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Lazia is the dinner restaurant of the Crossroads Hotel at 2101 Central St — a 78-seat, candelabra-lit modern-Italian room that opened in November 2018, named for Johnny Lazia, the 1920s North End boss who ran the rackets for Tom Pendergast. Scratch pasta, tableside-pulled mozzarella, an all-Italian wine list and a hip-hop soundtrack; closed by the pandemic in 2020, relaunched in November 2021, and since late 2022 run by executive chef Aaron Cross Wells-Morgan, whose seasonal menus The Pitch called “a worthy celebration of Midwest produce.” The hotel and restaurant are owned and operated by Chicago’s Aparium Hotel Group.

Description

Lazia occupies the ground floor of the Crossroads Hotel’s Pendergast-era buildings at 21st and Central, entered from the hotel lobby. The hotel’s own description is “Modern Italian in the Crossroads”: “scratch-made pastas, tableside pulled mozzarella, and hearty pours from an all-Italian wine list,” with tableside truffle shaving and a cacio e pepe finished at the table.12 Flatland’s opening report described the room — “wax-encrusted candelabras, distressed walls, mosaic tile flooring, and a modern LED chandelier” — and the soundtrack that mixes rat-pack standards with classic hip-hop; founding chef Remy Ayesh called the concept “a balance between fun and very serious.”3

The current menu (summer 2026) is built in the Italian sequence. Pane is focaccia with aged balsamic and lava salt or a stuffed focaccia with taleggio and vodka sauce; antipasti run from an escarole-and-giardiniera insalata to scallop crudo with horseradish gelato, wagyu carpaccio, burrata with heirloom tomato and Calabrian chili crisp, a pesto-risotto supplì and grilled octopus with pork belly.4 Primi are the house pastas — cavatelli in Sungold pomodoro with black-truffle butter, radiatore in lobster acqua pazza, a rotolo with prosciutto and chanterelles, spaghetti alla chitarra with peekytoe crab, a fazzoletti lasagna, and the signature mafaldine alla vodka with ‘nduja and broken meatball.4 Secondi are a skate-wing piccata, chicken parmesan and milk-braised pork shoulder with mascarpone polenta; dolci are a mascarpone-lemon panna cotta, tiramisu, a raspberry-hazelnut tart and affogato.4 The wine list is all Italian by the glass (Prosecco to Barolo by Coravin), and the cocktails are named in hip-hop — “You Can Get With This,” “Candy Shop,” “Grand Larceny.”4

Reviewing the summer 2025 menu, The Pitch’s Sarah Sipple found the corn-and-chanterelle whole branzino ($48) and the radiatore ($22) “impeccable” and concluded that Lazia had “reinstated itself in our date-night rotation” as an “unpretentious date night.”5 KC Magazine’s 2024 profile of Wells-Morgan quoted the chef on the restaurant finding its voice: “very from scratch and classically inspired but with a modern push.”2

Ownership and history

Lazia belongs to the Crossroads Hotel, which Chicago’s Aparium Hotel Group bought in 2015, opened in October 2018 and continues to own and operate; see crossroads-hotel for the buildings’ Pabst-and-Pendergast history.36 The restaurant opened at the end of November 2018 under executive chef Remy Ayesh — a Wichita native, KU journalism graduate and French Culinary Institute alumna who had cooked at Montagna in Aspen, spent nearly a decade in Chicago and New York, and returned to KC for The Oliver, Café Sebastienne and Repeal 18th — who also oversaw the hotel’s XR lobby café and the Percheron rooftop.3 The name honors Johnny Lazia, the North End boss who ran Kansas City’s gambling and liquor rackets for Tom Pendergast in the 1920s and 30s; the hotel’s buildings once housed Pendergast’s offices.3 KC Magazine’s March 2019 spotlight recorded the opening menu’s best-seller, a $23 carbonara with “20 different procedures,” and pastry chef Amanda Schroeder, late of Corvino.7

The pandemic closed Lazia in March 2020; a partial reopening followed in June, and the restaurant relaunched in full on November 12, 2021 with a new team — executive chef Justin Kent (The Classic Cup, The American, and at Lazia since its 2018 opening) with chef de cuisine Jordan Hayes (ex–J. Rieger & Co.) and bar manager Liz Ramirez — and a menu that added Neapolitan wood-fired pizzas and cicchetti to the pastas.89

Aaron Cross Wells-Morgan took over as the hotel’s executive chef about a year later. A Columbia, Missouri native and Culinary Institute of America graduate who cooked at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Napa and at Jean-Georges in New York, he had run kitchens in KC at Café Provence, Grand Street, Verbena and The Market at Meadowbrook and founded two McLain’s Bakery locations; his pasta at Verbena caught the hotel’s attention.210 By April 2024 he had led Lazia “for approximately one and a half years,” and in January 2024 Aparium promoted Michael Martinez to chef de cuisine under him.26

Last verified: 2026-08-29 · Source: the hotel’s official Lazia menu pages (Summer Menu; Dessert Menu) · Confidence: High; seasonal and changes several times a year.4

