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

Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille at the Power & Light District (1400 Main St, KCMO) is a live-jazz bar and grille inside B&B Theatres’ downtown cinema — and a rare multi-scene social-dance node: it runs two free weekly salsa socials (Thursday “Salsa Night” with the live band Mundo Nouvo, and Saturday “Salsa Saturday” with DJ Yohann + a free Aládùn lesson) AND hosts Kansas City Swingout’s third-Tuesday “Swing Night,” all on top of its core jazz programming. Named for Johnnie Genevieve (Miller) Bills, the silent-film pianist at the first B&B Theatres in 1924.

Currency caveat (load-bearing): sources conflict on whether the 1400 Main / Power & Light location is currently open. Aggregators still list it (Yelp “Updated May 2026”), and the venue’s own P&L event calendar carried 2024–2025 dance nights; but other signals point to a closure/relocation of operations to the sibling Liberty, MO location, and at least one review references an electrical-fire closure. Operating status is flagged “ below — do not publish as cleanly “open” without a confirmation call. This page documents the 1400 Main Power & Light venue (the multi-scene dance node), which is a distinct location from the still-active Johnnie’s in Liberty (1903 Victory Dr).

Description

Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille at the Power & Light District is a live-jazz bar and grille at 1400 Main St in downtown Kansas City, occupying space inside B&B Theatres’ Power & Light cinema at 14th & Main.12 The room pairs a full grille menu and a deep bourbon list (“70 Bourbons”) with live music on a marble dance floor flanked by bar-lounge and table seating — a layout that makes it as much a social-dance floor as a listening room.23 Johnnie Genevieve (Miller) Bills’ restored piano sits on the stage as the venue’s centerpiece (see Ownership and history).3

Beyond its jazz programming, Johnnie’s P&L is one of the few KC venues to anchor three distinct recurring social-dance scenes at once:

  • Thursday “Salsa Night” — hosted by the live band Mundo Nouvo, roughly 6:30–10:30pm, free admission.45
  • Saturday “Salsa Saturday” — with DJ Yohann and Aládùn Dance (see aladun-dance-co), running ~6:30pm to midnight with a free salsa lesson from 7:30–8:30pm before open social dancing; free admission.67
  • Third-Tuesday “Swing Night” — presented with Kansas City Swingout (see kansas-city-swingout), with hot-jazz swing DJs, a $25 cover that includes a 5:30pm swing lesson and an appetizer buffet; the venue also ran a 4th-Friday swing night with Alex Abramovitz & his Swing’n Kansas City Jazz Band.89

This multi-scene density is why Johnnie’s earns Latin- and swing-dance secondaries on top of its live-music/jazz identity — see social-dancing-in-kansas-city for how it sits in the broader KC social-dance landscape.79

Ownership and history

Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille is named for Johnnie Genevieve (Miller) Bills, who was playing piano for silent films at The Lyric theater in Salisbury, Missouri when Elmer Bills bought that theater in 1924 — the first house in what would become B&B Theatres.3 Elmer and Johnnie married a few years later; Johnnie went on to work the theater her whole life selling tickets and, in the venue’s telling, was “the life of every party and beloved by everyone.”3 Their son Elmer Bills Jr. later joined with Sterling Bagby to formally create B&B Theatres (the “B&B” = Bills & Bagby), today a major KC-area / Liberty, MO–based cinema company.3 The bar’s identity — Johnnie’s restored piano on the stage, the bourbon tribute, the jazz programming — is a direct memorial to her.3

The Power & Light location at 1400 Main sits inside B&B Theatres’ downtown cinema. A sibling location in Liberty, MO (1903 Victory Dr, inside Liberty Cinema 12) carries the same Johnnie’s name and concept and is independently active.3 These are two distinct venues; this page documents the 1400 Main Power & Light venue, which is the one that became the multi-scene salsa-and-swing dance node.168

YearEvent
1924Elmer Bills buys The Lyric (Salisbury, MO); Johnnie Miller is its silent-film pianist — the first B&B house
(later)Elmer Bills Jr. + Sterling Bagby formally found B&B Theatres
~2023–2024Johnnie’s P&L (1400 Main) documented as host of weekly salsa socials (Mundo Nouvo; DJ Yohann + Aládùn) and KC Swingout’s 3rd-Tue swing night
2024–2026Currency conflict — aggregators still list 1400 Main; other signals indicate operations shifted toward the Liberty location

Last verified: 2026-06-30 · Source: johnnieskc.com3; Yelp2 · Confidence: Low (full grille + bourbon bar format confirmed; current food menu; re-confirm post-fire current operating menu)

Jazz bar + grille. 1400 Main St, Power & Light District. Thu 5–10pm · Fri–Sat 5–11pm.2

Bar:23

  • 70 bourbons3
  • Craft cocktails
  • Full bar

Food (full grille menu):3

Live music + dance programming (confirmed pre-fire; re-verify post-reopening):456789

