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

Nana’s Kitchen is a Black-owned soul-food kitchen at 7355 Leavenworth Rd in western Kansas City, Kansas — a drive-thru with no dining room, a menu that changes every day, and, on the reviews, cash only. Catfish, pork chops and macaroni and cheese are the dishes the city’s own tourism listing names; the kitchen also caters showers, parties and funeral repasts. It has been trading since at least January 2015 and holds an unbroken Kansas licensing and inspection record running to 5 September 2025, in compliance. In September 2026 it is one of eleven participants in Kansas City, Kansas’s first Black Restaurant Week. Yelp and one review aggregator both carry it as CLOSED; this page finds it open and prints the conflict in full below rather than splitting the difference.

Description

Nana’s Kitchen sells soul food through a window. The single most useful thing in the record about it is a 2015 account describing a drive-thru with no dine-in area, cash only, and a menu that changes every day — with the advice to call ahead or simply read what is up when you get there.1 A Yelp reviewer says the same thing a decade later, in the same order: “They have a daily menu call ahead or just stop in. Cash only. Whatever you pick is packed with goodness and flavor, the portions are tremendous.”2

The dishes on the record come from the city’s own tourism listing, which describes it as “classic soul food with catfish, pork chops, mac n cheese and all your comforting favorites.”3 Beyond the window, it caters — showers, parties, dinners and funeral repasts, a line of work that says as much about a kitchen’s standing in its neighborhood as any review does.1

It sits at 7355 Leavenworth Rd in ZIP 66109, the western end of Kansas City, Kansas — the same road as Holy Smoke BBQ at 8050 Leavenworth, and several miles west of the Quindaro Boulevard cluster where most of its 2026 co-participants trade.4 That geography matters below: the mid-August 2026 storm damage the restaurant-week coverage repeatedly frames is northeast KCK, not here.

The full roster and the week’s organisation are recorded at 2026-kck-black-restaurant-week; the Registry already carries Ms. R’s Cafe and Fast Fred’s Market from the same eleven.

Ownership and history

No owner is named anywhere in the record located this pass, and this page will not supply one. “Nana” is presumably a person — the business is named for her — but no source read this pass identifies her, and no interview, profile or obituary connecting a name to the business was found. Six separate 2026 news pieces on Black Restaurant Week list the business and quote nobody from it.456789

The founding year is likewise not established, and the licensing record is a trap here. The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s public inspection file for the establishment opens with a “Licensing” inspection on 28 January 2017.10 That is not evidence of a 2017 opening: a Tripadvisor review of the restaurant dates to January 2015, two years earlier, describing the same drive-thru, the same daily menu and the same cash-only operation.1 The 2017 licensing entry more likely reflects a re-licensing, an ownership or entity change, or simply the start of the database’s retention window. Which of those it is has not been determined.

What the state file does establish is a long, continuous, and unglamorous operating history — the kind that only accrues to a business that keeps opening its doors. Fifteen inspections across nine years, at one address:10

DateTypeCompliance
5 Sep 2025RoutineIn
19 Apr 2024RoutineIn (2 violations)
22 Jan 2023Modified ComplaintIn
4 Dec 2022RoutineIn
6 Nov 2021Follow-up to Administrative OrderIn
12 Sep 2021Follow-upOut
22 Aug 2021RoutineOut
16 Feb 2020RoutineIn
11 Jan 2019Follow-up to Administrative OrderIn
5 Oct 2018Follow-upOut
23 Sep 2018RoutineOut
3 Jul 2017Follow-upIn
5 Jun 2017ReopeningOut
1 Jun 2017Expired LicenseOut
28 Jan 2017LicensingIn

Two episodes in that table are worth naming plainly rather than smoothing over. In June 2017 the file records an “Expired License” finding out of compliance on 1 June, a “Reopening” inspection out of compliance four days later, and a follow-up back in compliance on 3 July — an administrative lapse and a return to service inside five weeks. In 2018 and again in 2021 the kitchen went out of compliance on a routine inspection and was brought back in on follow-up, the 2021 sequence closing with a follow-up to an administrative order in compliance on 6 November. Since then the record is clean: three consecutive inspections in compliance across 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

