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New Crossroads pizza place looks forward to population boom

Pizza place opens amid Crossroads business boom
Pizza place opens amid Crossroads business boom
Posted at 7:13 PM, May 11, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-11 20:13:25-04

Downtown Kansas City's population has nearly doubled since 2006. People move to the area for unique housing and restaurant options. Construction is everywhere. 

That means prosperity for Bobby Perez and his partners, who just opened HomeSlice Pizza and Pints at 1501 Grand Blvd. 

Data from the Downtown Council shows at least three-dozen residential projects are in the works in the area. Perez is banking on that for success. 

"There's so much going on down here. You have to constantly be pushing and thinking about new ideas as far as food," Perez said.  

KC's greater downtown population is expected to jump from 24,000 people to 36,000 in four years. The flood of millennials, empty nesters, artists, and foot traffic from the KC Streetcar made the corner lot an easy choice for Perez.

"We were surprised it's been vacant that long because it's such a great location," he said. 

They hope their take on gourmet pizzas, craft beer, and cocktails will prove to be a different vibe than the previous bars in the same location. The last one closed in 2015 after rape allegations.

Although HomeSlice is grandfathered into a 3 a.m. closing time, Perez said they're focusing on it as a restaurant first and a bar second. 

"We started from scratch. We built a whole new concept," he said. 

That's what people want from the area, according to David Johnson with the Crossroads Community Association. 

"The building ownership in the Crossroads is very, very interested in maintaining that small business, entrepreneurial community. They tend to look for tenants that sort of uphold that goal," Johnson said. 

Johnson said when an area sees a boom in growth, real estate prices skyrocket. But the threat of chain stores hasn't inched its way into the area yet. 

"We're walking a delicate balance by trying to not let people be priced out," Johnson said. 

That's the draw of all the high-rise apartments, cranes, and orange cones. 

"Being here, we feel we have more freedom to do things that we want. Being independent, independently owned," Perez said. 

New numbers just came out from the city that show the streetcar has had a $2 billion economic impact in the area.