Lee's Summit Lowdown

Welcome to the Lowdown! I am so glad you’re here!

Happy Sunday, Lee’s Summit! ☀️

It’s been a full week around here. My sister was in town visiting. On Thursday we took the Amtrak from our own Lee’s Summit station into Union Station, then walked over to the WWI Museum. If you’ve never done it, it’s such an easy, fun way to spend a day in downtown KC, no parking hassles, no traffic. Then Saturday we hit the Farmers Market and popped into Xpressions Boutique (Dara always has unique styles picked out for me to try) and Team Cocktail for some cheeky souvenirs. The weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to be all week, cool and pleasant, then it cranked the heat up right as the weekend hit, almost like it waited until we had the most plans to test us. Either way, my sis definitely enjoyed getting to see all that Lee’s Summit has to offer. Let’s get into this week.

🍖 Q39 Is Coming to Lee’s Summit

Barbecue fans, mark your calendar: Q39 opens its fourth metro location, and first in Lee’s Summit, on August 3 at 240 SW Oldham Parkway in Oldham Village. The spot is nearly 10,000 square feet with seating for more than 200, plus a private 40-seat “Rob Magee Room.” It joins Q39’s Midtown, Overland Park, and Lawrence locations, so if you’ve been making the drive into the city for a barbecue fix, that drive just got a lot shorter. My car’s GPS is already updating its “most visited” list.

🛣️ A Piece of Route 66 Says Goodbye to Lee’s Summit

A 1952 neon sign for the old Ozark Court motel in St. Clair, Missouri, has spent the last few years getting restored right here in Lee’s Summit, at Fossil Forge (the same local shop behind the Little Ladybug Library rebuild). The sign spent decades out of public view before turning up in a private collector’s archive in 2022. The Route 66 Association of Missouri won it at auction, and it landed at Fossil Forge for restoration anyway, a nice full-circle twist. Co-owners Dave Eames and Remy Norton-Hood said it was rough going in (plenty of rot to cut out, so basically the sign equivalent of a fixer-upper), but the 74-year-old mechanical sign now lights up like new. This year marks 100 years of Route 66, and the sign is headed to Joplin to stand along the historic highway once again. A little bittersweet losing it, but also kind of nice knowing Lee’s Summit was its rehab facility.

🏛️ “Our Court Is Drowning”: Lee’s Summit’s Municipal Court Sounds the Alarm

The city hired a consulting firm, Raftelis, to review the municipal court’s operations, and the findings, presented at last Tuesday’s council meeting, aren’t pretty. Right now the court only hears cases two days a week, and the consultant says that needs to double to four. One measure found Lee’s Summit’s caseload actually needs 5.4 court days a week to keep up. (Somewhere, a judge is doing the math on that extra 1.4 days and wondering where exactly it’s supposed to come from.)

The city’s two judges didn’t hold back. Judge Venessa Maxwell-Lopez said the court is “drowning” and can’t wait two more years for help. Judge Dana Altieri said crowds regularly exceed fire code limits, which is not the kind of “packed house” any government building wants to be known for. One probation officer told council he routinely works 50+ hours a week and has missed family events trying to keep up with his caseload.

Recommendations include adding court dates, moving a part-time clerk to full-time, and giving the city a formal court liaison. The city manager noted the new July 1 budget already funds two additional court positions, something the judges said nobody had told them about. Bureaucracy really is the gift that keeps on not communicating. Council member Melanie Adkins asked for monthly progress reports going forward, which feels like the bare minimum after that reveal.

🐘 The Pink Elephant Is Closing, and Last Night May Have Been Goodbye

This one stings a little. The Pink Elephant, downtown LS’s coolest little club and the bar behind “The Foley” (yes, the cocktail named after yours truly), is closing its doors. Last night was the final Saturday, and by all indications, it was likely the final night, period. They were considering staying open through the week to close out on Friday instead, but as of this morning, that didn’t look likely.

I don’t have all the details yet on why or what’s next for the space, but I wanted to get this in front of you as soon as I could confirm it myself. If you had a favorite night there, a favorite drink, or a memory worth sharing, hit reply. I’d love to include a few in a future issue.