The oldest independent trace of the business located this pass is its Foursquare venue entry, alongside the January 2015 Tripadvisor review.1 The Community Voice, the Kansas Black press, carried it on a June 2020 statewide list of Black-owned eateries with the address and the (913) 400-2075 number that the city tourism bureau still publishes today — a six-year continuity of contact details across two independent sources.113

Legal entity name and Kansas Secretary of State registration were attempted and not obtained — the Secretary of State’s business-entity search returned HTTP 403 to automated requests this pass. ****

Sources

Footnotes

  1. “NANA’S KITCHEN, Kansas City — Restaurant Reviews & Phone Number,” Tripadvisor (listing d7381967), and the user review “Stop Here!!!” (r248110154). URLs and tripadvisor.co.nz (Read from the search index only — both URLs returned HTTP 403 to direct fetch and Firecrawl was unavailable this pass. Asserts: address “7375 Leavenworth Rd # 7403, Across From Washington High School, Kansas City, KS 66109-1221” — a street number that conflicts with the 7355 on the state licence record and every other source; phone +1 913-788-9805; a rating of 5 of 5; and a January 2015 review describing “every bite is delectable,” a special menu every day, a drive-thru, catering, cash the only payment option, and no dine-in area. The January 2015 review date is the earliest documented evidence of the business operating located this pass and is the reason the 2017 state licensing entry is not read as a founding date. A Foursquare venue entry for the same business exists at foursquare.com but returned a login wall and yielded nothing.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. “NANA’S KITCHEN - CLOSED - Updated May 2026 - 7355 Leavenworth Rd, Kansas City, Kansas - Soul Food,” Yelp. URL (Read from the search index only — the page was not fetched; Firecrawl refuses yelp.com outright and was in any case unavailable this pass. Asserts: the address 7355 Leavenworth Rd, Kansas City, KS 66109; category Soul Food; a “CLOSED” status with the listing updated May 2026; 2 reviews and 6 photos; and a review reading “This place is phenomenal. They have a daily menu call ahead or just stop in. Cash only. Whatever you pick is packed with goodness and flavor, the portions are tremendous.” This is the primary evidence on the closed side of the conflict, and it is a two-review aggregator listing. Recorded, weighed and not followed — see Operating status.) ↩

  3. “Nana’s Kitchen,” Visit Kansas City, Kansas (Kansas City Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau) directory listing #2179, accessed 2026-09-08. URL (Asserts: the description “Enjoy classic soul food with catfish, pork chops, mac n cheese and all your comforting favorites”; address1 “7355 Leavenworth Road,” Kansas City; phone “(913) 400-2075”; the business’s Facebook handle SoulFoodDelight; and listing coordinates 39.1428605, -94.7505171. Address, phone and coordinates were read from the page’s embedded listing data, retrieved by direct fetch. Note: unlike the same bureau’s Ms. R’s Cafe listing, this one does not render the bureau’s own address in the business-address position — the bureau’s (913) 321-5800 appears separately in the page furniture and is not this business’s number. Recorded as the tourism bureau’s live listing for an operating business, and as the strongest non-press evidence of current trading.) ↩ ↩2

  4. Brandon Azim, “Kansas City, Kansas, kicks off its first Black Restaurant Week. These are the spots to try,” KCUR, 7 September 2026, accessed 2026-09-08. URL (Asserts: Nana’s Kitchen at 7355 Leavenworth Rd. as one of eleven Black-owned Kansas City, Kansas restaurants in the city’s first Black Restaurant Week, 7–13 September 2026, and links its Facebook page, SoulFoodDelight, as the business’s channel. Carries no description, owner, hours or menu for it. Also names the other ten participants with addresses: Mrs. R’s Cafe 720 Quindaro Blvd., 1930’s Classic Kitchen 1930 N 77th St., Wilson’s Pizza & Grill 1807 Quindaro Blvd., Holy Smoke BBQ 8050 Leavenworth Rd., The Neighborhood Eats 2100 N. 13th St., Q13 Sports Bar & Grill 2724 N 13th St., Turkey Leggman 1916 Quindaro Blvd., Jones Bar-B-Q 6706 Kaw Dr., Fast Fred’s Market 1806 N 18th St., John’s Java & Jazz 2003 N 5th St.) ↩ ↩2

