Glazer: Westport Flexes Its Party Muscles, Claims High Ground on St. Paddy’s

It’s ridiculously official…

Westport’s back and it’s bad. It was so packed yesterday for St. Patrick’s Day you couldn’t get near the place without getting trapped in major traffic jams. As early as 11 AM. I tried to slip into the area and had to duck in and out of the sidestreets to make it into the heart of Westport.

Here’s the honest to god deal, they don’t need the St. Patrick’s Day parade to lure Kansas City to Westport on a Saturday. That’s by far the busiest drinking day and night of the year.

"I hit the beer tent on the Kelly’s lot at 9 A.M. and they never turned my beer tap off ALL DAY until they took a break around 7 PM," said Westport point man Bill Nigro.  "I’ve seen huge crowds down here over my 30 years, but this was the biggest ever."

I checked out the Power & Light District afterwords around 1 PM and there wasn’t even a fraction of the crowd Westport had. I’m sure it got busier later, but some of our staff hit them both and said there was no comparison. 

Westport was 10 times busier than P & L

The word’s out, Westport’s taken the club biz back from all comers, including Power & Light.

Yes, getting rid of hip-hop and rap was a big part of it.

But the district is also CLEANER AND NEATER than it’s been in the recent past. New bars like Gusto and The Union are kicking butt, There’s stronger and younger leadership. The Beaumont Club is bringing in a mix of the top new artists and acts out there.

And on St. Patrick’s Day, Kelly’s lines never stopped until late at night and their outdoor deck was a HIT!

Again, being on a Saturday helped. Not to mention the 78 degree weather and that the riff raff is long gone.

It’s a nice story to see our local little guys crush the corporate raiders downtown.

And Westport’s comeback has only just begun.

Keep an eye on this amazing turnaround and I just might have a little secret to share with you before too long.