  • Thu “Salsa Night” — live band Mundo Nouvo, ~6:30–10:30pm, free45
  • Sat “Salsa Saturday” — DJ Yohann + Aládùn Dance lesson 7:30–8:30pm, free67
  • 3rd Tue “Swing Night” — Kansas City Swingout, $25 (incl. lesson + appetizer buffet)89
  • Jazz acts (marble dance floor + bar lounge seating)23

Menu + reservations: johnnieskc.com

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Visit KC — Salsa Night event listing, “Salsa Night @ Johnnie’s Jazz Bar and Grille.” https://www.visitkc.com/events/salsa-night-johnnies-jazz-bar-and-grille/. Asserts: recurring salsa social at Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille; Power & Light District location; free dance lesson block. ↩ ↩2

  2. Yelp — “Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grill,” 1400 Main St, Kansas City, MO (Updated May 2026). https://www.yelp.com/biz/johnnie-s-jazz-bar-and-grill-kansas-city. Asserts: address 1400 Main St; Venues & Event Spaces / restaurant; listing still live as of May 2026; a review references a marble dance floor with bar lounge and table seating, and an electrical-fire closure. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille — official site (johnnieskc.com / “welcome”). https://www.johnnieskc.com/. Asserts: named for Johnnie Genevieve (Miller) Bills, silent-film pianist at the first B&B Theatres (Elmer Bills buys The Lyric, Salisbury MO, 1924); they married; son Elmer Bills Jr. + Sterling Bagby founded B&B Theatres; “Live Jazz. 70 Bourbons. Family Friendly.”; Johnnie’s restored piano on the stage; signature-bourbon tribute. [Note: this domain currently foregrounds the Liberty location (1903 Victory Dr) — the namesake/history is shared across both Johnnie’s venues.] ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  4. ArtsKCGo / Visit KC — “Salsa Night with Mundo Nouvo.” (See 1 https://www.visitkc.com/events/salsa-night-johnnies-jazz-bar-and-grille/, 10 https://artskcgo.com/event/salsa-night-at-johnnies/.) Asserts: Thursday “Salsa Night” hosted by the live band Mundo Nouvo, ~6:30–10:30pm; free admission. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. Johnnie’s P&L event calendar — “Salsa Night with Mundo Nouvo.” https://www.johnniesjazzbarandgrillatthepowerandlightdistrict.com/calendar/. Asserts: recurring Thursday salsa night with live band Mundo Nouvo at the Power & Light location. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Johnnie’s P&L event calendar — “Salsa Saturday with DJ Yohann.” https://www.johnniesjazzbarandgrillatthepowerandlightdistrict.com/calendar/salsa-saturday-with-dj-yohann-sp2t7-tzacx-lmrx2-9ph97. Asserts: every Saturday 6:30pm–midnight, Salsa Night with DJ Yohann and Aládùn Dance; free dance lessons 7:30–8:30pm. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. aladun-dance-co / Dance-Social-Compilation-Strategy — KS.City research record (no online source — internal cross-reference to prior KS.City research, not a public web citation). Asserts: Johnnie’s Saturday “Salsa Saturday” runs with DJ Yohann + Aládùn (free 7:30–8:30pm lesson); Johnnie’s is a multi-scene host venue (salsa + swing) earning latin-night + salsa. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  8. Johnnie’s P&L — “Swing Night” page + “Swing Night with Kansas City Swingout” calendar entry. https://www.johnniesjazzbarandgrillatthepowerandlightdistrict.com/swing-night. Asserts: 3rd-Tuesday Swing Night in collaboration with Kansas City Swingout; hot jazz spun by swing DJs; $25 cover incl. swing lesson at 5:30pm + appetizer buffet; “Roaring 20’s” / flapper-dress theming; also a 4th-Friday swing night with Alex Abramovitz & his Swing’n KC Jazz Band. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  9. kansas-city-swingout / Dance-Social-Compilation-Strategy — KS.City research record (no online source for the wiki cross-reference itself). Asserts: Kansas City Swingout runs a 3rd-Tuesday “Swing Night” at Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille in Power & Light, confirming the swing-scene tie; KCUR 2024 swing-scene feature corroborates the KC Swingout multi-venue model — KCUR, “Want to learn to swing dance in Kansas City? Here’s where to take your first steps” (Feb 18, 2024). https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2024-02-18/swing-dance-kansas-city-dancing-classes. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  10. ArtsKCGo — “Salsa Night at Johnnie’s, Mundo Nouvo at Johnnie’s Jazz Bar & Grille at The Power & Light District, Kansas City MO.” https://artskcgo.com/event/salsa-night-at-johnnies/. Asserts: venue located inside B&B Theatres at 14th & Main; nice marble dance floor with bar lounge and table seating; Power & Light District. ↩

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On the record — ks.city/registry/johnnies-jazz-bar · record updated 2026-07-24