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Joyce Smith of the KC Star is reporting that the deal to replace Famous Dave's with Old Chicago in the Power and Light district might not happen after all. It seems that the Flying Saucer might have complained a little bit about having a restaurant concept that is in direct competition with them.

When I wrote about this last month I speculated that having a Rock Bottom Brewery in that location might be the best thing for the beer world. And that the competition would actually be beneficial for Gordon-Biersch and the Flying Saucer.
The P&L could be a destination for beer geeks. It's already a pretty good spot to pick up some good beers. You can get a nice dinner and brewpub beer at Gordon-Biersch and then spend the rest of the evening at the Saucer enjoying every beer style imaginable. With 2 breweries and a great beer bar, the P&L could have a real identity other than white douche capital of KC. Then if all went well with 2 brewpubs, maybe Schlafly or Upstream or some other good brewpub from the midwest, would want to locate in the neighborhood. A cluster of brewpubs, this is what dreams are made of.

I stand by this idea. But, apparently, being part of the Power and Light makes businesses think they are above competition of like concepts. But I would argue that, with the possible exception of the Flying Saucer, all the bars and restaurants are competing for the same group of white single douchebags in their twenties with no brains and money to spend on Bud Light.

If that is the Power and Light's idea of a destination night out, I'll pass. I'd like to think that the Power and Light would strive to be a little more than a Gonorrhea delivery system with no real redeeming services like good food and quality drink.

That being said, I'm pretty indifferent to whether the space goes back to a Famous Dave's or turns into an Old Chicago. Either one will be a top 5 place to go in the district. I don't think it's going to matter too much, because the novelty of the Power and Light is wearing off. Either they're going to have to offer quality dining and drinking establishments or they're going to turn into Navy Pier (which couldn't suck more).

Since I am a KCMO taxpayer, I'm pretty upset that I have to drive on steel grates every day while these P&L businesses offer product that I find stupid, overpriced and unattractive. In the meantime, these businesses actively seek to make the rest of KC worse by not allowing festival liquor licenses and lobbying against Westport and the River Market. All the while they are getting tax breaks and special laws that benefit them. How long are we going to let these people get away with it?

This P&L thing is turning into a real budget boondoggle for the city. And we're not helping anything by continuing to go down there and spend our money just because we have concert tickets. I suggest going for a drink in the River Market or the Crossroads before your concert until crapholes like McFaddens, Vinino and any other Cordish company concepts are closed and other bars and restaurants take over.

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