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

The Brass Monkey Lounge is a speakeasy-style craft cocktail bar that opened in September 2025 on Admiral Boulevard, just south of Kansas City’s River Market. Built around an elaborate fictional mythology and an interactive, card-drawn “Alchemist’s Experience,” it occupies a historic former vitamin-and-supplement plant now redeveloped as a bar-forward complex.

Description

The Brass Monkey Lounge is an immersive, speakeasy-style cocktail bar located on Admiral Boulevard just south of I-35 from the River Market.12 Guests are guided from the sidewalk by playing cards to a bright red door at the back of the brick building, opening into a Victorian-parlor setting of moody lighting, velvet-fringed lamps, and masks on the walls.32 The signature draw is the “Alchemist’s Experience,” a ritual in which guests draw cards from a deck that determines the ingredients and shape of a custom cocktail; the printed menu also features house drinks like the namesake Brass Monkey and a Cherry Moon with Cherry Pepsi cold foam.342

The cocktail program was developed by lead bartender Kelsey Kennedy.4 The bar leans heavily into theatrics: staff embody characters from the house narrative, puzzles are hidden throughout the space and on social media, and international snacks reference the lore’s globe-trotting backstory.4

Ownership and history

The Brass Monkey opened in September 2025.4 It is led by managing partner Dan Scott and chief hospitality officer Austin DeForest, with additional partners including Mark and Marissa Denton.4 The bar occupies a building on Admiral Boulevard (between McGee and Superior) that was historically a vitamin and supplement manufacturing plant owned by V.E. Irons.4 The ownership built a fictional mythology atop that real history — in the house story, Irons found a protective brass monkey on his travels and brought it to Kansas City — which threads through the bar’s characters, puzzles, and menu.4

The Brass Monkey is the debut tenant of a larger redevelopment known as “The Riff,” planned to eventually include additional bar spaces, boutique hotel rooms, and a live event venue.4

Sources

Disputes

(None recorded.)

Footnotes

  1. Yelp — The Brass Monkey Lounge, Kansas City (updated April 2026). https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-brass-monkey-lounge-kansas-city — asserts: 307 Admiral Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64106; lounge; 85 photos / 36 reviews as of April 2026; current hours; active operation. ↩

  2. KCUR — “These Kansas City bars carry on the speakeasy tradition” (April 4, 2026). https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2026-04-04/kansas-city-speakeasy-bars-restaurants-hidden — asserts: The Brass Monkey among current KC speakeasy bars; south of River Market; active as of April 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Kansas City Magazine — “A Peek Inside KC’s Newest Speakeasy-Style Lounge, The Brass Monkey.” https://kansascitymag.com/the-brass-monkey/ — asserts: speakeasy-style lounge; red-door entry behind brick building south of River Market; Victorian-parlor decor; Alchemist’s Experience card ritual. ↩ ↩2

  4. The Pitch — “The Brass Monkey Lounge brings inventive lore to a new bar-forward building.” https://www.thepitchkc.com/the-brass-monkey-lounge-brings-inventive-lore-and-discoverable-details-to-debut-a-new-bar-forward-building/ — asserts: opened September 2025; partners Dan Scott (managing), Austin DeForest (chief hospitality officer), Mark & Marissa Denton; lead bartender Kelsey Kennedy; 307 Admiral Blvd; former V.E. Irons supplement plant; “The Riff” redevelopment; brass-monkey mythology; puzzles and character staff. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

See also

  • Registry
  • Owner-And-History-Research-Toolchain
Categories
  • Locally owned
  • River Market