A look at the proposed bar area of the Blue Moose restaurant slated for west Lawrence. Courtesy: KC Hopps

I can now officially say there will be moose adventures in west Lawrence, although I’m still unclear on whether I need to continue practicing my moose calls. Regardless, Kansas City-based Blue Moose Bar & Grill indeed will open near Sixth and Wakarusa.

For a few months now, I’ve been reporting that speculation was pointing toward the Blue Moose opening a restaurant in the new building that is being constructed just east of the Wal-Mart near Sixth and Wakarusa. Well, the president of the company has now confirmed it.

“With the high school, the theater, with Rock Chalk Park, we love the area,” said Ed Nelson, who is president of the Kansas City restaurant company KC Hopps, which is the parent company of Blue Moose. “We think it is going to be a really good fit for casual dining in Lawrence.”

Looking at the menu, it appears the restaurant is going for a niche that I’ve noticed more and more: fancy but not full-on fancy. (I think that means I still can wear my antlers, if I want.)

“Our goal is definitely to compete with a higher end restaurant on quality, but for price and atmosphere we are more casual,” Nelson said.

That means the restaurant goes quite a bit beyond what you would expect from a sports bar menu, for example. Yes, the restaurant does serve items such as chicken wings, hamburgers, pizza — the flatbread variety — and even fried pickles. But you’ll also find more upscale items such as a baked brie appetizer, several salmon and fish dishes, a couple of pasta offerings, and a dish called lemon chicken saltimboca, which features parmesan cheese, spinach, zucchini, rice pilaf and multiple mispronunciations as the guy in the moose antlers tries to order the dish.

The restaurant even has several desserts, including cheesecakes, creme brûlée and a torte that does feature chocolate mousse — not moose. (My experience has been to steer clear of the chocolate moose desserts. Too chunky.)

Nelson said the restaurant will have about 6,000 square feet of space in the multitenant building that is now under construction. As we’ve reported, Kansas City’s Spin Neapolitan Pizza will be in one end of the building, and an undetermined retailer will be the third tenant.

Nelson said part of the space will be set aside for a banquet room for large parties or other events. This will be the fifth location for Blue Moose, with the original one in Prairie Village and more recent additions in Overland Park, Lenexa and Topeka. Nelson said the company also plans to open a restaurant in Manhattan.

Nelson said he hopes the restaurant can open in October or November of this year. As for the feel and vibe of the place, Nelson shared a few renderings of the proposed interior of the restaurant. He said the group is looking to be a bit contemporary in the design but also casual. He said one theme that will carry over from other Blue Moose restaurants is that the restaurant will be filled with photographs of local landmarks. Each photograph will have a blue moose in it somewhere. It will be kind of like a find Waldo situation. Here’s a look at some of the proposed designs for the building.

A look at the proposed bar area of the Blue Moose restaurant slated for west Lawrence. Courtesy: KC Hopps

A look at the lobby area of the proposed Blue Moose Bar & Grill. Courtesy: KC Hopps Ltd.

A rendering of a proposed dining area for Lawrence's Blue Moose Bar & Grill. Courtesy: KC Hopps Ltd.

Blue Moose’s parent company, KC Hopps, also operates several other popular Kansas City chains, including Stroud’s fried chicken, the 810 Zone, Barley’s Brewhaus and several others. But Nelson, who is a KU graduate, told me his company didn’t have any other Lawrence projects on the radar screen.

“The Lawrence restaurant market right now is really competitive and really eclectic,” Nelson said. “From a consumer standpoint, I think it is a really fun place to be. For now, we are just focused on the Blue Moose project.”

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