No longer will patrons stroll out of The Comedy Club at 1130 103rd St., hours before they\u2019re set to begin their nighttime routines, look at each other and wonder, \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Owner Dustin Kaufman has the solution. He\u2019s opening yet another entertainment concept across the street.<\/p>\n
The Bad Cat, a jazz bar and sister concept of The Comedy Club, is debuting Sept. 18 at 1220 W. 103rd St.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s taking over Happy Dragon Chinese Restaurant\u2019s dining space (Happy Dragon now primarily operates through carry-out services) and will offer cocktails, bites and consistent music.<\/p>\n
The Bad Cat will be open Thursday through Saturday. It\u2019ll have an open jam night on Thursdays, and scheduled performances Fridays and Saturdays starting at 7 p.m., lingering into the night.<\/p>\n
If the doors are open, trumpeting, saxophone blaring and scatting are sure to be heard.<\/p>\n
Its schedule coincides with The Comedy Club\u2019s, but of course, customers don\u2019t have to attend both. They can, however, use their confirmation email from The Comedy Club as free admission to The Bad Cat.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a more intimate spot \u2014 about 55 seats \u2014 but Kaufman guarantees a good time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s one thing I\u2019m good at, it\u2019s opening venues and making them look nice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Bad Cat will be Kaufman\u2019s third concept. The Comedy Club first opened in 2019, then launched another location last November at 811 New Hampshire St. in downtown Lawrence.<\/p>\n
Kaufman, a comedian and jazz-enthusiast, hopes it\u2019s a place where patrons connect and groove together. Anyone can put musicians on stage, he said, but creating a vivacious space built for community is more difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the same as The Comedy Club, where it\u2019s run off of passion,\u201d Kaufman said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just the space, it\u2019s the people at the space.\u201d<\/p>\n
While some jazz clubs have a short roster with many repeat acts, Kaufman\u2019s shooting for variety. Some will be local, and some are out-of-towners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re gonna have a lot more bands,\u201d he said. \u201cWe already have 25 bands booked for our first six weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plus, The Bad Cat will be a place where musicians can let their (proverbial or literal) hair down. He\u2019s not handing anyone a must-play list, though musicians are free to perform classics. He\u2019s not telling anyone to wear suits or cuff links, unless that\u2019s their jam.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not forcing a style, we\u2019re not forcing standards,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re leaving it open for the musicians to just be free to play, and to give the audience the best show that they can every time that they\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bad Cat won\u2019t have a full kitchen, so don\u2019t come starving. Sweet appetizers and charcuterie will be offered, Kaufman said, while customers sip from a packed drink menu with cocktails, spirits and wine.<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t share any specific menu items during his recent interview with The Star (that\u2019s more his bar manager\u2019s expertise, he said) but he can certify that it\u2019s delicious.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is well-thought-out and really delicious, honestly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Happy hour Saturdays will start the second weekend, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Live music will still play during happy hour, but a full band will take the stage at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
To ensure a spot, customers can purchase tickets online at thebadcatkc.com. The Bad Cat\u2019s cover charge is $20.<\/p>\n
This will be at least the third jazz club to open in Kansas City this year. Months ago, Ted\u2019s Taproom and Cafe 333 debuted in the Crossroads.<\/p>\n
Related Stories from Kansas City Star<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jenna Thompson<\/p>\n
The Kansas City Star<\/p>\n
Jenna Thompson covers retail news for The Kansas City Star. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, she previously reported for the Lincoln Journal Star and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied journalism and English.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
No longer will patrons stroll out of The Comedy Club at 1130 103rd St., hours before they\u2019re set to begin their nighttime routines, look at each other and wonder, \u201cWhat now?\u201d Owner Dustin Kaufman has the solution. He\u2019s opening yet another entertainment concept across the street. The Bad Cat, a jazz bar and sister concept<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[3642,3640,3638,3641,3639],"class_list":["post-2965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-missouri","tag-missouri","tag-missouri-dining","tag-missouri-food","tag-missouri-grocery-stores","tag-missouri-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117256979991015791","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}