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

The Blue Palm is a tiki bar at 204 Orchard St in Strawberry Hill, Kansas City, Kansas — the neighborhood’s first, and one of very few in the metro. It was announced in November 2023 by three veteran bartender-operators, Dan Doty, Roxie Danner and Houston (Hunter) Defoe, for the space vacated when the Mockingbird Lounge closed in September 2023 — itself the former home of View on the Hill, the metro’s oldest gay bar. Opening was targeted for December 2023, with licensing potentially pushing it to early 2024. It is a cocktails-only room with no kitchen. Tier 1 — owner-operated, single-location, wholly Wyandotte County. Confirmed operating: own domain with current hours plus first-party Instagram post 2 August 2026.1234

Description

The Blue Palm occupies 204 Orchard St on the eastern edge of Strawberry Hill, above the bluff that looks over the West Bottoms. It is the neighborhood’s first tiki bar; Visit Kansas City, KS describes it in July 2025 as offering “skillfully-crafted cocktails in a moody, tropical setting at Strawberry Hill’s first ever tiki bar.”5

The concept was reported by Kansas City Magazine and The Pitch within three weeks of each other in November 2023. Co-owner Dan Doty framed it plainly: “The bones of any great tiki bar are really great drinks, really great service and a really great atmosphere.”1 The build was deliberately light — The Pitch reported minimal construction, largely retaining the existing layout while shifting the patio to serve as the main entrance, with the room’s original large front windows blacked out for the dark, tropical interior.21

The bar has no operating kitchen; The Pitch reported plans to partner with local food vendors for special events, with reservations accepted and walk-ins welcome.2

The Blue Palm is the corridor’s clearest example of an operator-network effect rather than a standalone arrival. Doty appears in KCUR’s 2022 profile of the-easy-inn as one of that bar’s regulars; Roxie Danner ran the tiki pop-up Hellfire Tiki, whose influence The Pitch expected to show in the drinks; and Defoe previously owned Shooter’s Tavern in North Kansas City.612

Ownership and history

Three owners are named consistently across two independent November 2023 reports: Dan Doty, Roxie Danner, and Defoe.12

Name discrepancy — recorded, not resolved. Kansas City Magazine gives the third owner’s first name as Houston; The Pitch, twenty days later, gives it as Hunter. This page carries “Houston” in the frontmatter and infobox as the more widely reproduced form and flags the conflict rather than picking silently.

The space has turned over twice in recent memory. It housed View on the Hill, described by Kansas City Magazine in 2021 as the metro’s oldest gay bar, which closed in 2014; the Mockingbird Lounge then operated there — Kansas City Magazine called it “the nicest bar in KCK,” pouring mezcals, Japanese whiskies and pisco sours in coupe glasses — until it closed unexpectedly in September 2023.712

No exact first-day-of-service date, legal operating entity, or Kansas ABC licensee of record was located on this pass.

YearEvent
—2014Space operates as View on the Hill, described as the metro’s oldest gay bar; closes 20147
c. 2014–2023Mockingbird Lounge operates in the space; Kansas City Magazine calls it “the nicest bar in KCK”7
Sept 2023Mockingbird Lounge closes unexpectedly12
Nov 2023The Blue Palm announced by Doty, Danner and Defoe; opening targeted before end of 2023, licensing could push to early 202412
2025Listed by Visit Kansas City, KS as “Strawberry Hill’s first ever tiki bar”5
2026Operating; own domain live; first-party Instagram posts through 2 August34

Last verified: 2026-08-13 · Source: own website, “Our Drinks” menu page (SpotHopper) · URL: https://bluepalmtiki.com/kansas-city-strawberry-hill-the-blue-palm-drink-menu · Confidence: High (items) / not applicable (prices — none published)

The Blue Palm publishes a complete itemised drink list on its own site, but publishes no prices anywhere. Every item and description below is reproduced verbatim from the first-party drink menu.8 No price is published for any item on any first-party surface, so this section is recorded as partial.

