Hearne: Will O’Dowd’s Rescue Power & Light’s Raglan Road?

Who better to ride to the rescue of a beleaguered P&L Irish pub than the dudes in the green hats at O’Dowd’s?

That’s the rumor, anyway. Based in no small part on the fact that the Power & Light District is suing upscale pub and restaurant Raglan Road for more than $600,000 in back rent.

The $64 million question: should O’Dowd’s takes the plunge, will it become the third area O’Dowd’s, joining the ones on the Plaza and at Zona Rosa?

A manager at the Plaza O’Dowd’s confirmed that its parent company was looking at expanding, but added, "I don’t know about that location. But I think KC Hopps is looking to go into the Power & Light District."

As an O’Dowd’s?

"It might be just a little different concept," he added. "I don’t know if it would work to have an O’Dowd’s on the Plaza and downtown."

Raglan Road having spent several million dollars fixing up the joint three years back, it’s doubtful O’Dowd’s would stray far from its Irish roots. Especially as it would have the benefit of moving into those pricey digs at little-to-no out-of-pocket.

All that said, there’s a reason so many businesses have crashed and burned in the three short years since the P&L opened. So a reasonable rent deal would appear vital to luring KC Hopps.

Let’s hope for the sake of the Kansas City taxpayers on the line for the P&L thata deal can be reached.

http://www.mb-kc.com/
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12 Responses to Hearne: Will O’Dowd’s Rescue Power & Light’s Raglan Road?

  1. Matilda Marsh says:

    Duh, O’Dowd’s won’t pay Raglan’s back rent
    Let’s be clear, the only benefit would be plugging a decorator’s hole, making it easy for a new Irish bar to just move in and start cooking. But ODowds won’t pay the back rent. The taxpayers are just SOL. Who let’s this go so far? Who is asleep at the wheel? $600 grand is alot of bread pudding!!! And alot of bread…

    They do have sensational bread pudding, and I like those thin crust pizzas, which are of course NOT Irish in the least, reminds me of Chuck’s thin crust pizzas in Des Moines.

  2. bschloz says:

    Char Broiled Whoppers
    I think the only one turning a profit down there is the Hot Dog cart on 13th & Grand
    Honeymoons over… Ted’s ..Daves…Chef Boy…Raglan, Peaches…Bice….———
    Come to KC and visit the original WHOPPER BAR…”Have it your way”

  3. Craig Glazer says:

    Bschloz is Correct
    You nailed it. P&L is a disaster in the same way River Quey was, the City Market was so on…nothing downtown will work in the long run. Nobody lives there, its a poor location. There is ZERO weekday business, no retail, no gas station, no quicktrip. Heres an inside tip, almost nobody pays rent there. The only in profit spot is McFaddens cause they opened first and got a nice jump. Their business is off 70% since the first year when they ran almost alone. Remember there is only weekend night business down there. They are trying to build Thursdays with Country Music(sound familier, Bill Nigro and Westport…keeps away blacks does the Country music). I give them credit, its done better than I thought it would. I figured by now it would be under siege by the urband attack. Though that crowd has doubled, its still fairly well in hand for now.

    Hey its our only new entertainment area so it’s that or local bars. I think if the parking, crime and the fact nobody lives down there were less an issue, it might kinda work. Like out South. Not downtown. Its ugly down there. Dark, brown,yukie. Most of the places would be closed if not for free rent and help from all the promotions they get through the city, which now owns it, CORDISH BOOKED LONG AGO.

  4. smartman says:

    My Penis is Dublin
    Another fine mess you got us into Ollie….I mean Kay. Only a metter of time before the P&L goes urban or tejano. Gunfights or bullfights, Hennesey or Patron, pick your poison. The whole social re-engineering concept of downtown has failed. Too bad wishing don’t make it so. Where are Ribbon Cuttin’Kay, Art Insane Brisbane and Tim Lie Weekly now? What about Boots del Baggio and that NHL franchise?
    They’re all a bunch of hack fucking liars stiffing us with the bill for their contrived intellectual exploration in urban planning and redevelopment.

    In 10 years the P&L will consist of a strip club, pawn shop, check cashing joint, tattoo parlor, drive through plasma donation center,drive by shooting range, abortion clinic, STD testing, Law Firm of Dewey, Cheatham and Howe, discount liquor store, used car lot, discount smokes, Applebees and an Express Auto Service. Ain’t that right Gary? THAT’S RIGHT!

    The circle of life will have been fulfilled.

  5. Rainbow Man says:

    man
    Smartman’s post cannot be topped. So I am just going to answer the math question and be on my way. 8+4=12. Thank you. Have a Nice Day.

  6. Rainbow Man says:

    White Haven
    But let’s get to the real point here. Kansas City is a textbook city in SEGREGATION. The Star never reported it because they would have to go to their liberal elitist awards ceremonies and actually admit that they preside over the segregation, do nothing about it, and live in lily white escapes in JOCO.

