Cheeseburger in Paradise

Highlander · Post by **Highlander** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 6:48 pm

I was reading through the Pitch and they gave a long review of this place. The first thing that struck me was how busy it was....

And why in the hell are people waiting in line -- sometimes for hours -- to eat at Wyandotte County's new Cheeseburger in Paradise? It's a serious mystery to me, because I wasn't able to actually eat in the place until my third visit out there. The first two times I tried to get in, there were so many customers crammed into the tiny "lobby" that I assumed maybe the restaurant's famous investor, Jimmy Buffett, was actually in the building. But no, the King of the Parrotheads hasn't visited this restaurant once. The crowds were just standing there, waiting for a table.

I'm telling you, it would be easier to get a cheeseburger in Atlantis than in Kansas City, Kansas. The first time I traveled to the Legends Shopping Center, I arrived at 5:30 p.m., only to hear that there was a 90-minute wait for a table. The restaurant had opened, by the way, at 4 p.m. I was too hungry to wait an hour and a half for a friggin' burger, so I went across the street for a steak.

Perhaps the Legends will attract a much larger crowd than I thought -or- as each new restaurant opens, crowds will diminish proportionately at the existing ones. The Pitch gave it a decent enough review for a hamburger joint (while they note it's more than that). I'd be interested in looking at the license plates in the parking lot just to see who is headed out there.

DTO · Post by **DTO** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 7:48 pm

Their are still 2 hour waits at the Omaha one sometimes. It was an ok place. I'm not in a hurry to get back.

Tosspot · Post by **Tosspot** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 7:56 pm

Sounds like a high class franchise fry pit.

cdschofield · Post by **cdschofield** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:57 am

I think the point was missed. I too have been continually amazed at how many people go out to Village West. And it hasn't really built up to its critical mass. I never dreamed it would take off as well as it has. Seattle is pointing to it as an example of why to build a NASCAR track there and I have no doubt that the success of the whole project is why NASCAR picked KCK to bid on the Hall of Fame. KCK has an advantage that the other sites lack and that is a large existing flow of visitors with a successful, burgeoning entertainment/tourist district right next to a relatively brand new NASCAR track. So far the other cities plans seem to be looking at the Hall of Fame as a way to prop up lackluster or nonexistent redevelopment projects. Sorry I got off subject a bit. Back on subject, I was suprised at the good review the Pitch gave Cheeseburger in Paradise, when I first saw the title I expected them to tear it apart.

eomaha.com · Post by **eomaha.com** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 2:06 am

The food is OKAY...what makes Cheeseburger a cool place... is they have live music every night after 9pm.

MC86 · Post by **MC86** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 11:28 am

Ate there a few weeks ago. Wasn't that impressed. Food was ok, wait was long, service was average. It didn't help that our party of 6 was sitting at a table for 4.

nota · Post by **nota** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 11:42 am

cdschofield wrote:I think the point was missed. I too have been continually amazed at how many people go out to Village West. And it hasn't really built up to its critical mass. I never dreamed it would take off as well as it has. Seattle is pointing to it as an example of why to build a NASCAR track there and I have no doubt that the success of the whole project is why NASCAR picked KCK to bid on the Hall of Fame. KCK has an advantage that the other sites lack and that is a large existing flow of visitors with a successful, burgeoning entertainment/tourist district right next to a relatively brand new NASCAR track. So far the other cities plans seem to be looking at the Hall of Fame as a way to prop up lackluster or nonexistent redevelopment projects. Sorry I got off subject a bit. Back on subject, I was suprised at the good review the Pitch gave Cheeseburger in Paradise, when I first saw the title I expected them to tear it apart.

I think these celebrity named restaurants get a huge rush of business and then fall off a bit to a regular level. There are going to be plenty of restaurants at VW-if they can fill them all up, they will be doing something for sure. My hometown a few years back got one of those Kenny Rogers Roasters places which opens with another restaurant in the same building. They had lines out the doors for ages, then they went belly up.

I've been to a CB in Paradise in Indiana. It is quite fun and food is good/average.

I hope the H of F goes into WyCo-it would be nice for the area.

KCLofts · Post by **KCLofts** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:27 pm

I waited well over an hour to eat there one Friday or Saturday night. Its certainly not worth thte wait. Not a bad cheeseburger, though.

People start lining up in the parking lot before the place even opens.

What floors me is that the place is not open for lunch. They just started doing on lunch on the weekends. If there is such a demand to eat there, then I would think they'd want to be open all hours of the day.

Highlander · Post by **Highlander** » Sat Feb 26, 2005 12:27 pm

nota wrote: I think these celebrity named restaurants get a huge rush of business and then fall off a bit to a regular level. There are going to be plenty of restaurants at VW-if they can fill them all up, they will be doing something for sure. My hometown a few years back got one of those Kenny Rogers Roasters places which opens with another restaurant in the same building. They had lines out the doors for ages, then they went belly up.

I hope the H of F goes into WyCo-it would be nice for the area.

What you speak of with KRR is a fairly common restaurant phenomena and it happens to hyped restaurants more so to those that open without fanfare. Restaurants that open with a lot of expectations commonly get overwhelmed by the number of customers before their staff can get acquainted with their jobs. Things go wrong and customers leave unhappy. Eventually, they get their act together but they have loss a large portion of their potential customer base in the meantime. Doubt if it happens here though as CIP sounds a bit too light-hearted to get too bent out of shape about service, food etc...

I really hope KCK gets the Hall of Fame too. I think CD is right, NASCAR is trying to decentralize away from the SE and the fact that Village West does have a lot going for it already may bode well for their bid.

Thrillcekr · Post by **Thrillcekr** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 6:36 pm

I have no desire to stop in there since I can get the best cheeseburger in town (LC's Hamburgers) right here in my own neighborhood. However, I do think it's a good idea to have one there because of all the race fans that visit the speedway. I'm sure they will eat it up.

Post by **dangerboy** » Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:58 pm

Charles Ferruzza had decent things to say about the place. Crappy cheeseburgers, but the rest of the food is good.

http://pitch.com/issues/2005-02-17/cafe.html

The only negative I see is that Jimmy Buffet's music makes me want to fill my ears with super glue.

eomaha.com · Post by **eomaha.com** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:19 am

What floors me is that the place is not open for lunch. They just started doing on lunch on the weekends. If there is such a demand to eat there, then I would think they'd want to be open all hours of the day.

It's a joint venture between Buffett and Outback Steakhouse owners. Unless KC is an exception... you should note that Outback is not open for lunch either (which always floored me too).

I haven't heard anyone mention the music atmosphere. Don't they feature any decent local jazz&blues/what not down there?

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 8:56 am

nobody knows, we already have a good set of live music venues featuring jazz & blues. I'm not sure anybody would make a special trip unless they happened to live right around there.