For years, JJ’s Restaurant united diners under its stylish tiled roof until the explosion and fire Feb. 19.
Authorities say the blast occurred after a contractor hit an underground natural gas line outside the restaurant. Fumes collected inside the building and were ignited, possibly by the pilot light of a stove or water heater. The only fatality was Megan Cramer.
JJ’s was rated by the Zagat’s as one of the top restaurants in the Midwest. The menu included KC’s best steaks, fresh seafood and innovative pasta dishes. The brick restaurant with the tile roof at the corner of 48th Street and Belleview Avenue was founded by Jimmy Frantze in partnership with his brother, lawyer David Frantze.
Obviously the focus has changed. “Each day is another step forward, but it is not easy,” Jimmy Frantze says. “There really isn’t a plan for the building yet as the police and investigators still have the site closed as part of the ongoing investigation. Every time I stop by, I think about what a cruise missile hit might look like.”
Frantze is still aiming for the street party on Aug. 25 where he wants customers and friends to celebrate. “This will be our fifth Street Party and we would have been 28 ½ years in August. The anniversary date is Feb. 1, but that’s always a little chilly for a street party, but we still want a celebration.”
Café Trio Proprietor Christopher Youngers, who also is the current president of The Kansas City Originals, says Jimmy Frantze helped found The KC Originals and JJ’s has been one of Kansas City’s finest local eateries and an icon of what it means to be a KC Original. “As an allied group of restaurants we help each other out every day, but when tragedy struck at JJ’s, Jimmy and his staff needed more than just our help. It was the least we could do and we stand ready to do with whatever else is needed,” he says.
Frantze says The Kansas City Originals represents fellow independent restaurant owners so the trials and joys are similar for all. “If I was to rebuild, I would want to reopen a JJ’s pretty much as it was. It was like Camelot … a life and presence of its own that our employees and customers shaped.”
Youngers hopes to see Frantze rebuild. “It is my own personal hope that Jimmy and his staff rebuild as soon as possible and that the process of rebuilding may help to bring healing. Not to mention that Kansas City just wouldn’t be the same without JJ’s.”
