No ferns at the new Fern Bar in Kansas City. But it serves the cocktails and vibes
Several kinds of plants — snake grass, sharkskin agave, dragon tree — thrive inside Fern Bar, a newly opened Crossroads cocktail joint. But you will find no ferns.
That’s because, said owner Bryan Arri, the name is less a literal reference to that particular type of plant than a philosophical homage to fern bars, singles-friendly establishments popular from the late 1960s up through the 1980s.
“There was a moment in the ‘60s when bar owners looked around and realized their customers were all a bunch of dudes drinking beer, shooting pool and smoking cigarettes,” Arri said. “Not a lot of diversity. So they started putting in natural wood, some brass. They added plants, often ferns, because they are so easy to grow inside. They brought the lights up, started serving different types of drinks like Harvey Wallbangers and pina coladas. More people started to feel welcome.”
Fern Bar — not to be confused with the similarly fern-fervent In the Lowest Ferns, which also opened in January — is taking that hospitality concept from a half-century ago and updating it to today, Arri said. “To me, a fern bar represents an inclusive, welcoming place.”
The bar is at 2041 Broadway Blvd., in an old bank building that was most recently home to the antiques and oddities storehouse Architectural Salvage. The space seats about 50 and is outfitted with some salvaged designs of its own, including the white marble backsplash behind the bar and the original floor tiles, updated with a light polish.
Arri has previously bartended at several prominent local cocktail bars, including Manifesto and Monarch Bar. He’s been working on the Fern Bar concept for about four years and sometimes held pop-ups at other bars and restaurants, including The Campground, Alma Mader Brewing and Big Mood Natural Wines.
He described Fern Bar as a “world-class cocktail bar in a casual environment.”
“There are so many high-end cocktail bars in KC that are absolutely wonderful,” he said. “But at a lot of them, if you don’t walk in with a bunch of cash to spend or feeling like a supermodel that day, you feel out of place. I wanted this to be a casual bar for everyone.”
The drinks menu prioritizes sugarcane and agave spirits: rums, tequilas and mezcals, in addition to more obscure spirits like Shōchū (from Japan), bacanora and sotol (northern Mexico) and rhum agricole (French Caribbean).
Most cocktails have at least five ingredients and fall in the $13-15 range.
The local pop-up Tacos Valentina, currently inside Torn Label Brewing Co., is consulting on the food menu, and starting Feb. 6 Fern Bar will begin serving a few small plates, burritos and tacos out of its kitchen.
The kitchen will be open during all bar hours, Arri said. For now, those hours are 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday, and 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. They may do Sunday brunch soon.
“We also have DJs on Saturday nights for more of a lounge environment,” Arri said.
Fern Bar accepts both reservations and walk-ins.
