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

a Black-owned, owner-operated comfort-food restaurant at 1827 Vine St in the historic 18th & Vine District, known for burgers, cheesesteaks, and its widely praised wings; Tier 1 as a locally rooted, family-owned KC business.

Description

Smaxx (styled “SMAXX,” and listed in some channels as “Smaxx Gourmet Restaurant”) is a casual comfort-food restaurant at 1827 Vine St in Kansas City’s historic 18th & Vine Jazz District.12 It is known for burgers, chicken sandwiches, wings, cheesesteaks, and seafood baskets, all made fresh to order.1

The menu centers on griddle/fry-line comfort food: cheeseburgers (including a “4-Alarm Burger”), buffalo chicken wraps, grilled and fried chicken sandwiches, fried fish and shrimp baskets, cheesesteaks, and loaded fries.13 The restaurant’s wings have drawn particular attention — The Pitch singled out the lemon-pepper wings tossed in buffalo sauce as “maybe the best wings I’ve had in Kansas City.”4 A recurring $1 whole-wing special on Wednesdays is a noted draw.5

Smaxx is a Black-owned business, listed on EatOkra and featured in Kansas City Black Restaurant Week coverage.67 It serves the 18th & Vine corridor with a small carryout/dine-in footprint and offers delivery through DoorDash and Uber Eats.89

Ownership and history

Smaxx is owned and operated by Tiara Taylor (also reported as Tiara Taylor-Dixon / Tiara Dixon) together with her husband Brandon Dixon.710 The couple opened the restaurant around early 2019; as of a July 2019 report it had been open roughly six months, doing brisk business at 18th & Vine.7

The path to opening was long. Reporting on an East Side environmental-contamination dispute notes that Taylor and Dixon bought property at the northeast corner of 31st Street and Cleveland Avenue in 2013, intending to renovate it and open Smaxx there; contamination tied to an adjacent gas station delayed that plan, and the restaurant ultimately opened in the 18th & Vine District instead.10 Taylor has been profiled in connection with the growth of Black women-owned businesses, expressing pride in being a Black restaurant owner thriving and “owning [the] American dream.”11

: exact opening month/date and any subsequent expansions or menu milestones.

Sources

Disputes

(None active.)

Footnotes

  1. SMAXX official site — https://www.smaxxkcmo.com/ — asserts: casual comfort-food restaurant at 1827 Vine St, KC MO 64108; burgers/chicken sandwiches/wings/cheesesteaks/seafood baskets; menu items incl. 4-Alarm Burger, buffalo chicken wrap, fish/shrimp baskets, loaded fries; hours Tue–Sat noon–6, closed Sun–Mon; phone (816) 921-1161. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. Yelp — SMAXX, 1827 Vine St, Kansas City — https://www.yelp.com/biz/smaxx-kansas-city — asserts: address; “Updated February 2026”; 50 photos / 54 reviews; American/restaurant category (currently open). ↩

  3. DoorDash — SMAXX Gourmet Restaurant — https://www.doordash.com/store/smaxx-gourmet-restaurant-kansas-city-313698/ — asserts: menu and delivery availability. ↩

  4. The Pitch, “Eat This Now: Chicken Wings at Smaxx” (May 21, 2024) — https://www.thepitchkc.com/eat-this-now-chicken-wings-at-smaxx/ — asserts: known for fried fish, cheesesteaks, burgers, and wings; lemon-pepper wings tossed in buffalo praised as maybe best wings in KC; located in Historic Jazz District at 1827 Vine. ↩

  5. 816area — Smaxx, 18th & Vine — https://www.816area.com/kansas-city/18th-and-vine/restaurants/smaxx.htm — asserts: $1 whole wings Wednesday special; comfort-food menu summary. ↩

  6. EatOkra — Smaxx — https://www.eatokra.com/businesses/smaxx — asserts: Black-owned business; 1827 Vine St KC MO 64108; hours; phone; website. ↩

  7. FOX 4 Kansas City, “Kansas City’s first Black Restaurant Week highlights small restaurants” (July 2019) — https://fox4kc.com/news/kansas-citys-first-black-restaurant-week-highlights-small-restaurants/ — asserts: owners Tiara Taylor and husband Brandon Dixon opened Smaxx roughly six months before July 2019; doing brisk business at 18th & Vine. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  8. Uber Eats — SMAXX Gourmet Restaurant (1827 Vine Street) — https://www.ubereats.com/store/smaxx-gourmet-restaurant-1827-vine-street/_0hxDVk3VgKXrCvyuNfFYQ — asserts: delivery; address. ↩

  9. order.online — SMAXX Gourmet Restaurant, 1827 Vine Street — https://order.online/store/smaxx-gourmet-restaurant-vine-st-313698 — asserts: pickup/delivery ordering at 1827 Vine. ↩

  10. The Pitch, “Oil and water: Who will right the wrongs of an East Side gas station’s environmental negligence?” — https://www.thepitchkc.com/oil-and-water-who-will-right-the-wrongs-of-an-east-side-gas-stations-environmental-negligence/ — asserts: Taylor and Dixon bought 31st & Cleveland property in 2013 intending to open Smaxx; contamination delayed plans; restaurant opened at 18th & Vine. ↩ ↩2

  11. KSHB 41, “Report: Of all businesses owned by blacks, 60 percent are owned by black women” — https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/report-of-all-businesses-owned-by-blacks-60-percent-are-owned-by-black-women — asserts: owner Tiara Dixon featured re growth of Black women-owned businesses; took a leap of faith to open her restaurant. ↩

See also

Categories
  • Locally owned
  • Burgers
  • 18th And Vine