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La Bodega is a long-running Spanish tapas restaurant at 703 Southwest Blvd on Kansas City’s West Side, opened December 7, 1998 by founder James Taylor. Basque/Northern Spain–inspired small plates, lunch, weekend brunch, dinner, and a full drinks program; Toast online ordering. Anticipated 2026 sibling concept Papa (Havana/Spain hang next door) is separate and not open on this page until confirmed. Tier 1 independent local institution.123

Description

La Bodega markets tapas as a social custom as much as a menu format — leisure, camaraderie, wine, and small plates in the Basque/Northern Spanish tradition. First-party “Story of Tapas” copy grounds the concept in Spanish tapar (“to cover”) and the unhurried bar-snack culture of northern Spain.4 Menus published as downloadable PDFs (dinner, brunch, lunch, happy hour, drinks, dessert — dated into 2025–2026 on the site).1

Taylor’s public bio ties the restaurant to a broader hospitality career (architecture, brewmaster training, culinary school, “KC’s & Missouri’s first brewpub,” festivals) and a “lagniappe” service ethic.4

Ownership and history

James Taylor founded La Bodega; opened 7 Dec 1998 in the Southwest Boulevard space.23 Kansas City Business Journal covered the restaurant’s 15-year mark in 2013, noting Taylor’s service standards and a second La Bodega in Leawood (119th & Roe area appears in later Yelp “KS location” language — verify whether Leawood still operates before adding a second pin).32

Papa — planned indoor-outdoor Cuban/Spanish concept next door in the former Westside Café space — was on IN Kansas City’s 2026 anticipated list under Taylor; do not mark open without confirmation.5

Leawood second location: operated historically at ~119th & Roe; directory language now marks that unit closed. Do not Map-pin Leawood unless re-opened.6

menu_status: partial — first-party publishes full PDF menus rather than HTML item lists. Capture path for next enrichment:

Sources

Footnotes

  1. La Bodega first-party site (accessed 2026-08-12). Asserts: 703 Southwest Blvd identity via contact paths; Toast order link; PDF menu set dated 2025–2026; gift cards/catering. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Yelp business page history blurb (directory) — asserts: established 1998; opened December 7, 1998; phone (816) 472-8272; mention of KS/Leawood location language (verify operating). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. “La Bodega owner shares four business lessons on restaurant’s 15th anniversary,” Kansas City Business Journal, Dec 2, 2013 — asserts: opened 1998; owner James Taylor; second La Bodega Leawood noted as of 2013. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. La Bodega About (accessed 2026-08-12). Asserts: Story of Tapas framing; James Taylor founder bio (architecture, brewmaster, culinary school, first brewpub claim, lagniappe). ↩ ↩2

  5. Jenny Vergara, “15 Most Anticipated New Restaurants and Bars Coming to Kansas City in 2026,” IN Kansas City (Jan 2026 list) — asserts: Papa concept next to La Bodega planned by James Taylor (not confirmed open this pass). ↩

  6. Directory listings for La Bodega Leawood (e.g. Yelp/menu-photo pages at 4311 W 119th St) mark the suburban unit closed; 2020-era local coverage noted pandemic-era dark facade at Leawood. Southwest Blvd flagship remains the operating Registry subject. ↩

See also

  • Registry
  • west-side
Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/la-bodega · record updated 2026-08-12