The Ship

The Ship is a Pendergast-era cocktail bar that was literally resurrected: opened downtown in 1935 just after Repeal, closed and demolished in 1995, its entire interior salvaged — then found in a West Bottoms warehouse basement in 2004 and painstakingly reassembled over a decade by Josh Mobley and Bob Asher, who reopened it at 1221 Union Ave in 2014. Today it pairs the restored 1935 lounge with a live-music room, Honky Tonk Tuesdays, and no-cover jazz Thursdays.

Description

The Ship’s story is unlike any bar in Kansas City: it isn’t a recreation of a Pendergast-era joint, it is one — the physical article. The nautical interior installed at 10th Street in 1935 served judges, politicians, and, in the bar’s own telling, “prostitutes and hoodlums” for sixty years.¹ When the city reclaimed the block for Ilus Davis Park in 1995, salvagers pulled the interior out ahead of the wrecking ball; it surfaced in a West Bottoms warehouse basement in 2004, and Mobley and Asher spent roughly a decade reconstructing it to original detail before reopening in 2014.²¹ The revived Ship anchors West Bottoms nightlife with live music most nights and a full kitchen.³

Rooms and programming

The Ship runs two spaces: the restored 1935 Ship Lounge (a compact original room) and All Else The Sea, the larger room at the bow with a stage, room for dancing, and sightlines for shows and large parties.¹ The music calendar has settled into a weekly rhythm — Honky Tonk Tuesday (classic country / honky-tonk), jazz on Thursdays with no cover, and touring or cover acts Fridays and Saturdays.⁴⁵ Public hours run Tuesday 11am–11pm, Wednesday 11am–12am, and Thursday–Saturday 11am–1am, with the bar closed most Sundays and Mondays.¹

Ownership and history

Period	Owner / operator
1935 → 1950	Ethel Mae Wright — the bar’s own founding account (“companion to a gentleman of means and questionable repute”); era details are lore-grade.16
1950 → 1995	Mike Salvato & Jasper Mirabile (WWII Pacific veterans); Salvato became sole owner mid-1950s when Mirabile left to open his Waldo restaurant (the Mirabile restaurant family). Salvato ran it ~60 years with “first mate” Tony Cropis.17
1995	Closed; block demolished for Ilus Davis Park; interior salvaged.1
2004 → 2014	Josh Mobley & Bob Asher found and reconstructed the interior; reopened 2014 at 1221 Union Ave.2
2014 → present	Mobley & Asher, owner-operators.

Tier note: Tier 1 — owner-operated KC independent (Mobley & Asher revived and run the West Bottoms bar themselves), a local preservation resurrection of a KC-founded bar. Under the 2026-07-15 doctrine the Tier 1 measure is active owner-involvement, not birthplace; owners’ day-to-day-involvement/KC-residence detail is unconfirmed but the owner-operator structure supports Tier 1. On the owner-involvement watchlist.

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-24 · Source: official site menus (theshipkc.com/menus, published via iMenuPro embeds)⁸ · URL(s): https://www.theshipkc.com/menus · Confidence: High

Full kitchen (lunch + dinner) alongside the bar. Happy hour every day 3–6pm.⁸ To-go/delivery via order.online; reservations via Tock.⁸

Starters

• Hummus — chickpea, tahini, garlic, spices, olive oil, pita — $7.99⁸
• French Fries — choose ketchup or peppercorn cream — $3.99⁸
• Fried Pickles — peppercorn cream dipping sauce — $5.99⁸
• Fried Green Beans — wasabi peppercorn cream dipping sauce — $6.99⁸
• Shrimp and Sausage Skewers — two skewers with a side of remoulade sauce — $7.99⁸

Plates ~ Bowls

Choose cup, bowl, or make a meal with grilled chicken, shrimp, andouille sausage, mushroom, fried chicken, or pulled pork, plus garlic bread.

• Cajun Gumbo — chicken and sausage with a deep rich roux and the trinity of celery, onions, and peppers — cup $3.99 / bowl $9.99 / meal $14.99⁸
• Smoked Mac & Cheese — creamy classic mac and cheese, hickory smoked Kansas City style — cup $3.99 / bowl $9.99 / meal $14.99⁸
• Red Beans & Rice — southern style, vegetarian-friendly comfort food — cup $2.99 / bowl $5.99 / meal $10.99⁸
• Caesar Salad — housemade vegetarian dressing with seasoned breadcrumbs and shaved parmesan — $9.99 / $14.99⁸
• Fish and Chips — hand-battered cod with seasoned french fries and remoulade — $14.99⁸

Sandwiches

Includes choice of fries, mac & cheese, red beans & rice, coleslaw, side salad, or soup of the day.

