Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill
816.931.1986 ph
816.931.1932 fax
817 Westport Road
Kansas City, MO 64111

A cash only establishment!
ATM available.

Westport Flea Market: 817 Westport Road, 816-931-1986.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

It’s cash-only at the Westport Flea Market, a labyrinthine place on the western end
of Westport.

The Flea Market has a storied history: Infamous serial killer Bob Berdella had a
booth in the flea market part of the building. The place nearly closed a few years ago,
until Joe Zwillenberg stepped in to buy it, rescuing it from developers who wanted to
demolish the building and build a Hooters.

Hooters? The neighbors revolted. The Flea Market survived.

And you’re likely to share the place with a local politicos and other celebs. I saw
former mayor Richard Berkley grabbing a burger with some of his compatriots.
Mayor Mark Funkhouser had his election victory party at the Flea Market.

Drinks are delivered by a waitress; burgers are ordered at the bar counter. You pay
each tab separately. Food is picked up at a pass-through window by one of the cooks.
The guy who grills my patty fancies himself a comedian, singing, yodeling and making goofy rhythms with customer’s names.

I order the 10-ounce Flea Market burger with cheddar. The Flea Market, which just
celebrated its 27th year anniversary, gets its meat from McGonigle’s. And yeah,
you can taste the quality.

Those with petite appetites can get the Mini Market version, a 5 1/2 -ounce version
of the signature burger. And the Patty Melt is a lovely variation on the cheeseburger
theme: the same Mini Market burger is served on lightly toasted rye with
Swiss cheese and grilled onions.

Even in the midst of a hamburger glut, a bite or two of the Patty Melt got me over the hump. Good ol’ Patty cleansed the palate, cleared my burger brain and I was ready to sample more burgers from other joints around town.

The mostly self-serve concept extends to the condiments table, where you can ratchet up the flavor quotient with shredded lettuce, onions, pickles, tomatoes and a few other goodies. Go crazy with the mustard. Pile on the raw onions. Nobody cares if you pig
out. No one is keeping score.

All the sandwiches come with a choice of curly fries as springy as a piggy tail, cottage cheese or coleslaw.

A couple of other insider tidbits: The Flea Market has daily specials, about 50 bottles on tap or in bottles and right now, the Flea Market is nonsmoking until 9 p.m.

-Kansas City Star