Chef opens ‘grandma chic’ eatery, bodega and coffee shop in well-known Waldo location

For 70 years — 1935 to 2005 — the space at 7122 Wornall Road was home to Romanelli Grill, a clubby neighborhood restaurant known in Waldo and beyond for its big plates of fried catfish.

Ashley Bare remembers.

“Oh, yeah,” said Bare, who grew up in nearby Mission Hills. “I used to come to Romanelli Grill with my dad. I mainly remember a lot of people smoking inside. Waldo was different then.”

The address was later home to the Irish pub The Gaf and most recently District Pour House, which closed earlier this year.

Now Bare has the run of the place. Last week, the chef unveiled Hemma Hemma, a combination coffee shop, bodega, and (soon) cafeteria aimed at “busy families and busy professionals.”

The concept is informed by Bare’s culinary background. After graduating from the University of Kansas in 2009, she attended the National Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York, then worked at a few restaurants there, including Mercer Kitchen.

“I quickly realized that I didn’t want to work in restaurants in the traditional sense,” Bare said. “So I started doing other things, like teaching cooking classes, private chefing, and meal prep.”

Bare eventually returned to Kansas City to be closer to family and started Hemma Hemma, a meal delivery service. But she also wanted a space where she could consolidate all her culinary skills and interests under one roof. After District Pour House closed in January, she signed a lease and spent about five months building out the space and imbuing it with a “grandma chic” aesthetic (vintage furniture, floral and tartan wallpaper, white marble tabletops and long, luxurious banquettes).

Hemma Hemma opened Sept. 21. Inside are three rooms, which Bare calls the Bodega, the Hot Line and the Studio.

“This is sort of the culmination of everything I’ve done,” Bare said. “Making food for people, teaching cooking classes, meal delivery. We’re working on an event space downstairs. And I might start catering again, too.”

The bodega features a coffee bar (including a walk-up window from the sidewalk) and a small market that sells local artisanal products like Pumpkin Butter from the Kansas City Canning Co. and Zen Donkey Farms juices.

The bodega is also stocked with grab-and-go meals made by Bare. Last week, a few of the mains available were an Oregano and Lemon Braised Pork (Berkshire pork, garlic, lemon, oregano, thyme, chicken stock, salt, pepper, tzatziki; $14) and a Herby Whipped Feta Chicken (Gerber Amish Chicken, feta, cream cheese, olive oil, lemon, garlic, fresh herbs, salt; $24).

Among the other options available were a Power Kale Salad w/ Chicken (kale, blueberries, chickpeas, avocado, almonds, hemp seeds, radish, scallions, lemon vin, chicken; $15) and a white bean dip for $10.

Bare said she anticipates much of her clientele will come from Mission Hills, south Leawood and Brookside, in addition to Waldo.

“We’re using higher-quality ingredients so we’re at a slightly higher price point,” Bare said. “The idea is, we’re here to help busy people feed themselves. You can come in and pick up fresh soups, salads, sauces, proteins. Or if you’re entertaining, you can stop by and get dips, crackers, olives. You want to make tacos? We’ve got salsas and tortillas from Yoli.”

The middle room, or the Hot Line, has seating and an “elevated, cafeteria-style” setup that will open Oct. 20, Bare said, and serve both hot and cold items.

“It’ll be a smaller selection of what’s available on the full grab-and-go menu,” Bare said.

The third room — the Studio — features three ranges and is meant for hands-on cooking classes.

“These are not demonstration-style classes — you prep the food under my direction, then you sit down together at the end of class and eat the meal you prepared,” Bare said. “It’s for any skill level. No one should feel like they aren’t a good enough cook to take the class. It’s an experience. It’s supposed to be fun.”

Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday. Once the cafeteria’s open, it will only be open for breakfast and lunch, until 3 p.m.

And what about that name?

“Hemma means ‘at home’ in Swedish,” Bare said. “Nothing I do really has anything to do with Sweden — it’s just a word I learned a long time ago that stuck with me. But I’m delivering meals to your home, I’m making food that should feel like it was cooked at home. Pretty much everything I’m doing with Hemma Hemma, it should all feel like home.”