Red Door Woodfired Grill

Red Door Woodfired Grill is a Leawood-founded American wood-fired grill mini-chain, launched in 2013 by the late Gary Zancanelli Jr. and operated by Kansas City-based ZancTank Concepts. From its original Leawood “laboratory” location it has grown to a seven-unit metro-plus footprint, with locations across Johnson County, the Missouri side, and a new Omaha outpost. ¹²³

Locations

Address	City	Status
11851 Roe Avenue	Leawood, KS 66211	Active (original, 2013)
6324 Brookside Plaza	Kansas City, MO	Active
8001 W. 159th Street	Overland Park, KS	Active
9703 N. Ash Avenue	Kansas City (Liberty), MO	Active
15918 W. 88th Street	Lenexa, KS	Active
2061 NW Lowenstein Drive	Lee’s Summit, MO	Active
6680 Center Street	Omaha, NE 68106	Active (newest; Aksarben)

Description

Red Door Woodfired Grill is an “upscale neighborhood joint” concept built around scratch cooking over open wood-fired grills. ⁴ All menu items are made from scratch and cooked over a proprietary “smoky trinity” blend of pecan, oak, and hickory. ⁵ The Leawood flagship is described by ownership as the brand’s “laboratory,” where the concept is refined before changes roll out to the other restaurants. ³ Signature offerings include the restaurant’s Woodfired Wings, handcrafted salads, beignets, and a rotating slate of weekly specials. ⁵ The restaurant has been voted among KC’s best in local readers’ polls in 2023, 2024, and 2025. ⁵

Ownership and history

Founder Gary Zancanelli Jr. spent his early career in franchised quick-service restaurants — leading Zancanelli Management Corp., which operated KFC and Five Guys locations — before selling those holdings and opening the first Red Door Woodfired Grill in Leawood in April 2013. ¹⁶ The brand expanded under his Kansas City-based parent company, ZancTank Concepts, adding Brookside, Overland Park, Liberty, Lenexa, and Lee’s Summit locations. ¹²

Gary Zancanelli Jr. died on January 9, 2022, in Arizona at age 56. ¹ The company continued to operate after his death under ZancTank Concepts; co-owner/partner Mark Kirke is identified alongside Zancanelli as an owner of the brand. ⁷ The “RED DOOR WOODFIRED GRILL” trademark is registered to Zancanelli Holdings, LLC. ⁸ Under continued ownership the chain has since expanded beyond the immediate KC metro, opening an Omaha (Aksarben) location. ²

Links

• Official site: https://reddoorgrill.com/
• Locations: https://reddoorgrill.com/locations/
• Yelp (Leawood): https://www.yelp.com/biz/red-door-woodfired-grill-leawood-3

Sources

Disputes

None recorded.

Footnotes

1. Johnson County Post — “Gary Zancanelli, Jr., founder of Leawood-based Red Door Woodfired Grill, dies at 56” (2022-01-18). https://johnsoncountypost.com/2022/01/18/gary-zancanelli-red-door-139726/ — asserts: founder Gary Zancanelli Jr.; first Leawood location opened 2013; death Jan. 9, 2022, age 56; prior KFC/Five Guys franchise background; locations Leawood, Lenexa, Overland Park, Liberty, Brookside. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Red Door Woodfired Grill — official Locations page. https://reddoorgrill.com/locations/ — asserts: current locations and street addresses (Leawood, Brookside, Overland Park, Liberty, Lenexa, Lee’s Summit, Omaha/Aksarben); Omaha listed as new location; no closures noted. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Red Door Woodfired Grill — official site. https://reddoorgrill.com/ — asserts: brand identity as KC wood-fired grill; Leawood as flagship/original. ↩ ↩²

4. SocialWorx PR (reprinting KC Star) — “Red Door Woodfired Grill wants to be Kansas City’s ‘upscale neighborhood joint’” (2017-03-15). https://www.socialworxpr.com/blog/2017/03/15/kc-star-red-door-woodfired-grill-wants-to-be-kansas-citys-upscale-neighborhood-joint/ — asserts: “upscale neighborhood joint” positioning. ↩

5. Yelp — Red Door Woodfired Grill, Leawood (updated June 2026). https://www.yelp.com/biz/red-door-woodfired-grill-leawood-3 — asserts: address 11851 Roe Ave, Leawood, KS; open with posted hours; “smoky trinity” pecan/oak/hickory; signature Woodfired Wings, salads, beignets; recent (June 2026) reviews; KC best-restaurant honors 2023–2025. ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. I Think Bigger — “Firing Up Success at Red Door Woodfired Grill, with Gary Zancanelli.” https://ithinkbigger.com/firing-up-success-at-red-door-woodfired-grill-with-gary-zancanelli/ — asserts: Zancanelli’s franchise career background and founding of Red Door. ↩

7. KSHB / City Lifestyle coverage of Red Door Grill expansion and ownership. https://www.kshb.com/lifestyle/red-door-grill-opens-second-location-in-brookside — asserts: co-ownership by Gary Zancanelli and Mark Kirke; Leawood as concept “laboratory”; ZancTank Concepts as KC-based operator. ↩

8. Justia Trademarks — “RED DOOR WOODFIRED GRILL,” Reg. No. 5900059, owner Zancanelli Holdings, LLC. https://trademarks.justia.com/876/92/red-door-woodfired-87692806.html — asserts: registered trademark owner is Zancanelli Holdings, LLC. ↩