Entree News: Esquina Reopens, Will No. 5 be a Winner for Locker Room & Eat at Fuzzy’s

Chef Robert Krause‘s restaurant Esquina in downtown Lawrence closed a couple weeks back…

Supposedly for a makeover and conversion from Esquina’s "Latin American" cuisine to Mediterranean or as some staffers indicated, Italian.

Loosely translated: No more more chips and salsa, a new menu and a "new interior."

Esquina reopened a few days ago, somewhat surprisingly sans a name change.

It’s still called Esquina, which technically works with its description of the new menu:

"Come experience the flavors of the Mediterranean with a Spanish flair! Esquina features a sophisticated menu
in an intimate, unique setting now with full table service and an expanded wine list."

The Italian menu talk is another matter.

Outside of the Pan Con tomate and Olives starters, the Paella entree, Scallop Ceviche, Pellegrino Sparkling Water and a couple deserts, Esquina’s new menu retains enough Spanish influence to warrant keeping the name.

The question being, will the new decor and menu changes be bold enough to attract the customers Esquina could not?

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The Locker Room opened on Saturday Feb 18th.

The location formerly operated as Freddy T’s, Billy B’s, Liverpool, and Afrobeat. It’s still on 99th and Holmes. Good luck with that much cursed location.

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Fuzzy’s Taco Shop opened January 26th at 101st and Wornall.

It’s run by owner Sandy Stack and General Manager Cristina Lanham. Both with close family ties to other restaurants and bars in the Overland Park area. They’re well on their way, and Lanham told me that they do a assload of to-go orders….ha ha.