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

The Brass Onion is the Brancato family’s full-service restaurant in Overland Park’s Prairiefire district — “comfort food at its finest,” Lowcountry-leaning American cooking (Mr. B’s fried chicken from a family recipe, shrimp and grits on Hoppin’ John grits, a double-cut Iowa pork chop, gumbo from scratch) with a serious bar of handcrafted cocktails and allocated whiskeys, weekend brunch, and a private “Brass Room.” The Brancatos, who have run Brancato’s Catering for more than fifty years and Harvey’s at Union Station, opened it in January 2018 in the former Newport Grill, a 4,000-square-foot, 150-seat room whose name, owner Andrew Brancato says, refers to the restaurant’s many “layers.”

Description

“Bringing an upscale, but comfortable dining experience to Prairiefire, The Brass Onion is a place to enjoy great food, drinks and conversation,” the site says; the About page frames the mission as “Comfort Food At Its Finest … Whether it’s Mr. B’s fried chicken, shrimp + grits or our double cut Iowa pork chop, our menu is full of Lowcountry flare and traditional family favorites.”12 The week has a shape: Mr. B’s Monday ($4 off the fried chicken), Tuesday burgers and $4 drafts, Wednesday steak night with half-price wine under $100, prime rib and a chef’s fish feature Thursday through Saturday evenings, and brunch with mimosas and bloody marys on Saturday and Sunday.1

The dinner menu (revision 7.22.26) opens with the Brass Onion Dip — Boursin, caramelized onion, herb bread chips — and Brass Onion Straws, then southern biscuit sliders, burnt ends with housemade barbecue sauce, Cajun calamari, “dueling hummus” of black-eyed pea and lemon-caper, bacon-wrapped scallops, NOLA barbecue shrimp, crab cakes, honey cornbread and lobster deviled eggs. Salads include a pan-fried Brie and a tenderloin steak salad; gumbo is “made from scratch.” Mains: Mr. B’s Fried Chicken (three pieces, Charleston braised collards, Yukon gold mashers, cornbread, $26), Lowcountry macaroni and cheese with shrimp and bacon, jambalaya pasta, forno cedar-plank salmon, sautéed shrimp and grits with redeye-tasso gravy on Hoppin’ John’s grits ($27.50), “The Obedient Bird,” and seared jumbo scallops on lobster risotto ($48). Steaks and chops run from a braised short rib and double cut Iowa pork chop ($35) to an 8-ounce filet and 14-ounce KC strip ($43) and a Thursday–Saturday slow-roasted prime rib ($42); sandwiches include a brisket-and-chuck Brass Onion Burger, a corned-beef short-rib Reuben and a prime rib dip.3 The Pitch’s Alexander Omorodion ordered the pork chop in October 2025: “a well-crusted, flavorful pork chop … Each bite carried the kind of warmth that reminded me of a Sunday dinner with family,” and found the hospitality “exemplary.”4

Ownership and history

The Brancato family is, in Feast’s words, “a powerhouse in Kansas City’s catering community, having operated Brancato’s Catering for over 50 years”; the family also runs Harvey’s, the breakfast-and-lunch restaurant at Union Station.52 They signed a lease in November 2017 for the 4,000-square-foot, 150-seat Newport Grill space at Prairiefire — the Kansas City Business Journal headlined it “As PB&J vacates Prairiefire, longtime caterer steps in with new concept” — and opened The Brass Onion Plates + Pours the following January, dinner only at first, with lunch and brunch to follow in February.56 Decor changes were minor; the menu was the point. Executive chef and general manager Frank Caputo described “a refined yet diverse comfort-food menu, full of popular home-cooked favorites that can be found in kitchens across the South and the Midwest”: a warm French-onion-style Brass Onion Dip with housemade Boursin, stacked onion rings, a muffuletta, an 8-ounce grass-fed Brass Burger on a benne-seed bun, shrimp and grits with red-eye gravy, and Mr. B’s Fried Chicken, “a family recipe passed down through generations.” Bar manager Megan Downes, formerly of Justus Drugstore, built a cocktail list around housemade syrups, shrubs and tinctures and four versions of a Brass Onion Gibson; restaurant consultant Michael Scherzberg said the family had also taken the former Paradise Diner next door, which shared the kitchen, for a private dining room.5

The Johnson County Post marked the fifth anniversary in January 2023 with $5 fried chicken and brunch deals, naming owner Andrew Brancato and his explanation that the name came from the restaurant’s onion-like “layers” — “from its food and drinks to its hospitality.”6 (The same brief mis-states the opening year as 2019; its own headline and Feast’s January 2018 report fix it at 2018.) By the July 2026 menu the kitchen was under executive chef Miguel Medina with Austin Watts as general manager.3

Last verified: 2026-08-28 · Source: the restaurant’s own dinner menu image (rev. 7.22.26) on thebrassonion.com; lunch, brunch, bar, happy-hour, kids’, dessert and family-pack menus are published as separate images/PDFs and are not transcribed · Confidence: High for dinner. GF = gluten free; MGF = can be modified.37

Appetizers + sharing

  • The Brass Onion Dip (MGF) $17 · The Brass Onion Straws $9 · Daily Flatbread $17 · Southern Biscuit Sliders $16 · Burnt Ends (MGF) $21 · Cajun Fried Calamari $19 · Dueling Hummus (MGF) $15 · Bacon Wrapped Scallops (GF) $24 · NOLA BBQ Shrimp (MGF) $19 · Crab Cakes $22 · Honey Cornbread $9 · Lobster Deviled Eggs (GF) $16

