New Businesses of 2009: West Chase Grille

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Opening a new business takes months of planning and design. Despite this turbulent economy, new businesses continue to open. In January, NBC Action News launched a year long commitment to follow three new businesses through their first year of operation.

We returned this week to check in on the folks behind WestChase Grille – a new upscale restaurant in Hawthorne Plaza at 110th and Roe in Overland Park.

WestChase Grille is run by owners John Westerhaus and Chase Wilcox. The two chefs have known one another for years and various restaurants spanning from Vail, Colorado, to New Mexico and California.

When it came time to venture out on their own, they chose Kansas City after careful consideration of a number of markets. Ultimately, they were drawn to the Metro by some local friends and the Metro's appreciation of good food.

As their first quarter of 2009 comes to a close, John and Chase say business is good.

“We grow from week to week in pretty much every aspect of the business right now,” John said. “Our lunch business is growing every week. Our dinner sales are growing week to week.”

"It's a great feeling to come to work and really enjoy what you do,” Chase adds. “And we're still enjoying what we do.”

WestChase Grille opened on Nov. 20, 2008 with a clear strategy, according to John.

“And that has been to focus on the food and have really great food, to focus on the service and make sure it's as good as we possibly can, and then to provide value.”

They both agree that value is crucial in good times and in bad. To keep up with this difficult economy, they made several menu adjustments early on.

“When we added our burger to the dinner menu,” John explains. “We added some lower priced steaks, that kind of stuff. And the response to those was immediate and good.”

An excellent restaurant review in The Pitch also helped fill tables. The next change will be the launch of their spring menu to tie in with the opening of the outdoor patio.  Chase explains it will include lighter fare:

“We’ll be changing over from some of the heavier foods and heavier sauces from the winter that aren't so robust.”

You’ll find an impressive and ever growing wine list at WestChase Grille.  You can also bring your own bottle.

“We decided probably a month or two ago that we would allow our guests to bring in their own wines seven days a week,” John said.  “We have a $20 corkage fee that we charge. And on Sundays and Mondays, we waive that fee.”

WestChase also offers two private dining rooms, perfect for entertaining small and large groups. They’ve seen them reserved for everything from ladies luncheons, business meetings and rehearsal dinners.  The rooms are warmly filled with some comforts of home.  A beautiful collection of art comes from the work of John’s mother and Chase’s mother-in-law.

Stay tuned to NBC Action News in the coming months for more updates on WestChase Grille’s first year – along with Med Express Labs and MLB Designs. 

To view our first story, click here.