Lee's Summit Lowdown

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

Happy Sunday, Lee’s Summit! ☀️

I hope your Memorial Day weekend was everything a long weekend should be. We had a great one here. The weekend was a blur of flower planting, pressure washing the deck, and finally getting the grill set up, with the dogs supervising every step. Then Monday morning I made my way to the cemetery for the Memorial Day ceremony hosted by the VFW and American Legion. If you’ve never gone, put it on your radar for next year. It’s worth showing up for.

Now the grill is fired up, the flowers are in planted, summer is here and I am ready for it. Let’s get into it. 👇

🎡 Mark Your Calendar: Downtown Days Is One Week Away

If you only put one thing on your summer calendar, make it this.

Downtown Days 2026 hits Green Street June 5-7, and it is THE Lee’s Summit summer tradition. Free to attend, open to everyone, and packed with live entertainment on the main stage all weekend, carnival rides (unlimited wristbands available Sunday), a beer garden, festival food, handcrafted vendors, and Kids’ Street for the little ones.

Here’s the schedule:

• Friday, June 5: 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

• Saturday, June 6: 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

• Sunday, June 7: 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

This is the kind of weekend that makes you text someone: “You HAVE to come to this.” Full details and entertainment lineup at leessummitdowntowndays.com. I’ll see you on Green Street.

🌮 Two New Restaurants Are Headed to Lee’s Summit

Good news on the dining front, times two!

Tiki Taco is coming to LS. If you’ve been to one of their KC metro locations, you already know. If you haven’t, consider this your sign. The popular Kansas City taco chain is opening a new Lee’s Summit location at 1440 NE Douglas St. No official opening date yet, but worth a follow.

And Five Four Restaurant & Drafthouse (the rebranded concept you may know as the old 54th Street Grill) is making a move within the city. One existing LS location is closing, and a new one is opening at Highway 50 and Route 291. No confirmed date yet, but the move is planned for 2026. Change is always a little weird when it’s a spot you’ve had since the 54th Street era. If your go-to booth is about to change zip codes, now you know.

🎭 LSN Theatre Brings Home the Hardware at Cappies Gala

Lee’s Summit North’s theatre program had a big weekend at the Cappies Gala.

Jane Hough was selected as one of two recipients of the inaugural Cappies Brad Rackers Scholarship, which is a serious honor. And the LSN Critic Team took home Outstanding Critic Team, which is especially impressive considering they’ve been nominated all four years they’ve participated and have now won twice. These are the kids reviewing and writing about live theatre at a competitive level, and they are clearly very good at it.

Congratulations to the whole LSN Theatre crew. 🎬

🚲 LSPD Has Some Things to Say About E-Bikes

A near-miss video of a car barely avoiding a motorbike rider in Lee’s Summit circulated on Facebook this week and drew over 300 comments, which prompted the Lee’s Summit Police Department to weigh in with an official post on May 22.

Here’s the quick version: there’s a difference between e-bikes (pedal-assist, legal, up to ~28 mph) and electric motorbikes (throttle-powered, no pedals, not street legal in LS without proper licensing and registration). LSPD said they’re getting a large number of calls about both, and that the laws are murky because technology is outpacing legislation. The bottom line from the department: if it looks like a dirt bike and acts like a dirt bike, it probably needs a license plate.

If you have kids who ride anything motorized, or if you’re one of the 300+ people who commented on that video, it’s worth a read.

⏪ The LS Loop

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

Quiet week on the government front. No City Council meeting and no LSR-7 School Board meeting this week. Enjoy the break. We’ll be back with recaps when they reconvene.

📚 The LSR7 Bookmobile Is Back for Summer

This is a great one for families. LSR7 Libraries is sponsoring the Bookmobile again this summer. Students can stop by, pick a free book to keep, and that’s it. No catch, no library card required.

All stops run 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.:

• June 8: Crossroads Apartments

• June 15: Sage Crossing Apartments

• June 22: Green Street

• June 29: Hitt Park (Greenwood)

• July 6: Crossroads Apartments (Mid-Continent will host a read-aloud at this stop!)

• July 13: Sage Crossing Apartments

• July 20: Green Street

• July 27: Hitt Park (Greenwood)

Free books. All summer. Love this.

🍽️ Downtown LS Dining Deals: June

If you’re spending time downtown this week (and with Downtown Days on Friday, you probably will be), here’s what’s on special at your local spots all month long:

Sunday – Smoke Brewing Co: $80 Beast Boards | Vetta: $12 Chicken Parm | Llywelyn’s: All day happy hour

Monday – Third Street Social: Half price social cheeseburger and fries | Smoke Brewing Co: $3 house beers & $9 wings | Llywelyn’s: Burger Night, 50% off classic burgers

Tuesday – Smoke Brewing Co: $10 Briskwich & Fries | Vetta: Build Your Own Pasta | Llywelyn’s: Adult Cheese Night, 50% off grilled cheese and mac & cheese | Filling Station: Family Night, half-price kids meals with every adult dinner

Wednesday – Smoke Brewing Co: Half price appetizers | Vetta: Half price bottles of wine | Filling Station: Wing Wednesday, 6-piece smoked wings $7.99 / 12-piece $16.99

Thursday – Third Street Social: Half off bottles of wine $99 and under | Smoke Brewing Co: $20 full slabs | Vetta: Smoked Prime Rib Night | Filling Station: Thirsty Thursday, $1 off all beers & seltzers, $3 Busch Light & Bud Light

Friday – Vetta: Porchetta

🎸 Live & Local

Where the music is this week.