From the fields

  • Pan Fried Brie $21 · Butter Bibb Salad (MGF) $19 · Tenderloin Steak (MGF) $25 · Salmon Spinach (GF) $23 · House-Tossed Salad (GF) starter $8 / entrée $13 · add chicken $6, shrimp $8, salmon $8, tenderloin $11 · Gumbo (chicken, andouille) cup $8 / bowl $10

Steaks and chops

  • Braised Beef Short Rib (MGF) $35 · 8 oz Filet of Beef (GF) $43 · 14 oz KC Strip (GF) $43 · Double Cut Iowa Pork Chop (GF) $35 · Slow Roasted Prime Rib (GF; Thu–Sat after 5) $42 · add-ons: scallop $8, crab cake $8, blackened shrimp $5, béarnaise $3, coffee rub $2.50, Oscar style $11, demi-glace $2.50

Mains

  • Mr. B’s Fried Chicken $26 · Low Country Macaroni + Cheese $27 · Jambalaya Pasta $27 · Forno Cedar Plank Salmon (MGF) $35 · Sautéed Shrimp and Grits (MGF) $27.50 · The Obedient Bird (GF) $24 · Seared Jumbo Scallops (GF) $48

Between the bread — with fries, roasted vegetables or mac + cheese

  • The Brass Onion Burger (MGF) $18 (cheese, bacon or caramelized onion +$1.50) · Corned Beef Short Rib Reuben $21 · Prime Rib Dip $22

Sides

  • Sautéed mushrooms, creamed Brussels sprouts, loaded baked potato $10 · 5-cheese mac + cheese, smashed red bliss, fries, green beans + shallots, sautéed spinach, roasted vegetables, Yukon gold mashers, Hoppin’ John’s grits $7 · Charleston braised collard greens $8

Sources

Footnotes

  1. The Brass Onion — official website, home page. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: name; 5501 W 135th St, Overland Park, KS 66224; 913.851.5940; hours; daily specials by day (Mr. B’s Monday, burgers + beers Tuesday, steak night Wednesday, prime rib and fish features Thu–Sat, brunch Sat–Sun 10–3); OpenTable reservations and Diners’ Choice categories; Toast carryout; DoorDash; The Brass Room private event space; loyalty program; Instagram and Facebook links; concept statement. ↩ ↩2

  2. The Brass Onion — official website, “About Us.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: “family-owned restaurant … in the heart of the Prairiefire Entertainment District”; “opened its doors in 2018”; “Locally owned + operated by the Brancato family … Brancato’s Catering and Harvey’s at Union Station”; “Comfort Food At Its Finest”; Mr. B’s fried chicken, shrimp + grits, double cut Iowa pork chop; handcrafted cocktails, rare allocated whiskeys, local drafts; weekend features from Thursday. ↩ ↩2

  3. The Brass Onion — dinner menu image, “rev 7.22.26.” Retrieved and transcribed 2026-08-28 — Confirms: every item and price in the Menu section; “Low Country Goodness”; general manager Austin Watts and executive chef Miguel Medina; 20% gratuity on parties of eight or more; GF/MGF key. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. Alexander Omorodion, “Eat This Now: Double cut Iowa pork chop at The Brass Onion,” The Pitch, 2025-10-15 — Confirms: “a family-owned New American restaurant in Overland Park”; “low country goodness” menu (mac & cheese with shrimp and bacon, prime rib, deviled eggs, jambalaya); double-cut Iowa pork chop $32 with mushrooms and mashed potatoes; hospitality praise; address 5501 W. 135th St, Overland Park, KS 66224. ↩

  5. Jenny Vergara, “The Brancato Family Opens The Brass Onion in Overland Park,” Feast Magazine, January 2018 — Confirms: Brancato’s Catering “over 50 years”; Harvey’s at Union Station; opened “last week” in the former Newport Grille at Prairiefire, dinner only with lunch and brunch in February; lease signed November; 4,000 sq ft, 150 seats; executive chef/GM Frank Caputo and menu description; Mr. B’s Fried Chicken family recipe; bar manager Megan Downes (Justus Drugstore) and the Gibson variations; patio and rooftop idea; former Paradise Diner space for private dining (consultant Michael Scherzberg); “The Brass Onion Plates + Pours, 5501 W. 135th St., 913.851.5940.” ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Lucie Krisman, “The Brass Onion says ‘cheers to 5 years’ in Overland Park,” Johnson County Post, 2023-01-23 — Confirms: fifth-anniversary week (January 2023); 4,000-square-foot former Newport Grill space; Brancato family owners of Brancato’s Catering; owner Andrew Brancato and the “layers” name explanation; $5 fried chicken and brunch deals; “opened in 2019” (contradicted by its own headline); link to KCBJ’s “As PB&J vacates Prairiefire, longtime caterer steps in with new concept” (2018-01-02). ↩ ↩2

  7. The Brass Onion — official website, “Menus.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: current menu files — dinner (rev. 7.22.26), lunch (7.22.26), bar (6.12.26), happy hour, brunch (7.22.26), kids, kids brunch, dessert, family packs to go (3.20.26). ↩

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On the record — ks.city/registry/the-brass-onion · record updated 2026-08-28