  5. Rachel Henderson, “KCK’s first-ever Black Restaurant Week leads into 913 Day with 11 Black-owned restaurants,” KSHB 41, accessed 2026-09-08. URL (Asserts: Nana’s Kitchen, 7355 Leavenworth Rd., Kansas City, KS 66109 on the eleven-restaurant roster, with no further detail on the business; the full roster with ZIPs; and that some northeast-area businesses were still recovering from severe weather in mid-August, with Ms. R’s Cafe specifically reported as having lost a sign and briefly lost power. Does not say Nana’s Kitchen was affected.) ↩

  6. Alyssa Jackson, “‘We want to do that big’: KCK celebrates first Black Restaurant Week ahead of 913 Day,” KSHB 41, accessed 2026-09-08. URL (Asserts: Kendon McClaine as co-organizer of KCK Black Restaurant Week; Nana’s Kitchen at 7355 Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, KS 66109 among the eleven participants; and Anita Taylor as family business consultant for Fast Fred’s Market. No owner or operator is named for Nana’s Kitchen, and no participant other than Fast Fred’s is quoted by name in the parts relevant here.) ↩

  7. Julia Scammahorn, “KCK to launch first-ever Black Restaurant Week,” KCTV5, 2 September 2026, accessed 2026-09-08. URL (Asserts: the week runs 7–13 September 2026; “Nana’s Kitchen – 7355 Leavenworth Road” among the participants; that select participating restaurants offer $9.13 items for the 913 area code; and credits the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and KCK Mayor/CEO Christal E. Watson. Roster discrepancy recorded, not used: the article describes eleven restaurants but its list runs to twelve names, including “The Village Cage,” which appears on no other roster read this pass. Retrieved by direct fetch; Firecrawl was unavailable this pass.) ↩

  8. Marcus Vance, “Kansas City, Kansas Launches First Black Restaurant Week Ahead of 913 Day,” Hoodline, 2 September 2026, accessed 2026-09-08. URL (Asserts: Nana’s Kitchen at 7355 Leavenworth Road among 11 Black-owned culinary businesses across Wyandotte County; the 7–13 September 2026 dates; and that “Severe storms in mid-August knocked out power and caused widespread disruptions across Wyandotte County” — stated as general county context, not as damage to any named restaurant.) ↩

  9. BuyBlack.org Newsroom, “Celebrate KCK’s Inaugural Black Restaurant Week Starting Sept 7,” 3 September 2026, accessed 2026-09-08. URL (Asserts: “Nana’s Kitchen out on Leavenworth Road” among eleven participating Black-owned restaurants; a $9.13 special during the 7–13 September week; and the Unified Government proclamation by Mayor/CEO Christal Watson.) ↩

  10. Kansas Department of Agriculture — Food Safety and Lodging, Public Inspection Search, query on establishment name “Nana” in Kansas City, KS, run and retrieved 2026-09-08. URL (Primary source. Result returned “1 record(s) found.” Asserts: NANA’S KITCHEN, 7355 Leavenworth RD, Kansas City, KS 66109, most recent inspection 09/05/2025, Routine, In compliance; and a past-inspection file of 04/19/2024 Routine In with 2 violations, 01/22/2023 Modified Complaint In, 12/04/2022 Routine In, 11/06/2021 Follow-up to Administrative Order In, 09/12/2021 Follow-up Out, 08/22/2021 Routine Out, 02/16/2020 Routine In, 01/11/2019 Follow-up to Administrative Order In, 10/05/2018 Follow-up Out, 09/23/2018 Routine Out, 07/03/2017 Follow-up In, 06/05/2017 Reopening Out, 06/01/2017 Expired License Out, and 01/28/2017 Licensing In — the earliest entry in the file. The application is an ASP.NET form and has no stable result URL; the search above reproduces the result. Does not assert a founding date, and the 2017 licensing entry is expressly not read as one here.) ↩ ↩2

  11. Bonita, Editor-in-Chief, “‘Our’ Eats: THE LIST for Kansas and KC,” The Community Voice, 25 June 2020 (updated 29 October 2022), accessed 2026-09-08. URL (Kansas Black press. Asserts: “NaNa’s Kitchen,” 7355 Leavenworth Road, phone (913) 400-2075, on a statewide list of Black-owned eateries. No description, owner or hours. Cited as independent 2020 corroboration of both the address and the phone number the tourism bureau still publishes in 2026, and as an early third-party attestation that the business is Black-owned.) ↩

See also

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/nanas-kitchen · record updated 2026-09-08