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

a Waldo-neighborhood pizzeria since the late 1980s, known for KC-style pies and a signature Jack Stack Barbecue collaboration pizza. Longtime operator Steve Kingery (with the restaurant since 2000) owned it 2020–2024; in December 2024 it was acquired by W. VinZant Restaurants, a locally-owned KC restaurant group. Tier 2 — local-group operator (disclosure overlay).

Description

Waldo Pizza has anchored the Waldo neighborhood at 7433 Broadway St since the late 1980s, serving KC-style pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and beer — “Kansas City’s Great Little Place… for well over 30 years.”12 Its best-known item is a Jack Stack Barbecue collaboration pizza (Jack Stack sauce, baked beans, brisket and burnt ends, red onion, pickles, house mozzarella) — a menu partnership, not a corporate tie.3

⚑ Ownership disclosure: In December 2024, Waldo Pizza was acquired by W. VinZant Restaurants, a Kansas City-based, locally-owned restaurant group led by Whitney VinZant (a confirmed Brookside native) that operated roughly 11 concepts at the time of the deal.425 Longtime operator Steve Kingery and his team stayed on to steward the transition, and the group pledged to honor the restaurant’s traditions. Waldo Pizza is therefore no longer an independent single-owner operation — it is part of a multi-concept local group (the basis for Tier 2).

Ownership and history

Ownership timeline

PeriodOwner / OperatorNotes
~1988 → 2020Founders → Phil BourneBourne became owner ~1993; ran it for decades.2
2020 → 2024Steve KingeryStarted at Waldo Pizza ~2000 (dishwasher → GM 2014); purchased from Bourne July 2020.26
Dec 9, 2024 → presentW. VinZant RestaurantsKingery initiated the sale; team stays through transition; group “carefully honors its traditions.”42

About the operator (W. VinZant Restaurants)

Locally owned, Kansas City-based group founded/led by Whitney VinZant, identified by KC Magazine and KCTV5 as a Brookside native; a Wake Forest finance grad who started as a 16-year-old pizza prep cook, also a local real-estate developer.245 At the Dec 2024 acquisition the group owned ~11 brands (Louie’s Wine Dive, BRGR Kitchen + Bar, Gram & Dun, Taco Republic, Va Bene, BrewTop, The Latin King, Café Trio, Heritage by Bo Lings, Merchants Pub & Plate, others); the portfolio has grown since.25

Sources

Disputes

*(None active.

Footnotes

  1. Waldo Pizza — official site. https://www.waldopizza.net/ — asserts: Waldo location; “Kansas City’s Great Little Place… for well over 30 years.” ↩

  2. Kansas City Magazine — “Waldo Pizza Transfers Ownership to Local Restaurant Group.” https://kansascitymag.com/waldo-pizza-transfers-ownership-to-local-restaurant-group/ — asserts: Kingery owner since 2020; W. VinZant owned 11 brands; VinZant Brookside native; >30 years in business. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  3. Waldo Pizza — menu. https://www.waldopizza.net/menu/food/ — asserts: Jack Stack BBQ pizza (Jack Stack sauce, baked beans, brisket + burnt ends, red onion, pickles, house mozzarella). ↩

  4. KCTV5 — “Waldo Pizza sells to Kansas City restaurant group” (Dec 17, 2024). https://www.kctv5.com/2024/12/17/waldo-pizza-sells-kansas-city-restaurant-group-were-excited-about-this-new-chapter/ — asserts: deal closed Dec 9, 2024; Kingery approached W. VinZant; team stays; VinZant a Brookside native. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. W. VinZant Restaurants — official site. https://wvinzantrestaurants.com/ — asserts: KC-based locally-owned multi-concept group; Whitney VinZant founder/CEO; portfolio of named concepts. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. VoyageKC — interview with Steve Kingery. https://voyagekc.com/?post_type=interview&p=100777 — asserts: Kingery’s tenure (dishwasher ~2000 → GM 2014 → owner 2020). ↩

See also

  • Registry
  • waldo
  • Owner-And-History-Research-Toolchain
Categories
  • Kansas City–owned
  • Pizza
  • Waldo