The Rieger Hotel Grill and Exchange, KCMO
The Rieger Hotel Grill and Exchange, in Kansas City, MO is a must see and must drink. My good friend Ryan Maybee opened the super slick, no-sign, back alley speakeasy Manifesto in 2009, underneath a seperate ground level restaurant, 1924 Main. When 1924 Main closed its doors in 2010 Manifesto was forced to take a hiatus. Now having teamed up with chef Howard Hanna of KC’s River Club, Mr. Maybee has the ground level full menu restaurant and the underground Manifesto back on the map, serving, hands down, the best cocktails Kansas City has to offer….which is a lot. What caught my eye? The building in which these tandem operations inhabit was once home to J.Rieger & Co Whiskey, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Being a native Kansas Citian, I had no idea that at one point we had been distilling our own whiskey! Where most restauranteurs use current trends to decide their business location The Rieger Hotel Grill and Exchange has taken it’s roots and it’s history just as seriously as anything else, leaving no detail behind. Good job Ryan.