Crew Originals (house cocktails)

  • Tarot Deck — rums, falernum, taro coconut cream, passionfruit, lemon & topped with taro coconut whip & nutmeg.
  • Rogue Coconut — rums, banana liqueur, coconut cream, cinnamon, lemon & lime.
  • Hell or High Water…Melon — tequila, watermelon agua fresca, chamoy, lime topped with a jalapeño foam & tajin.
  • Blue Palm Punch vol. 9 — rums, blue curaçao, pineapple, guava, lime, tiki bitters & strawberry bursting bobas.
  • Dusky Skies — gin, dry curaçao, orange blossom water, coconut cream, orange, lemon & soda water.
  • Queen’s Highway — vodka, blueberry liqueur, absinthe, orange, lime & lavender bitters. Oat milk clarified.
  • Swashbuckler — rums, herbal liqueur, passionfruit, lemon, lime & bitters.
  • Let that Mango — sticky rice washed rums, mango liqueur, mango juice, simple & lime topped with sesame coconut milk whip.
  • Devil in the Crowsnest — bourbon, almond orgeat, pineapple, lemon & bitters.
  • Hotter than your EX — chili crunch oil washed rum, passionfruit & lime.

Classics

  • Mai Tai
  • Saturn
  • Zombie
  • Jungle Bird
  • Daiquiri
  • Mojito

No descriptions are published for the classics.

N/A Cocktails

  • Mia Tia — Seedlip Spice 94, almond orgeat & lime.
  • Tylenol — Seedlip Spice 94, coconut cream, pineapple, orange & nutmeg.
  • Pluto — Seedlip Grove 42, passion fruit, almond orgeat, lemon & soda water.
  • Deck of Tarot — Seedlip Spice, taro coconut cream, passionfruit & lemon topped with taro coconut whip & nutmeg.
  • Seedless Melon — Seedlip Agave, watermelon agua fresca, chamoy & lime topped with jalapeño foam & tajin.
  • Skies at Dusk — Seedlip Grove, orange blossom water, coconut cream, orange, lemon & soda water.

Cans and Bottles

  • Modelo Especial (bottle)
  • PBR (tallboy)
  • Hamm’s (tallboy)
  • Guinness
  • PBR Light

N/A Beers

  • Athletic Free Wave Hazy IPA
  • Athletic Upside Dawn Golden Ale
  • Guinness Zero
  • Lagunitas Hop Refresher

Wine

  • Syrah Grenache (red)
  • Sauvignon Blanc (white)
  • Rosé

Food

The site carries a food menu page, but as of 2026-08-13 it displays only “We are updating our menu — please stay tuned,” with no items.9 This is a change from the 2023 announcement position, at which The Pitch reported no operating kitchen and plans to partner with local food vendors for special events.2 Whether The Blue Palm has since added food service, or is simply building the page, is not established.

Notes. The published list bears out the 2023 reporting closely: The Pitch named Mai Tai and Jungle Bird as expected pours and both appear under Classics, and described a programme combining “classic tiki offerings, some older drinks that have been lost over time, and some seasonal offerings” — the Classics and Crew Originals sections respectively.2 Visit KCK’s note of non-alcoholic options is confirmed by two dedicated N/A sections.5 The house punch is versioned — “Blue Palm Punch vol. 9” — which implies a rotating original, so the Crew Originals list should be treated as current rather than permanent.