• Cubano — ham, salami, roasted pork, swiss, pickles, mayo and mustard, pressed french roll — $12.99⁸
• KC Reuben — smoked pastrami, swiss, sauerkraut, KC special thousand island, marbled rye — $15.99⁸
• “Ship-Fil-A” Chicken Sandwich — fried tender chicken breast, lettuce, pickles, chipotle ranch — $13.99⁸
• Firecracker Shrimp Po’Boy — fried shrimp and hot sauce, dressed with lettuce, tomato, pickle, remoulade — $14.99⁸
• Sausage Po’Boy — andouille sausage, grilled onions and peppers, creole remoulade — $12.99⁸
• BBQ Smoked Pork Sandwich — smoked pork, bbq sauce, coleslaw on a bun — $12.99⁸
• Smoked Portabello Sando — house-made BBQ sauce and house coleslaw on house roll — $12.99⁸
• Veggie Cubano — sauteed seasoned vegetables, mayo and mustard, swiss, pickles, pressed french roll — $12.99⁸
• Classic Cheeseburger — cheddar, LTO, pickle, ketchup, mustard; add bleu cheese and bacon apple jam +$1 — $13.99⁸

Happy hour / features board

Happy hour every day 3–6pm; ask your server for today’s soup and dessert specials.⁸

• Tostado-style Nachos — refried beans, cheese, jalapeno; add smoked pork +$3 — $9.99⁸
• Bison Burger — 8 oz lean and juicy on a bun, fixings on the side, choice of side — $19.99⁸
• Radler Paloma — blanco tequila with Stiegl Radler over ice, lime, optional Tajin rim — $9.99⁸

House cocktails

• Honey Lavender Lemonade — vodka, lavender, local honey, lemonade — $8⁸
• Espresso Martini — Ketel One, Mr Black coffee liqueur, cold brew coffee — $10⁸
• White Negroni — Rieger gin, Suze, Dolin dry vermouth, orange bitters — $10⁸
• Margarita of the Day — ask your bartender for today’s choices — $10⁸
• Oaxacan Old Fashioned — Libelula joven tequila, Rosaluna mezcal, agave, angostura, orange — $10⁸
• Blue Hawaiian — rum, pineapple, coconut cream, blue curacao — $9⁸
• Maple Barrel Old Fashioned — Kentucky bourbon, organic maple, angostura, orange, aged in oak barrels — $10⁸
• Fig Manhattan — Four Roses bourbon, fig, Dolin rouge, black walnut bitters — $10⁸

Mocktails

• NA Blue Hawaiian — pineapple, coconut cream, NA blue curacao — $8⁸
• Negroni 0% — Lyre’s dry London spirit, aperitif rosso, blood orange — $10⁸
• NA Espresso Martini — Lyre’s cane spirit, Lyre’s coffee liqueur, cold brew, hit of vanilla — $10⁸

Beer, wine, and non-alcoholic

• Draft beers — rotating, featuring Boulevard and Torn Label brewing; ask your server⁸
• Specialty beers — City Barrel Rad AF, Pacifico, Guinness, Dogfish SeaQuench Ale, Modelo Especial — mkt⁸
• Domestic bottles — Bud Light, Busch Light, Michelob Ultra, Miller High Life — $5⁸
• Hamm’s — $3⁸
• PBR or Cold Snacks tall cans — $5⁸
• Cider and seltzers — dry or blood orange ciders, High Noon vodka seltzers and teas, Stiegl Radler, Quirk — $6⁸
• Wines by the glass — red, white, rose, and bubbles —⁸
• NA cans and bottles — Guinness NA, Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher, Best Day Electro Lime / Kolsch / Hazy IPA — $6⁸
• Casamara NA amaro sodas — ask your bartender for today’s flavors — $7⁸
• House sodas — blackberry lemon, cherry limeade, electric blue lemonade — $5⁸
• Sodas / tea / coffee — Coca-Cola, Sprite, Diet Coke, Dr Pepper, lemonade, iced tea — $3⁸
• Abita root beer or Cock and Bull ginger beer — $4⁸

Links

• Website: https://www.theshipkc.com
• Instagram: @theshipkc · Facebook: /theshipkc
• Music: https://www.theshipkc.com/music

See also

• Registry

Sources

Footnotes

1. The Ship — official site/history. https://www.theshipkc.com/ — 1935 founding, Wright/Salvato/Mirabile lineage, 1995 demolition and salvage, two-room layout, hours. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Feast Magazine, “Inside The Ship, a dive bar that’s no longer top secret” (2015). https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/inside-the-ship-a-dive-bar-thats-no-longer-top-secret/article_0e655c7c-a7d5-11e4-9418-ebcdd1100aa3.html — Mobley/Asher discovery and reconstruction, 2014 reopening. ↩ ↩²

3. Flatland KC, “Ship charts waters (of) food service.” https://flatlandkc.org/eats-drinks/ship-charts-waters-food-service/ — kitchen launch. ↩

4. The Ship (Facebook), “Every Tuesday we have Honky Tonk and classic country music live on stage.” https://www.facebook.com/theshipkc/ — asserts: weekly Honky Tonk Tuesday programming. ↩

5. KCUR, “Where to hear jazz in Kansas City: A guide to the best clubs and lounges for live music” (2026-04-25). https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2026-04-25/jazz-kansas-city-live-music-concerts — asserts: The Ship among KC jazz venues; Thursday jazz. ↩

6. KC Yesterday, “Then vs Now: The Ship.” https://kcyesterday.substack.com/p/then-vs-now-the-ship — downtown-era history. ↩

7. p2bars — The Ship profile. https://p2bars.com/bars-near-me/the-ship/ — Salvato-era details (secondary; corroborates official telling). ↩

8. The Ship — official menus page. https://www.theshipkc.com/menus (menu content published via iMenuPro embeds on the official site: daily food menu, drinks menu, happy hour/features board). Accessed 2026-07-24. Confirms: all sections, items, descriptions, and prices in the Menu section above; happy hour every day 3–6pm; rotating drafts from Boulevard and Torn Label; to-go via order.online; reservations via exploretock.com/the-ship-kansas-city. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