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Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill is a 45-year Westport institution — founded in 1981 by Mel Kleb in the middle of an actual flea market, taken over in 2006 by Joe Zwillenberger, who saved it from becoming a Hooters. The 10oz hand-ground McGonigle’s burger has won “Best Burger in Kansas City” more times than anyone can count.

Description

Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill is what happens when a burger joint outlives the flea market it was born inside. Mel Kleb opened the Westport Flea Market in the summer of 1981 as a burger counter in the middle of a flea-market mall selling baseball cards, Zenith Hi-Fidelity record players, and everything else — a Westport quirk at the time when the neighborhood was establishing itself as Kansas City’s dining and nightlife hub. The flea market vendors came and went; the burgers stayed. Joe Zwillenberger stepped in in 2006 when the property owner threatened to replace it with a Hooters, purchased the business, and has kept it running as one of Kansas City’s most recognized burger joints for the 20 years since. The patties are sourced from McGonigle’s Market — Kansas City’s storied independent butcher — ground, formed, and pressed in-house. The 10oz cheeseburger has won “Best Burger in Kansas City” from The Pitch, multiple local polls, and a Food Network “Meat and Potatoes” feature. The Super Flea 5-Patty Burger Challenge (50oz of beef) is free if you finish in 30 minutes. The restaurant also quietly serves hundreds of students at 17 KC-area schools weekly.

Tier classification

Tier 2 provisional — KC-dedicated 20-year operator. Joe Zwillenberger has owned Westport Flea Market since 2006 — 20 years of stewardship of a Kansas City institution he saved from corporate conversion. His KC hometown or birthplace — no press source confirms whether he is KC-born/raised. If KC-born/raised, revisit as Tier 1.

Last verified: 2026-07-13 · Source: Official website menu · URL(s): https://www.westportfleamarket.com/menu · Confidence: High (item names and descriptions from the official site; the site does not publish prices online)

The house burger is a 10 oz hand-ground McGonigle’s-beef cheeseburger; the menu also runs deep on fried starters, big salads, a long sandwich list, and a different chef’s special every day of the week.1

Starters

  • Flea Market Sampler — a combination of wings, mushrooms, mozzarella bites, and ravioli, served with homemade tomato sauce, ranch, and celery1
  • Titanic Nachos — crisp tortillas piled with spicy cheese sauce, chili con carne, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and jalapenos, served with homemade salsa1
  • Fried Ravioli — meat ravioli with marinara sauce1
  • Fried Pickles — crisp breaded dill pickle spears fried golden, served with ranch or bleu cheese dressing1
  • Jalapeno Poppers — cream cheese poppers, served with ranch or bleu cheese dressing1
  • Philly Cheesesteak — McGonigle’s thin-sliced top sirloin with red and green peppers, grilled onions, and Swiss cheese, served with au jus1
  • Deep Fried Cheese Bites — white cheddar cheese deep fried, served with homemade tomato sauce1
  • Potato Skins — loaded with cheese, bacon bits, and sour cream1
  • Chicken Wings — BBQ or Buffalo, served with bleu cheese and celery1
  • Chicken Strips — served with your choice of dressing and curly fries1
  • Fried Mushroom1
  • Onion Rings1
  • Curly Fries1
  • Soup of the Day (Every Day is Chili) — served with cheese and sour cream with garlic toast1
  • Fritz’s Smoked Hot Dog1

Big Salads

  • Bodacious Breast of Chicken Salad — garden greens, tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, eggs, mixed cheese, and grilled chicken breast, served with parmesan garlic Texas toast1
  • Cajun Chicken Salad — the Bodacious Breast spiced with secret spices, over garden greens, tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, eggs, and cheese, with parmesan garlic Texas toast1
  • Fried Chicken Breast Salad — chicken breast fried golden over iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, eggs, and mixed cheese, with parmesan garlic Texas toast1
  • Julie’s Fav! — scoop of tuna and cottage cheese over iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, eggs, and mixed cheese, with parmesan garlic Texas toast1

Burgers

  • The Super Flea — five Flea Market burgers topped with bacon and cheese plus 2 lbs of fries; the challenge is free if eaten in 30 minutes1
  • Flea Market Burger — 10 oz. ground chuck from McGonigle’s1
  • Mini Market Burger — 5 1/2 oz. ground chuck from McGonigle’s1
  • Patty Melt — the Mini on lightly toasted rye with Swiss and grilled onions1

Sandwiches

  • Plain and Delicious Chicken — boneless, skinless breast grilled to perfection (Supreme option adds grilled veggies and pepper-jack cheese)1
  • Cajun Chicken — grilled breast seasoned with secret spices (Supreme option adds grilled veggies and pepper-jack cheese)1
  • Bacon & Cheddar Chicken — grilled breast topped with crisp smoked bacon and cheddar cheese1
  • Chicken Gordon Bleu — grilled breast topped with Swiss, thinly sliced Hormel Cure 81 ham, and more Swiss1
  • Top Sirloin Dip — McGonigle’s thin-sliced top sirloin with au jus on a roll1
  • Giant Pork Tender — hand-breaded shoulder cut1
  • Italian Steak Sandwich — Italian steak with red and green peppers, grilled onions, marinara sauce, provolone, lettuce, and tomato1
  • Reuben Sandwich — corned beef with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese1
  • Joe Joe’s Famous Chicken Panini — chunks of chicken with three cheeses, caramelized onions, and roasted red peppers on grilled focaccia1
  • Veggie Panini — green and red peppers, grilled onions, sauteed mushrooms, and three cheeses on focaccia1
  • Ham and Cheese as You Please — thinly sliced Hormel Cure 81 ham with your choice of cheese on sourdough1
  • Tuna Melt — McGonigle’s tuna salad on sourdough with cheddar1
  • Mendolina’s Italian Sausage — topped with grilled onions, red and green peppers, marinara sauce, and parmesan cheese1
  • Turkey Club — smoked turkey breast, crisp bacon, and Swiss over lettuce and tomato on a toasted roll1
  • BLT — a quarter pound of smoked bacon over lettuce and tomato1

Kid’s Market

  • Grilled Cheese1
  • Chicken Strips1
  • Mini Corn Dogs1
  • Kids eat free on Monday nights with the purchase of an adult meal (5PM to close).1

Daily Specials

  • Monday — Steak Night — 10 oz. center-cut KC strip with loaded baked potato, parmesan garlic Texas toast, and a side salad1
  • Tuesday — Two for Tuesday — two-for-one Mini Market burgers with curly fries (dine-in only)1
  • Wednesday — Chicken Fried Steak — served with green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy1
  • Thursday — Meatball Grinder — homemade meatballs with mozzarella and Joe Joe’s sauce on a hoagie roll, served with fries and pasta salad1
  • Friday — Beer Battered Catfish — fried golden, served with homemade cole slaw and fries1
  • Saturday — BBQ Brisket Sandwich — seasoned McGonigle’s brisket on Texas white bread, with jalapeno baked beans and party potatoes1
  • Sunday — Market Taco Trio — corn tortillas with seasoned McGonigle’s beef, salsa, mixed cheese, lettuce, and tomato, served with salsa1

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill — official menu, https://www.westportfleamarket.com/menu (accessed 2026-07-13). ↩ ↩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 ↩50

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On the record — ks.city/registry/westport-flea-market · record updated 2026-07-17