Aixois opening in Commerce Arcade

[AJoD]

haha, thanks. I was imaging a British pub with big overchairs and gentlement smoking pipes

You might be on to something.

yeah this would be excellent. a quiet bar, perhaps in an old, grandiose home, with different rooms, salons, etc., furnished with a plethora of sherlock holmes-esque leather chairs and couches, with top notch spirits available.

exactly. love the old home idea.

[KCMax]

They've ended breakfast service. That was fast.

http://www.pitch.com/fatcity/archives/2 ... he-reserve

[Volker Dad]

They've ended breakfast service. That was fast.

http://www.pitch.com/fatcity/archives/2 ... he-reserve

I was afraid of that.

They made the best espresso I've had anywhere downtown. It will live on in my memory...

[KCPowercat]

Nobody is really trying if they only give something two months....and make no mention of the restaurant even existing until last week on their website.

[Demosthenes]

Nobody is really trying if they only give something two months....and make no mention of the restaurant even existing until last week on their website.

Exactly what I was thinking. It takes some time to develop regulars. I find it funny that in the pitch article he mentions that people don't want an elegant french breakfast in downtown KC, yet goes onto mention one that has been successful later in the article. Not to mention Chez Elle, which is not even in as high profile a location as Aixois. I hope that Aixois gives breakfast another try down the line.

[heatherkay]

The one he mentions later in the article is in a hotel, which is a totally different thing. A hotel restaurant HAS to offer breakfast.

[chrizow]

checked out the downtown aixois for dinner last night prior to the opera.

great space, feels classy and urban and not cliche. the "sidewalk seating" in the arcade is kind of weird - who would ever sit out there?

i am surprised they couldn't get a morning business going, even if just for coffee, pastries, etc. they have great coffee and pastries at the crestwood location. i really hope it's not b/c of some kind of lease provision prohibiting competition with the crappy office coffee kiosk in the arcade.

food was good. we love going to the crestwood aixois, but it seems like we get burned on a bad app or entree about once every five visits. all of the food we had last night downtown was good. we got shrimp cocktail, a grilled cod special (with fingerlings, microgreens, and a dollop of seafood bisque around the plate), and the chicken paillard (boneless breast smothered in capers and onions, with french fries and small salad). both were $14, which i thought was very reasonable, and delicious. we each got an espresso, which was solid although they oddly did not have sugarcubes (but still put the little lemon-peel corkscrew on the side).

very abbreviated wine list compared to the crestwood location, which i guess is fine, but seems a bit odd. maybe downtowners aren't really dipping into the library wines like the crestwood set.

anyone have an idea how the place is doing? it's quite large, and unless they have a sweetheart deal the space and build-out cannot be cheap. last night we were two of maybe 15 people in the place between 6-7pm.

all in all it was good, probably the most appealing dining destination inside the Loop that i can think of. i hope they can make it, but i fear that the location may do them in.

[smh]

Couple of thoughts:

1. I hear they have a sweetheart deal.

2. I think they are killing it at lunch, I have probably been close to 10 times for lunch since they opened and it is always full (caveat being this is the 12-1 hour, not sure how goes it before or after that time).

3. I think they are doing a much smaller dinner--though when I walk by in the evening I usually see a little bit of a (albeit small) crowd. We're hitting them up for dinner soon.

[DaveKCMO]

Couple of thoughts:

1. I hear they have a sweetheart deal.

2. I think they are killing it at lunch, I have probably been close to 10 times for lunch since they opened and it is always full (caveat being this is the 12-1 hour, not sure how goes it before or after that time).

3. I think they are doing a much smaller dinner--though when I walk by in the evening I usually see a little bit of a (albeit small) crowd. We're hitting them up for dinner soon.

based on how frequently mr. burns and smithers hover around there, i'm pretty sure they do indeed have a sweetheart deal. they act like they own the place! (which, of course, they do).

there are better french dinners, but you cannot beat the convenience and the price (versus, say, le fou frog).

[Volker Dad]

I went for dinner on a Thursday night, two weeks ago. Great vibe and great food. They had a DJ in the space which was actually really sweet. I think he's back tonight, maybe I'll stop in for happy hour...

[kboish]

We went the other night just for a drink and the bar tendered said their dinner biz started off painfully slow, but that recently things have picked up very well.