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Tyler Shane, “The Blue Palm, a tiki bar, will open in the former Mockingbird Lounge,” Kansas City Magazine, November 1, 2023 (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: The Blue Palm at 204 Orchard St., Kansas City, Kansas; owners Dan Doty, Roxie Danner and Houston Defoe; the space previously housed the Mockingbird Lounge, which closed in September 2023; expected opening early December 2023; Doty quoted, “The bones of any great tiki bar are really great drinks, really great service and a really great atmosphere”; planned dark moody lighting, tropical decor, blackened windows replacing the original large entrance windows, and a renovated patio entry point; Danner operates the tiki pop-up Hellfire Tiki; Defoe previously owned Shooter’s Tavern in North Kansas City. Does not give a menu, prices, or a confirmed opening date. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. Jordan Baranowski, “Two tickets to paradise: The Blue Palm is opening soon in Strawberry Hill,” The Pitch, November 21, 2023 (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: owners Dan Doty, Roxie Danner and Hunter DeFoe (note: first name differs from the Kansas City Magazine account); address 204 Orchard Street, Kansas City, KS 66101, Strawberry Hill; opening targeted before the end of 2023, with licensing and permits possibly pushing to early 2024; minimal construction, patio used as the main entrance, layout largely retained; planned hours 6pm–midnight Wednesday–Sunday, closed Mondays and Tuesdays; no operating kitchen, with plans to partner with local food vendors for special events; reservations accepted and walk-ins welcome; drinks to combine classic tiki offerings, lost older drinks and seasonal offerings, with Mai Tai and Jungle Bird expected; the Mockingbird Lounge had closed unexpectedly months earlier. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  3. The Blue Palm — official website (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: name The Blue Palm; address 204 Orchard Street, Kansas City, KS 66101; phone (816) 547-1416; email bluepalmtiki@gmail.com; hours Wednesday–Saturday 3:00pm–12:00am and Sunday 2:00pm–8:00pm; describes itself as a “Must-Try Cocktail Bar” offering “flavorful cocktails crafted to perfection” with “expertly guided drink selection by our bartenders”; hosts events and private parties; links to Facebook and Instagram @bluepalmtiki; site built on SpotHopper. Does not publish a menu, prices, owner names or a founding date; no footer copyright year present. This is a first-party operating-status signal for this page. ↩ ↩2

  4. Blue Palm Tiki — Instagram, @bluepalmtiki (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: category “Tiki Bar and Lounge”; approximately 6,427 followers; bio “Tiki Bar and Lounge in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood. 3pm-12 Wed-Sat 2pm-8pm Sun”; posts dated 2 August 2026, 29 July 2026, 21 July 2026, 2 July 2026, 30 June 2026, 24 June 2026, 19 June 2026 and 17 June 2026, among earlier posts. This is the primary operating-status verification for this page. ↩ ↩2

  5. “Strawberry Hill Might Just Own the Dive Bar Crown in KC — and It Keeps Getting Better,” Visit Kansas City, KS, July 7, 2025 (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: “Enjoy skillfully-crafted cocktails in a moody, tropical setting at Strawberry Hill’s first ever tiki bar!”; The Blue Palm listed as currently operating as of July 2025. Note: the 2023 predecessor in this series transposes addresses in this corridor and is deliberately not cited. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Celisa Calacal and Allison Harris, “Meet the regulars of The Easy Inn in Kansas City, Kansas: ‘This is my Cheers,’” KCUR 89.3, December 22, 2022 (accessed 2026-08-13). Cited here only for the operator overlap: it names Dan Doty among the regulars of The Easy Inn, a year before he co-announced The Blue Palm. ↩

  7. “Strawberry Hill might just have the best collection of dive bars in America,” Kansas City Magazine, June 28, 2021 (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: the Mockingbird Lounge at 204 Orchard St., KCK, occupies the space formerly housing View on the Hill, the metro’s oldest gay bar, which closed in 2014; the Mockingbird served mezcals, Japanese whiskies and pisco sours in coupe glasses and is called “the nicest bar in KCK.” ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  8. “Our Drinks” — The Blue Palm official website, drink menu page (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: an itemised drink list in seven sections — Cans/Bottles, Red, White, Rose, Crew Originals, Classics, N/A Cocktails and N/A Beers — with full ingredient descriptions for the Crew Originals and N/A Cocktails. Does not publish a price for any item. Reproduced in the Menu section above. ↩

  9. “Our Menu” — The Blue Palm official website, food menu page (accessed 2026-08-13). Asserts: the page exists in site navigation but displays only “We are updating our menu / Please stay tuned”; no food items and no prices are listed. ↩

See also

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/the-blue-palm · record updated 2026-08-13