    Come on people. JOCO was built on black avoidance. They named a hotel and a development on the busiest Road in Johnson County “White Haven.” And it kept the name for decades. Sure…”White” was someone’s name. But I doubt if I will ever see the opening of Hitler’s German Grill. That is someone’s name.

    In pre-hip-hop days, blacks stayed out of the hot white entertainment districts for decades, so Westport, Plaza, etc… flourished for white business. Well… now no one has any interest in driving downtown to drink and we have a massive black and impoverished population just bubbling and boiling over that longitudal line that runs from Downtown, Westport, Plaza, Waldo, and Grandview. They have a right to walk down the street, and no one can keep them out anymore. Glazer says no one lives downtown. Thousands and thousands of black kids live within blocks of P&L…. look at a map. So now… we are panicking.

    Where are the black owned black clubs in P&L? That is what we need. Open them.. and enforce the living crap out of loitering.
    The best deterrent against crime is constant traffic and activity. Lighting and activity. Constant people in motion.

    Now it is not about blacks. It is about kids with nothing to do. We will pay for our sins of segregation for a long time. Give P&L back to our city. P&L is a mall. We know what happens to malls. Reopen our city with diverse businesses, owned by our diverse citizens.

  7. harley says:

    its very simple
    with gas at $3.70/duis in every city/more options than ever before/johnson county
    growing south with more bars and restaurants than ever before/a newly discovered
    resurgence of downtown overland park where they’re about to get a new
    law where people can walk on the streets with alcohol/more alternatives for
    the people with money/a downtown area that lacks a consistent flow and no
    long term tenant at the sprint center/nothing to keep people in the power and light
    area/and more importantly the resurgence of the waldo/brookside area where
    they have no problems (excet the consistent duis by kcpd) the power and light
    has had its problems.
    However…i had clients in town last week and went out with them on thursday night.
    Nothing anywhere was busy. Kona grill had a good crowd but from downtown to
    south noone out.
    Is this the problem of power and light…its more an economy problem. How can
    a bar charge 6 or 7 dollars for a drink today and expect to kee the younjg people
    coming. Isn’t happening.
    Despite my recent analysis of the economy starting to come back these younger
    kids are still feeling the effects of the economy as they are on the bottom of the ladder.
    This is not a business problem…its the economy stupid and while many segments are
    exeriencing record business the bar and restaurant business is lagging. There’s just too
    many restuarants and bars for this town. And they cut up the pie too much. If this
    was 1990 the p and l would be huge. But its not…too many alternatives chasing the
    same dollars. This weekend the corporate woods jazz fest is on. That takes thousands
    of people out of restaurants/bars/entertainment eetc and its free! They’ll have 30-40K
    there.
    But if a business person is smart and savvy they will survive and make money.
    Glaze says its the end of live entertainment…i say that will never hapen. As long as the
    product is strong people will come….
    Eventually only the strong survive but on weekends it appears these places arre doing
    well and at the prices they are getting they can make money.
    Odowds would be a fool to move into power and light. Too much maintenance…too much
    overheard…too much labor cost in running the rose. A national chain will eventually take it
    over with deep pockets and make a go of it
    Just too much cometition and the upscale joco money is staying in johnson county
    not wandering down to the crime infested murder centers of kcmo. Sad but true.
    And eventaully the same thing could happen to the legends….it’s a crazy world out there right now.

  8. Craig Glazer says:

    Never Said The End
    I said a downsizing. Harley much of what you wrote is true and backs up what I have been saying. NightLife is now almost exclusive to weekends and heavy on Saturday nights. Your trip from out South showed you that on a Thursday night and a nice night. Its many things, crime, economy,social network, too many places for not enough people, a long list. Maybe one day the ‘night club’ concept will return. I hope so cause its a fun part of life that will now be missed by millions of Americans growing up today. Few will dance, meet a hot girl or guy at a club, have late night adventures, course they will also miss the bad part, drunk, too high and DUI.

  9. HARLEY says:

    few dance joints in joco
    can only think of a few….raouls…77 south…touches (still doing bang upi biz)….
    intentions (downtwon overland park)….not many others to seak of…
    but e ven without dancing you can get a late nite adventiure…
    when are you going to take me to woodside glaze….would love it.

  10. PB says:

    AND WE LIKED IT!…
    …WE LOVED IT!!!

    Jeez, you guys remind me of the Dana Carvey Old Man character on SNL. Every single thread evolves into a “this city/team/person/insert talking point sucks” at some point. You guys would probably bitch about a blow job that left a spot of jizz on your pants. I figured most of you got a bulk of your daily complaints out of the way over coffee at the Prairie Village McDonalds, but no such luck.

  11. Downtown Guy says:

    Not all of downtown sucks
    I’ve lived down here for a while. I have never been a fan of the P&L but there are some businesses doing really well Downtown. Grinders is almost always busy, even during the week and on non-concert nights. The Rieger does really good business most days. Mildred’s and YJ’s always busy. It’s great seeing the locally owned places doing well.

  12. Hearne Christopher says:

    Point well taken. The Rieger, too?

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