It always seems like this is better for a place...start off slow and get good business later. When things start off very fashionable or popular it tends to die like a fad.

[KCPowercat]

anyone have an idea how the place is doing? it's quite large, and unless they have a sweetheart deal the space and build-out cannot be cheap. last night we were two of maybe 15 people in the place between 6-7pm.

all in all it was good, probably the most appealing dining destination inside the Loop that i can think of. i hope they can make it, but i fear that the location may do them in.

Wed at 6pm in November that could describe many places. 15 is actually impressive to me.

[chrizow]

Wed at 6pm in November that could describe many places. 15 is actually impressive to me.

yeah that's fair enough, although there were fewer people when we left at 7 than there were at 6. that said, when i made the post for some reason i thought we were there on a thursday evening, not wednesday. hate it when that happens.

[KC-wildcat]

Lunch is always crowded. Wasn't surprised about breakfast not working there. Dinner will always be fairly marginal, IMO. They really need to capture up a catering niche.

Regarding coffee, the guy in the arcade is not a "crappy office coffee kiosk."

Fact is, this guy has been selling coffee in the arcade for at least as long as I've worked in the building (2008ish). He was here long before Aixois and his "crappy kiosk" sat opposite an empty commercial space for a few years until Aixois signed. He was here before Scooters, Savvy, Latte Land. Yet, he's still here selling his coffee.

Finally, after years of neglecting the arcade, Commerce has invested some money in the finishes (i.e. new signage, new finishes, new tenants, new art gallery, new seating and tables in the west end of the arcade, etc.) Coffee guy was also given a new set-up.

Congrats to him. I'm very happy to see him being rewarded for his presence downtown and in the Arcade. Frankly, it would have been complete bullshit for Commerce to allow Aixois to set up a coffee operation in the same arcade that this guy has been working for years.

[KC-wildcat]

Lunch is always crowded. Wasn't surprised about breakfast not working there. Dinner will always be fairly marginal, IMO. They really need to capture up a catering niche.

Regarding coffee, the guy in the arcade is not a "crappy office coffee kiosk."

Fact is, this guy has been selling coffee in the arcade for at least as long as I've worked in the building (2008ish). He was here long before Aixois and his "crappy kiosk" sat opposite an empty commercial space for a few years until Aixois signed. He was here before Scooters, Savvy, Latte Land. Yet, he's still here selling his coffee.

Finally, after years of neglecting the arcade, Commerce has invested some money in the finishes (i.e. new signage, new finishes, new tenants, new art gallery, new seating and tables in the west end of the arcade, etc.) Coffee guy was also given a new set-up.

Congrats to him. I'm very happy to see him being rewarded for his presence downtown and in the Arcade. Frankly, it would have been complete bullshit for Commerce to allow Aixois to set up a coffee operation in the same arcade that this guy has been working for years.

[chrizow]

i stand corrected about the coffee kiosk. it's just that i have never in my life encountered a coffee kiosk in an office building, medical facility, or educational institution that was not horrendously sub-par.

[smh]

Don't you guys mean Downtown Crossing?

[Volker Dad]

Maybe the kiosk guy has been there a long time, but I really don't like his coffee and since Aixois isn't open for coffee, I'm now buying it from Scooters or making it myself in my office kitchenette. Honestly, I think the competition from Aixois would be good for the guy. You know, up his game. His new set up is sweet, there is no reason his coffee shouldn't be awesome. I just don't buy the idea that we should give him preferential treatment because he's been there the longest.

No doubt there are many other's in the building who feel the same way I do on this. Many are probably buying their coffee elsewhere as well.

[scooterj]

I don't think his coffee is bad, it definitely beats what gets served in my office proper. Until Scooter's came along I visited him daily. But, I've found that I like Scooter's better. And not just because of the name.

But yeah, he's been there forever. I've been in the building since 2005 and he pre-dates that. Not only was he here during the Arcade's empty spell, he was here before that when it was thriving. Back when the gallery was a flower shop, when there was a clothing store down the hall, and when Axiois was a Papa John's. He always seems to have a line, so plenty of people like him.

Dumb question back on topic: How do you pronounce the name of the restaurant this thread is about? No one in my office has any idea, so we all just call it "The Anxious Brassiere".

[chrizow]

it is pronounced "ex-wah"