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Red Kitchen KC — full name Red Kitchen: Cien Por Ciento Mexicana (“100% Mexican”) — is an owner-operated Mexican restaurant at 7926 Santa Fe Drive in downtown Overland Park, opened February 2024 by chef Alejandra de la Fuente. It grew out of her Red Kitchen Tamales pop-up and Lenexa Public Market stall (begun ~2017), which Food & Wine named the source of the best burritos in Kansas in 2018. Born in Mexico City and raised in Guadalajara, de la Fuente left a career as a Spanish-language interpreter and bank employee to cook full-time, building a strictly regional-Mexican (no Tex-Mex) breakfast-and-lunch concept.

Description

Red Kitchen KC serves a strictly regional Mexican menu — owner-chef Alejandra de la Fuente describes the concept as “100% Mexican food — there is nothing in here that is Tex-Mex oriented,” a stance reflected in the restaurant’s full name, Cien Por Ciento Mexicana (“one hundred percent Mexican”).12 The roughly 26-seat space runs a breakfast-and-lunch service (open daily, closing at 2 p.m.), built around the breakfast burritos and tamales that made the original stall’s reputation, alongside chilaquiles, huevos rancheros, tacos, tortas on telera bread, soups, agua fresca, and Mexican-style shakes.234 Dietary options (vegetarian, gluten-free, keto) are offered for dine-in or grab-and-go, and a value lunch combo marketed as the “Godínez menu” targets nearby office workers.2

The restaurant sources locally where it can, partnering with Maps Coffee & Chocolate (Lenexa) for coffee and Caramelo (Lawrence) for tortilla chips.2 It sits on the west side of Santa Fe Drive in downtown Overland Park near The Peanut and The General Store + Co., in a space previously occupied by the catering company The Table.2 See overland-park-ks.

Ownership and history

PeriodOperator / milestone
~2017Alejandra de la Fuente — then working as a Spanish-language interpreter / bank employee — begins selling tamales as Red Kitchen Tamales, eventually a pop-up and stall at Lenexa Public Market154
2018Food & Wine names her breakfast burritos the best in Kansas (recognition tied to the Lenexa stall), sharply raising her profile; she leaves her bank job to cook full-time54
Nov 2023Announces departure from Lenexa Public Market to open a stand-alone restaurant at 7926 Santa Fe Dr.; last day at Lenexa was Dec 26, 202336
Feb 2024Red Kitchen: Cien Por Ciento Mexicana opens in downtown Overland Park125
PresentOpen and operating under de la Fuente’s sole, owner-operator ownership17

Red Kitchen is independently and locally owned — repeatedly described in press and on its own listings as “Latina owned, woman owned.”7 No corporate parent, franchise, or outside-chain relationship is indicated. De la Fuente was born in Mexico City and grew up in Guadalajara before immigrating to the Kansas City metro; she is the chef and owner-operator.15

AUDIT NOTE: The seed described the owner as “Indigenous/Mexican-owned.” Research confirms Mexican immigrant, Latina/woman-owned, but found no source describing de la Fuente or the business as Indigenous-owned. The Indigenous descriptor is unverified and has been omitted from the body; flagged below.

See also

  • overland-park-ks
  • Registry

Sources

Footnotes

  1. el restaurante, “Creator of Food & Wine’s ‘Best Burritos’ Launches Restaurant.” https://elrestaurante.com/blogs/industry-news/creator-of-food-wine%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cbest-burritos%E2%80%9D-launches-restaurant/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Johnson County Post, “Former Lenexa eatery now serving Mexican cuisine in Overland Park” (Feb 14, 2024). https://johnsoncountypost.com/2024/02/14/red-kitchen-overland-park-open-226068/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  3. Johnson County Post, “Red Kitchen leaving Lenexa Public Market to start own Overland Park eatery” (Nov 14, 2023). https://johnsoncountypost.com/2023/11/14/red-kitchen-lenexa-overland-park-220407/ ↩ ↩2

  4. Feast Magazine, “Today’s Takeout: Breakfast Burritos from Red Kitchen Tamales.” https://www.feastmagazine.com/kansas-city/article_4155b2d0-f2bb-11ea-a811-cb3c6b441060.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. Kansas City Magazine, “Nationally Recognized KC Mexican Street Food Vendor Is Opening A Restaurant.” https://kansascitymag.com/kc-mexican-food-vendor-is-opening-a-restaurant/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  6. Shawnee Mission Post, “Red Kitchen leaving Lenexa Public Market for Overland Park” (Nov 14, 2023). https://shawneemissionpost.com/2023/11/14/red-kitchen-lenexa-overland-park-218950/ ↩

  7. Visit Overland Park, “Red Kitchen: Cien por Ciento Mexicana” directory listing. https://www.visitoverlandpark.com/directory/red-kitchen-cien-por-ciento-mexicana/ ↩ ↩2

See also

  • Registry
  • overland-park-ks
Categories
  • Locally owned
  • Mexican
  • Overland Park