  • Pane: Focaccia $12 (add whipped ricotta, pickled nectarine, caramelized peach, local honey, basil +$7) · Stuffed Focaccia — taleggio, garlic butter, vodka sauce, lemon $24
  • Antipasti: Insalata Antipasto $18 · Scallop Crudo $12 ea · Wagyu Carpaccio $27 · Burrata — heirloom tomato, Calabrian chili crisp, sweet & sour cipollini, sweet-corn pappadum $23 · Supplì $19 · Grilled Octopus $23
  • Primi: Cavatelli $29 · Radiatore — lobster acqua pazza, rock shrimp, citrus tobiko $34 · Rotolo $27 · Spaghetti alla Chitarra — spicy Genovese pesto, peekytoe crab $29 · Fazzoletti Lasagna $31 · Mafaldine alla Vodka — ‘nduja, broken meatball, Calabrian chili, local honey $36
  • Secondi: Skate Wing Piccata $38 · Chicken Parmesan $46 · Milk-Braised Pork Shoulder $49
  • Dolci: Panna Cotta · Tiramisu · Raspberry Hazelnut Tart · Affogato (prices not printed)
  • Wine by the glass/bottle: Prosecco $13/$52 · Moscato d’Asti $13/$52 · Lambrusco $14/$56 · Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon, Chardonnay $15/$60 · Soave $13/$52 · Vermentino $14/$56 · rosé $15/$60 · Pinot Nero, Barbera $15/$60 · Nero d’Avola $12/$48 · Chianti $16/$64 · Coravin: Amarone $20/$30, Barolo $25/$37, Grosjean Pinot Noir $14/$20
  • Cocktails: Blue Flowers (N/A) $12 · You Can Get With This (N/A) $11 · You Can Get With That $17 · Candy Shop $16 · Grand Larceny $19

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Crossroads Hotel — “Lazia Restaurant” page. Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: “Modern Italian in the Crossroads”; concept text quoted; dinner daily 5–10 p.m.; phone (816)-897-8100; address 2101 Central St.; OpenTable link; menu links (Summer, Celebrate, Dessert); page image dated July 2026. ↩

  2. Tyler Shane, “Chef Aaron Wells-Morgan of the Crossroads Hotel doesn’t want to take food too seriously, but he wants you to take Lazia seriously,” Kansas City Magazine, 2024-04-30 — Confirms: Bouchon Bistro and Jean-Georges; Verbena pasta drew the hotel’s attention; “approximately one and a half years” at Lazia as of April 2024; tableside cacio e pepe; quotes on “finding Lazia’s voice.” ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. Jill Wendholt Silva, “Chef Remy Ayesh Launches Lazia, Upscale Italian Restaurant in Crossroads Hotel,” Flatland (CityScene KC), 2018-12-28 — Confirms: opening end of November 2018; Ayesh’s background (Wichita, KU, French Culinary Institute, Montagna, Chicago/New York, The Oliver, Café Sebastienne, Repeal 18th); Aparium Hotel Group of Chicago as owner; Pendergast offices and Pabst bottling history; name from Johnny Lazia; 78 seats and two private rooms; décor; soundtrack; Ayesh over Lazia, XR and Percheron; quotes. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. Crossroads Hotel — Lazia “Summer Menu” (at the /spring-menu/ URL) and “Dessert Menu.” Retrieved and transcribed 2026-08-29 and crossroadshotelkc.com — Confirms: every item and price in the Menu section; © 2026 footer. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. Sarah Sipple, “Sweet corn summer: Lazia’s new menu is a worthy celebration of Midwest produce,” The Pitch, 2025-07-30 — Confirms: Wells-Morgan as chef; summer 2025 prices (focaccia $9, tuna crudo $23, radiatore $22, mafaldine alla vodka $28, whole branzino $48); quotes; restaurant active mid-2025. ↩

  6. “Michael Martinez has been promoted Chef de Cuisine at Crossroads Hotel in Kansas City,” Hospitality Net, 2024-01-08 — Confirms: Martinez promoted to chef de cuisine at Lazia, reporting to executive chef Aaron Wells-Morgan; Aparium Hotel Group (est. 2012) as the organization. ↩ ↩2

  7. “Spotlight Restaurant: Lazia at the Crossroads Hotel,” Kansas City Magazine, 2019-03-26 — Confirms: opening in late November 2018; carbonara best-seller at $23 with “20 different procedures”; pastry chef Amanda Schroeder (ex-Corvino); candelabras and hip-hop. ↩

  8. Savannah Hawley, “Lazia reopens in the Crossroads with new chef, updated menu,” The Pitch, 2021-11-12 — Confirms: closure March 2020, partial reopening June 2020, full reopening November 12, 2021; Justin Kent executive chef (Classic Cup, American Restaurant, at Lazia since 2018) over Lazia, XR Cafe and Percheron; Jordan Hayes chef de cuisine; menu (Neapolitan pizzas, seasonal pasta and risotto, cicchetti, lobster mafaldine, branzino); hours 5–10 daily. ↩

  9. Kevin Collison, “Lazia Reopens at Crossroads Hotel with New Chef and Menu,” Flatland, 2021-11-15 — Confirms: COVID layoffs and reopening; Kent and Hayes (ex–J. Rieger & Co.); bar manager Liz Ramirez; Kent quote on “the simple things”; nightly 5–10. ↩

  10. Emily Jacobs, “Lazia’s Aaron Cross Wells-Morgan talks inspiration in The Pitch Questionnaire,” The Pitch, 2023-12-06 — Confirms: Wells-Morgan as executive chef of the Crossroads Hotel and Lazia by December 2023; Columbia, Mo. hometown; Waldo residence; CIA; Café Provence, Grand Street, Verbena, The Market at Meadowbrook, McLain’s Bakery; “third tour” through KC. ↩

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On the record — ks.city/registry/lazia · record updated 2026-08-29