CJustin Clark’s latest project – a restaurant that combines Asian and soul food influences – aims not only to blur the lines between menus, but also to break down divisions within and between communities.
Justin Clark’s Urban Restaurant at 3420 Troost Ave.; Photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
“The goal was to create familiar things that every American can identify with, but then we also add some international flavors and techniques to create a kind of fusion,” said Clark, explaining the concept behind his new Urban Restaurant at 3420 Troost Ave. that uses Mexican and Spanish ingredients along with dishes that likely remind diners of the comfort of an Asian restaurant.
“We take things that are familiar to us and just get really creative,” he added.
The Urban restaurant, which recently received a $25,000 grant from Kansas City GIFT, chose its location just as deliberately, Clark said. The Troost address – near the intersection with East Armour Boulevard – is on the edge of Kansas City’s east side and right on a corridor of historic racial segregation that runs through the heart of the metropolis.
“Being part of the redevelopment of Troost has always been a goal of mine,” said Clark, CEO of RJ Culinary Groupthe organization behind Urban Food Truck, Urban Cafe and the new restaurant.
Chef Justin Clark speaks to visitors outside the Urban Café in the new terminal at Kansas City International Airport during a 2022 preview event; Photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News
“I had always heard different stories about Troost, but only after the opening Urban Café (at 4101 Troost in 2017) that I heard it was a dividing line and all these different stories, like the unrest… and that some people don’t even want to be on Troost, let alone eat and shop,” said Clark, who returned to Kansas City in 2015 after living there on and off over the years. (The original Urban Cafe moved to 5500 Troost before closing permanently earlier this year to prepare for the new Urban concept.)
The chef and his partners Tia Heckman (Chief Operating Officer) and Ronald Evans (Chief Financial Officer) see the restaurant as a nucleus for the revitalization of the street and are breathing new life into Troost with a new vision.
And word gets around.
“We have more regular customers eating with us,” Heckman said. “And we always have a steady flow of customers on the weekends.”
Customer traffic during happy hour is also increasing, she added, but the Urban team is still hoping for more consistency to better know what to expect from day to day.
To that end, Urban is going public in the truest sense of the word, planning a patio that the team hopes will more clearly signal to passersby that the restaurant is open and ready for guests.
The terrace is a “big focal point,” Heckman said, because “when you drive past our building, we are on the lower level of the Holiday apartments in Roxford. You have to get really close to really notice that this is a restaurant.”
“The open patio, the tables, the umbrellas, the privacy fence, the lighting and all the little things that are a great detail will hopefully attract more people’s interest,” she added.
Decisive cash injection
The restaurant business is notoriously tough: The National Restaurant Association estimates that 30 percent of all restaurants close in the first yearmeaning that any initial or early external investment can have a huge impact on a new hospitality business.
Brandon Calloway, GIFT
Keyword: Accelerator for small businesses Kansas City GIFTthat finances black businesses in historically working-class neighborhoods in Kansas City.
CFO Evans, who oversees all financial affairs for RJ Culinary Group and Urban Restaurant, said that while his team knew about GIFT, it was a customer who urged them to apply.
“Someone approached Justin. He came here for dinner – he had a dinner planned – and that started the conversation where he was encouraged to apply for the GIFT scholarship,” Evans said.
The Urban team plans to use the grant to “alleviate some of our financial stress by simply keeping the doors open and keeping our fridge and bar stocked.”
With the pressure of ongoing overheads somewhat relieved and the patio finally completed, Evans predicts that “everything else will fall into place” as it will make it easier for his team to reinvest in the business by “opening up the patio, getting equipment and finishing off the little things we had planned at the beginning.”
Justin Clark’s Urban Restaurant at 3420 Troost Ave.; Photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
A cafe and the mission to restore black equality
The need for GIFT – and for companies like Clark’s – is real, says Brandon Calloway, co-founder and CEO of the four-year-old grant-making organization.
“Kansas City is one of 21 cities classified by the U.S. Census as hyper-segregated … because of a geographic divide – there are many black people in one area, many white people in another – and also because of the economic divide,” he explained.
GIFT’s leaders and supporters throughout the community are committed to closing the wealth gap created by racial segregation by supporting Black-owned businesses.
“We’re giving them grants so they can grow and create jobs for the people who live in that area. So we can build an economic engine that actually has the ability to raise the median income level and reduce or eliminate the racial wealth gap,” Calloway said.
A rising tide of opportunities – growing businesses, more hiring and wealth creation – lifts all boats, he stressed, noting that as poverty decreases, so does crime in a region.
Calloway sees Urban’s new restaurant as an “anchor business” for the Four Corner development.
And GIFT’s board, he added, saw not only the potential that a grant would bring to the restaurant’s growth, but also the potential of an upscale, black-owned restaurant on the corner of Armour and Troost, in a neighborhood that has seen massive development – a place that easily could have been gentrified by outsiders.
“It made sense for us to invest in it,” Calloway said.
In addition to the $25,000 grant, GIFT plans to provide the Urban team with a year of accounting and legal support, as well as other resources essential to a successful launch of the restaurant.
Urban breakfast; photo courtesy of resto
So what’s on the menu at this soul Asian food restaurant?
Two of Urban’s most popular dishes are already taking shape: a Vietnamese soul food mashup and a vegan option.
Click Here to explore the menu at Urban.
Urban Sangria; Photo courtesy of resto
“I definitely love our oxtail banh mi,” Heckman said. “I would say it’s something that really anyone from any culture can enjoy.”
But only during lunch service, she added, so guests should plan accordingly.
At dinner, a vegan cauliflower dish is the star of the evening.
“It’s very popular not only with our regular vegan customers, but in general,” Heckman said of the kung pao cauliflower. “It’s flavorful and just a great way to use an underrated vegetable. Not many people really go to a restaurant and say, ‘I really want cauliflower,’ but this dish is becoming more and more popular and people are asking for it all the time.”
As for drinks, Heckman introduced some of her own creations: a Cognac Old Fashioned, for example. Second, a twist on a Margarita: mezcal, guava, with a Tajin rim.
“And then, of course, mimosas,” she added. “Everyone loves a good mimosa for brunch.”
Urban is open daily on Troost (closed Mondays) for breakfast and lunch from 8am to 3pm, with happy hour from 3pm to 6pm. Small plates and dinner are available from 5pm to 10pm, and Sunday brunch is from 9am to 3pm.
