Popular KC pizza restaurant planning new location in former Johnson County auto shop
A former Olathe auto garage could soon be transformed into a new location of a beloved pizza shop, according to city documents.
Pizza 51 — a restaurant serving pizza, sandwiches, salads and beer in Kansas City’s Brookside neighborhood — is looking to convert the building at 200 S. Kansas Ave. into its newest spot.
The restaurant recently filed an application to turn the space into a 3,400-square-foot restaurant with an outdoor patio.
Its plans are pending approval by the city.
Pizza 51 is known for its massive slices, which include the Hiway Special (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, onions and black olives) and Veggie Delight (black olives, mushrooms, broccoli, green peppers and spinach).
It also sells calzones, wraps and Italian subs.
Pizza 51 opened in 2004 after owners Shannon and Jason Pryor converted an old filling station at 5060 Oak St. in Kansas City into a restaurant.
In 2011, the Pryors opened a second location in a former Fairway gas station at 5938 Mission Road, but it closed seven years later. Today, that building is home to Fairway Creamery.
The Pryors helped open The Combine at 2999 Troost Ave. and re-open the historic Milwaukee Delicatessen Co. at 101 W. 9th St., both of which serve Pizza 51 menu items.
The Pryors could not be reached to discuss their potential Olathe restaurant.
After the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2023, Andy Reid chowed down on Pizza 51’s sausage and mushroom pizza and a garden salad.
“I went to Pizza 51,” Reid told reporters who asked how he celebrated the win. “That’s what I did. I got a mushroom-and-sausage pizza, how about that? And a salad just to make my chubbiness feel good.”