Thursday, June 4

• Jam or Open Mic | 6:00 p.m. at The Fillmore Café. A low-key Thursday night with live local talent in an intimate setting.

• Jam or Open Mic | 7:00 p.m. at Jack Ray Post 5789, VFW. Another open mic option if you want to make a night of it.

• Noe Palma | 7:30 p.m. at Iron Horse Bar & Grill. A KC-area country singer with deep roots and a whole lot of heart.

Friday, June 5 (Downtown Days opens!)

• Dallas and Janell | 8:00 p.m. at Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House. A Kansas City acoustic duo playing country, perfect soundtrack for the start of Downtown Days weekend.

• Tyler Lyon Music | 9:00 p.m. at Stuey McBrew’s. Late night energy on Main Street.

Saturday, June 6 (Downtown Days continues!)

• The Daisy Cull | 7:00 p.m. at Martin City/Station 7 Tavern. Country, folk, blues, and rock from a KC band worth your Saturday night.

• Mesquite Ridge Band | 7:00-10:30 p.m. at VFW Post 5789. Country, rock, and blues with a Texas flavor. Put on your dancing shoes.

• 2 Miles Deep | 8:00 p.m. at Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House. Rock with a purpose, and if you’ve been at Downtown Days all day, this is a solid way to close it out.

• Alo Key | 8:00 p.m. at Iron Horse Bar & Grill. R&B, soul, reggae, and jazz from a KC multi-instrumentalist with a seriously smooth sound.

• Boogie Syndicate | 8:00 p.m. at Stuey McBrew’s. If you need a Saturday night dance situation, this is your answer.

📅 THE WEEKLY LINEUP

Here’s what else is going on this week:

What’s happening around Lee’s Summit this week.

Sunday, May 31 

• Llywelyn’s Pub: All day happy hour. A fine way to kick off the week.

Tuesday, June 2 

• Tuesday Night Gin Rummy | 6:30-9:00 p.m. at Libations & Company (The 1909 Club, 25 SE 3rd St). New weekly summer series running every Tuesday through September 1. Cards, cocktails, and good company on Green Street. Registration required and seating is limited. No better Tuesday plan.

• Live Trivia | 7:00 p.m. at Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House.

• Music Bingo | 7:00 p.m. at Brick’s Pub & Grub.

• Karaoke | 8:00 p.m. at The Pink Elephant

Wednesday, June 3 

• Pub Trivia Season Finals | 7:00 p.m. at Llywelyn’s Pub. All that trash talk comes down to this.

Thursday, June 4 

• The Office Trivia Night | 7:00 p.m. at Craft Putt (840 NW Blue Pkwy). Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. Free to play, all ages, $100 cash for first place. Table reservations strongly recommended.

• Pub Karaoke | 9:00 p.m. at Llywelyn’s Pub.

Friday, June 5 

• Downtown Days 🎡 | Green Street. It’s here. Go.

• Mario Kart Tournament | 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Harris Park Community Center. Hosted by Lee’s Summit Parks & Rec. A fun Friday night alternative if you need a break from Downtown Days. Registration at the link.

Saturday, June 6 

• Annual Lemonade Stand & Bake Sale | 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | 1020 NE Bristol Dr. Supporting a scholarship fund for three high school seniors heading to college. Come for the baked goods, stay for the smiling faces.

• Kids Fishing Derby | 10:30 a.m. – noon at Legacy Park Lake. No fishing license required for kids. Bring your own rod. Pre-registration requested. Prizes awarded by age group for biggest and smallest catch.

• NDGA Glass Show and Sale | 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (also Sunday) at John Knox Pavilion. The 49th Annual Convention for the National Depression Glass Association. If you collect vintage glassware or just want to see some beautiful pieces, this is worth a stop.

🤔 Lee’s Summit Trivia

Did you know Downtown Days has been running since 1989, when it was called Old Tyme Days? After nearly four decades, the name changed but the tradition of kicking off Lee’s Summit’s summer on Green Street is still going strong. This weekend is your 37th chance to make it a habit.

One Last Thing

Summer in Lee’s Summit has an official start date, and it’s June 5.

Downtown Days is one of those events that just works. You run into everyone you know, the kids are covered in powdered sugar from funnel cake by noon, and there’s always a band playing something you didn’t expect to love. If you’re new to LS, this is your orientation. If you’ve lived here forever, you know exactly what I mean.

I’ll be out there this weekend. Come say hi if you see me. I’ll be the one with an energy drink in one hand and a corn dog in the other, looking extremely happy about it.

Hit reply and tell me: what are you most excited about for Downtown Days? First person to mention funnel cake wins my respect forever.

– Jen

 Editor, Lee’s Summit Lowdown

P.S.  I tried the Chopped Cheesus at Do Drop Inn. I asked the bartender what they were known for, and besides the incredibly frosty mugs, this was it. As someone with a dairy allergy, the name felt like a threat, but plot twist: it’s just chopped hamburger meat on a hot dog bun! (Plus fun toppings!) Ordered it with no cheese, paired it with a cold drink, and it’s an absolute 10/10 recommendation.

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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.