By Joyce Smith
Many jazz bars have a house band. Not The Bad Cat Jazz Bar.
It had 26 local bands booked before opening at 1220 W. 103rd St. on Sept. 24th. Now musicians from as far as New York want to lock in a spot for 2027.
“It’s a good listening room,” said owner Dustin Kaufman. “Not what the owners want them to play, but what they want to play. The jazz enthusiasts in town are loving it. Quiet conversation and music appreciation.”
Drinks include specialty cocktails such as The Jam Sesh Martini with peanut butter tequila, “so good,” Kaufman said. It also offers Negroni, Manhattan and Paloma cocktails; wine; beer and seltzer; champagne; specialty mocktails, STōK cold brew coffee and more.
Under Provisions, it has the Brass Bagel Trio (a freshly baked bagel with a rotating sweet, spicy and savory trio of house-made whipped cream cheese); The Bad Catcuterie (capicola, salami, smoked Gouda, dark chocolate, dried cherries, and whole-grain Dijon served with a fresh-baked bagel); Catnip (house-seasoned gourmet nuts); and New York-style cheesecake by a local pastry chef including banana cream and Oreo flavors.
There’s a back bar, small tables and chairs seating 55 in front of the compact stage.
Kaufman opened The Comedy Club of Kansas City, 1130 W. 103rd St., in April 2019. Shows are at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. with some customers lingering until 10 p.m. Still, some didn’t want the night to end.
So Kaufman looked across the parking lot at a vacant corner space.
Happy Dragon Chinese Restaurant formerly operated in the space but downsized its Watts Mill restaurant during COVID.
Kaufman started making plans for the 1,400-square-foot jazz bar in February 2024. He attributed the delayed opening to a combination of liquor licensing, lease negotiations for both the jazz bar and comedy club, city permitting and the build-out, which he mostly left to the landlord, “anything that needed a permit,” Kaufman said.
Meanwhile, Kaufman opened The Comedy Club of Lawrence in downtown Lawrence, Kansas, in late November.
The Bad Cat opens at 8 p.m. Thursdays for open jam sessions.
Shows are at 7 pm and 10 pm Fridays and Saturdays, with a $20 cover charge, which goes toward paying the band. Upcoming shows include Jenna Bauer Quartet on Oct. 30, and Arnold Young, Roughtet on Oct. 31, Clint Ashlock on Nov. 6.
Bad Cat also features a happy hour with live music starting at 5 pm on Saturdays with no cover charge.
“Come out. Tell your friends. Let’s fill it up,” Kaufman.
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