This Kansas City business has closed. KS.City keeps its page on the record.

In memoriam — Trago’s (Trago Bar & Tapas). A scratch-made Latin tapas bar and cocktail spot in Kansas City’s Northland, opened late October 2016 by Kandi Kerns and built around the recipes of her Guatemalan grandmother. After roughly seven years, Trago’s served its last guests on Saturday, July 15, 2023. Kerns carried the concept forward into Fuego, a Spanish cocktail bar in the West Bottoms. This page is a record and tribute to a closed Kansas City spot.

Description

Trago Bar & Tapas — known locally as Trago’s — was a scratch-made Latin tapas bar and cocktail spot in Kansas City’s Northland, at 9261 NE 83rd Terrace near Liberty.12 The concept celebrated owner Kandi Kerns’ family heritage, which she has described as drawing on Guatemalan, Spanish (Basque country), Honduran, and Cuban roots.34

The menu was organized into tapas categories — La Granja (The Farm), El Mar (The Sea), and El Jardín (The Garden) — alongside charcuterie and desserts. Reported dishes included black-bean-and-plantain tostones, goat cheese with tomato sauce, seared beef skewers with mole and chimichurri, and shrimp in lemon-garlic butter, paired with Spanish wines, sangria, and cocktails.2 The room featured warm-toned walls with cultural artwork, a reclaimed-wood bar, and a patio with lounge seating and a fireplace.2

Ownership and history

Trago’s was the first restaurant of Kandi Kerns, a Southern California transplant who had moved to Kansas City roughly five years before opening.23 She opened Trago’s in late October 2016.23 Kerns has credited her grandmother — whom press identified as Anna Maria Rosa Carlota Urrutia Evans-McDonald, known as “Mimi” — as the inspiration for the kitchen, with several house recipes attributed to her.2 The opening kitchen was led by chef Ryan Nesbitt.2

Over its run the spot built a loyal Northland following for its tapas-and-cocktails format, drawing local coverage and a substantial review history online.15

Closure

Trago Bar & Tapas held its final service on Saturday, July 15, 2023, after about seven years in business.3 Owner Kandi Kerns closed Trago’s to focus on a new venture: Fuego, a Spanish cocktail bar she opened — with her daughter Alexandria Snavely — in the West Bottoms at 1412 W. 12th St., in the former Space antique store / Burlap Bag building.3 Kerns described Fuego as bringing “upscale Latin flair,” set in a roughly 6,100-square-foot space with a bar and stage, a chef’s dinner room, a cooking-class area, and a speakeasy-style VIP hideaway built into a converted safe; she said the building “really glows in this beautiful way at night, so we’re trying to capture that sexy vibe.”3 Several longtime Trago’s staff moved with her to Fuego.3

The former Trago’s space at 9261 NE 83rd Terrace was later taken over by Josh and Kelly Bianchi for an Italian concept, Osteria Bianchi (reported 2024).6

Legacy

Trago’s brought an independent, woman-owned, family-heritage tapas concept to the Northland — a part of the metro with relatively few Latin small-plates options at the time. Its closure was not an ending so much as a relocation of vision: the people, recipes, and hospitality migrated downtown into Fuego, carrying the Trago’s lineage into the West Bottoms. As a record of a closed spot, Trago’s stands as a seven-year Northland fixture and the launching point for one of KC’s owner-driven Latin/Spanish bar concepts.

See also

  • Registry

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Yelp — “Trago Bar & Tapas — CLOSED, 9261 NE 83rd Ter, Kansas City, Missouri.” https://www.yelp.com/biz/trago-bar-and-tapas-kansas-city. Source for: address; closed status; review history. ↩ ↩2

  2. Feast Magazine — “Trago Bar and Tapas Opens in Kansas City.” https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/trago-bar-and-tapas-opens-in-kansas-city/article_07619f5c-ad10-11e6-8a52-1b95701ba2ab.html. Source for: late-October 2016 opening; owner background; menu sections (La Granja / El Mar / El Jardín); grandmother “Mimi” inspiration; chef Ryan Nesbitt; room/patio description; 9261 NE 83rd Terrace address. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. The Kansas City Star (via Yahoo) — “Owners closing a Kansas City restaurant, ready to open a ‘sexy’ Spanish cocktail bar.” https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/owners-closing-kansas-city-restaurant-164035937.html. Source for: final service Saturday July 15, 2023; ~7 years; owner Kandi Kerns + daughter Alexandria Snavely; Fuego concept and address (1412 W. 12th St., West Bottoms); heritage influences; staff transfer. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  4. WebSearch summary citing Feast Magazine / The Pitch KC — Kerns’ heritage (Guatemala, Basque Spain, Honduras, Cuba); 2016 founding; grandmother inspiration. Corroborating background. ↩

  5. The Pitch KC — “Trago seems comfortable. Too bad it’s off limits.” https://www.thepitchkc.com/trago-seems-comfortable-too-bad-its-off-limits/. Source for: 2016 founding; grandmother inspiration; contemporaneous review/atmosphere. ↩

  6. The Brazen Gourmets (chuckeatskc.com) — “Kansas City Restaurant Openings, Closings, and News – November 2023.” https://chuckeatskc.com/kansas-city-restaurant-openings-closings-and-news-november-2023/. Source for: Josh and Kelly Bianchi opening Osteria Bianchi in the former Trago space (2024). ↩

See also

  • Registry
Categories
  • Locally owned
  • Northland