Downtown LS is going to feel a little different without it. Cheers to The Pink Elephant, and to The Foley or the Misty Dawn living on in spirit even if I have to make them at home now.

⏪ The LS Loop

Meetings that happened while you were living your life last week.

🏛️ City Council: No meeting this week.
🍎 LSR-7 School Board: Next meeting is Thursday, July 30 – recap will run in the next issue.

🎸 LIVE & LOCAL

Sunday, 7/26

• Chris Bowers Music | 4pm | Station 7 Tavern (Martin City)

Tuesday, 7/28

• Lee’s Summit Jazz Orchestra | 6–9pm | The 1909 Club

Thursday, 7/30

• Jam or Open Mic | 7–10pm | Jack Ray Post 5789, VFW

• Soul Fundamentals | 7–10pm | The 1909 Club

Friday, 7/31

• Sundog | 7pm | The 1909 Club

• Zachary Eck | 8–11pm | Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House

• Got It Covered | 8pm | Captain’s Sports Lounge

• Chloe Rose | 8pm | Llywelyn’s Pub

Saturday, 8/1

• Echoes From The Basement | 8pm–midnight | Captain’s Sports Lounge

• SouthTown | 8–11pm | Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House

• The Stolen Winnebagos | 8pm | Llywelyn’s Pub

📅 THE WEEKLY LINEUP

Sunday, 7/26

• Summer Singers of Lee’s Summit: Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass | 4pm | St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Monday, 7/27

• Board Game Night | 6pm | Pulp Fiction

• Dive-In Movie Night (Frozen 2) | 8:30pm | Summit Waves

• Happy Birthday, Harry Potter! | 6pm | Lee’s Summit Community Room

• Storytime for Babies | 9:30am | East Lee’s Summit Community Room

Wednesday, 7/29

• Moonlight Yoga | 9–10pm | Legacy Park Amphitheater

• Storytime for Families | 9:15/10:15/11:15am | Lee’s Summit Community Room

Thursday, 7/30

• Summer Ringers Academy: Summer Ring + Instrument Zoo | 7:30pm | St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Saturday, 8/1

• Grains & Taps Farewell Party (The Final Bash!) | 12–10pm | Grains & Taps

🤔 Lee’s Summit Trivia

Did you know Lee’s Summit has a jazz connection you’d never guess? Longview Farm, the sprawling 1,700-acre estate built in 1913, had its mansion wired by an electrician named Harrison Metheny. His grandson? Jazz guitar legend Pat Metheny. Next time you drive past the old Longview grounds, you’re passing the roots of a Grammy-winning career. You’re welcome. 😜

🐾 Pet of the Week

Meet Mia

A grumpy Persian cat who spends her days judging everything you do… and sleeping. Every morning she comes down meowing and jumps up next to the TV, demanding her YouTube videos of birds and squirrels. She watches more TV than her owner does.

Want your pet featured here? Hit reply with a photo and a fun fact, and they could be next week’s star.

One Last Thing

Between the Amtrak trip on Thursday and the Farmers Market on Saturday, this was a week of doing things around town instead of just writing about them, which felt like a nice change of pace. And a quieter note to end on: losing The Pink Elephant is a real one. Downtown institutions like that don’t come around often, and they’re even harder to replace.

Thanks for reading. Hit reply and tell me what got you this week. I genuinely want to know.

Thanks for being part of the Lowdown crew!

– Jen

 Editor, Lee’s Summit Lowdown

P.S. Between the heat, the visiting family, and now saying goodbye to one of my favorite spots downtown, it’s been a week. Hug your local bartenders, folks.

How did we do in this edition?

• 🏆 State Champ Worthy: Best issue yet.

• 🎶 Fourth Friday Energy: Really solid week.

• 🌳 Nice Walk in Legacy Park: Pleasant, no complaints.

• 🚗 Stuck on 291 at 5pm: Got here eventually.

• 🦌 Hit a Deer on Douglas: Let’s not repeat this.