Smell of hops and an air of Bavaria: How KC Bier Co’s just-opened beirgarten fits into area’s German streetscape

More than a decade after opening its flagship brewery in Kansas City’s Waldo neighborhood, KC Bier Co. officially launched its Lenexa beirgarten Monday, welcoming guests to its new home at Vista Village with a ribbon cutting, ceremonial keg tapping and plenty of German-style beer.

The celebration marked KC Bier Co.‘s second Kansas City-area location and the completion of a project years in the making.

“We’ve become the largest locally owned brewery in Kansas City,” founder Steve Holle told attendees. “I appreciate everyone being here.”

Guests spent the evening touring the new brewery, exploring the beer hall and biergarten, and getting a first look at the production space before enjoying food and beer together.

Creating a neighborhood destination

KC Bier Co.’s Waldo location introduced Kansas City to the brewery’s traditional German lagers more than a decade ago, but the Lenexa spot gives the company room to build the kind of biergarten Holle had imagined from the beginning.

“It was our dream someday to have a larger facility, more like a larger beer hall in Germany and a beer garden,” said Holle.

Drawing on his German-American heritage and time spent living in Germany, Holle wanted to recreate the kind of place where people naturally spend an afternoon together.

“I love the culture and the sense of community in Germany: Beer gardens where neighbors meet, bring their families. A nice casual environment where everybody from all walks of life, ages, economic strata can come and enjoy a good meal and a cold beer,” Holle told Startland. “So that’s what we’re trying to do here, have a community meeting place here in Lenexa.”

The new two-story brewery was designed with that kind of gathering in mind. The space seats about 400 people indoors and features a large outdoor biergarten, private dining room, second-floor event space, viewing deck overlooking the brewing operation, outdoor amphitheater, children’s play area, and an off-leash dog park

Grand opening visitors peruse a display inside KC Bier Co. that details the areas ties to Germany; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Celebrating German heritage in Johnson County

The building also reflects the area’s German roots. Working with the Lenexa Historical Society, KC Bier Co. created a self-guided historical exhibit featuring German-speaking immigrant families whose names still appear on roads throughout Johnson County.

Steve Holle pours a mug of beer from a freshly tapped keg at the new KC Bier Co. location in Lenexa; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

“We have highlighted lots of contributions from the German Americans and the German-speaking immigrants, because many Swiss and Austrians as well as Germans had a big influence in this area,” said Holle. “We have a walking tour museum that highlights 12 families of Germanic descent that settled in Lenexa. You’ve probably heard about Renner Road, Lackman Road, Plum Road. Those are all German immigrants that settled in this area and made it such a wonderful community.”

Guests can walk through the exhibit before heading upstairs to the viewing deck, where windows overlook the brewery and explain both the brewing process and the history behind KC Bier Co.’s German-inspired approach.

After about a year of construction, Holle said seeing guests fill the space for the first time made the long process worthwhile.

“Well, it’s been a long planning and construction process, so it’s gratifying to see it all come together and get finished,” he said.

He hopes the brewery becomes the kind of place people return to again and again.

“That’s one of the really neat things about Germany, especially southern Germany, Bavaria, the beer gardens, which is such a community gathering place, and I hope we have that same atmosphere here,” he said. “Just show up, bring your kids, your dog, or whatever. Everybody from all walks of life comes, just enjoy some food and beer.”