 39th St, KC, MO 64111; current 2026 hours (closed Mondays); recent reviews. Listing now references the bar as attached to/sharing a kitchen and menu with “Jazz A Louisiana Kitchen” (also surfaced as “Jimmy’s Jiggers and Oyster Bar”) — possible operating-relationship detail worth confirming; not a closure.

Disputes

• Founding year / lineage. “Since 1933” (Yelp/listings) vs. pre-Prohibition origin under a prior name with a 1962 sale to Jimmy Bowers (uncorroborated search assertion) vs. “named in the 1950s under Bowers” (KCTV5). Page presents the corroborated 1933-tradition + 1950s-naming framing; deeper lineage flagged.

Footnotes

1. Yelp — Jimmy’s Jigger, 1823 W 39th St, Kansas City, MO (listing “Updated May 2026,” dive bar). https://www.yelp.com/biz/jimmys-jigger-kansas-city — asserts: address 1823 W 39th St, KC, MO 64111; phone (816) 531-5556; categorized as dive bar; tradition since 1933; named “Jimmy’s Jigger” in the 1950s under Jimmy Bowers; current 2026 hours (closed Mondays); currently open. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. KCTV5, “KC man fulfills promise to grandfather, reopens historic bar,” July 19, 2024. https://www.kctv5.com/2024/07/19/kc-man-fulfills-promise-grandfather-reopens-historic-bar/ — asserts: corner of 39th & State Line across from KU Med; named “Jimmy’s Jigger” in the 1950s; Jimmy Bowers retired 1991, bar sold, died 1995, ashes spread at site; grandson Timmy Bowers relaunched under original name March 2024 after new owners gave him the opportunity; “study at the J-building” KU Med tradition; adjoining Louisiana kitchen; Cajun food (crawdads, po’ boy). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

3. Tony’s Kansas City, “TKC Must Read!!! Tribute To Legendary Kansas City Bar Jimmy’s Jigger!!!,” April 2016. https://www.tonyskansascity.com/2016/04/tkc-must-read-tribute-to-legendary.html — asserts: KU Med “Special Friend” award to Jimmy Bowers (1984); honorary member of medical-school classes; KU Med centennial recognition; long Bowers tenure at 39th & State Line. ↩

4. Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen — official site (accessed 2026-07-24): full menu https://www.jazzkitchen.com/menu/ (all sections with prices; to-go/band/party surcharges); KC-only summer menu https://www.jazzkitchen.com/summer-menu-kc-only/ (summer dishes + summer drink list); location selector lists three locations — Columbia MO Stadium Drive, KCMO 39th Street (= 1823 W 39th St, the Jimmy’s Jigger address), KCK Legends Shopping Center; online ordering via jazzkitchentogo.com; KC Favorites 2026 contest page notes nominations for Favorite Restaurant, Favorite Seafood Restaurant, Favorite Chicken Wings, and Favorite Specialty Cocktails. Operating-relationship caveat: the Jazz brand site does not mention Jimmy’s Jigger by name; the shared-address/adjoining-kitchen relationship rests on KCTV5 + Yelp (see below). ↩ ↩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