Why a globally-trained Spanish chef is building his new homebase from City Market

It’s all about the pan for Carlos Saura, a Spanish chef whose new paella and tapas spot in Kansas City’s bustling and diverse City Market is set to arrive in late summer or early fall — helping bring the historic marketplace district to 100-percent-leased capacity.

The Paella Mix, at 25 E. Third St., is expected to specialize in paellas, and classic sangrias. Saura wants to share the soul of Spain, he said — emphasizing its culture, flavors and the way people come together around a table. 

Carlos Saura, The Paella Mix; photo by Joyce Smith

Saura grew up in Seville in southwestern Spain, where his family and friends either dined out on paella, or lugged their paella pan with them so they could quickly set up a meal just about anywhere.

Later, he worked as a chef in Hong Kong for a decade, mostly serving Italian and French dishes. It is where he met his wife, who still works there but is from the Kansas City area. They want to relocate the family to Kansas City and this is a first step.

City Market gives Saura a more permanent spot to rest his pan, he explained. 

While he’s still finalizing the menu, paella options could include Paella Valenciana with chicken, pork, red pepper and rosemary; Paella de Mariscos with shrimp, clam and calamari; and Paella Negra with squid ink, shrimp, clam, calamari and white wine. 

Cooking paella typically leaves a layer of crispy, caramelized toasted rice at the bottom of the pan called socarrat, Saura said, noting that element is considered a delicacy and will be essential to dishes from The Paella Mix.

The restaurant’s tapas menu could include Croquetas Caseras (béchamel and jamon); Patatas Bravas (crispy potatoes topped with brava sauce and aioli); and Calamares Fritos (lightly fried calamari with aioli sauce). He’ll have two desserts: Tarta de Queso (a Basque burnt cheesecake), and Crema Catalana.

The future Paella Mix, 25 E. Third St., in Kansas City’s historic City Market; photo by Joyce Smith

Along with red and white sangria, The Paella Mix is expected to serve beer, Poppi and soda.

Saura hopes to create a private event space in an upstairs room overlooking the dining area, and he will have a catering operation, taking his paella pan on the road to set up at events.

“People want to watch, to see it in the moment,” he said. 

Sushi Nami rolls expansion into vacant kitchen 

Sushi Nami, 108 E. Fifth St., in Kansas City’s historic City Market; photo by Joyce Smith

City Market’s success also includes news from a space that went dark in summer 2024. The Northland’s Sushi Nami at Wok N Roll — known for its sushi and Japanese specialties — is expanding into the former Bo’s Kitchen, 108 E. Fifth St.

The new location — operating simply as Sushi Nami — is set to open in September, focusing exclusively on Japanese cuisine, with a menu by owner Stanley Ting that highlights fresh sashimi, inventive rolls, and traditional appetizers.

Signature rolls are expected to include the Burning Man (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, Thai chili pepper topped with tuna, avocado, spicy mayo, and sriracha sauce); the Flower Roll (cooked shrimp, marinated carrot, and avocado topped with tuna, white tuna, red snapper, and yellowtail with ponzu sauce); and the Godzilla Roll (shrimp tempura, crab meat, cream cheese, and avocado topped with eel sauce, spicy mayo, seaweed salad, and furikake). 

The menu is set to feature such appetizers as edamame, crispy gyoza, shrimp and vegetable tempura, and veggie spring rolls, along with mango ice cream and green tea ice cream for dessert.

Sushi Nami at Wok N Roll’s Northland restaurant is at 200 N.E. Barry Road.

Richard Ng, Bo’s Kitchen, Bo Lings; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Bo’s Kitchen — a fast-casual pivot by the owners of Bo Lings, who relocated their City Market operation  a half a block to the east in late 2023 — closed in late spring 2024, with management posting signage indicating renovations within the space and a planned mid-summer reopening.

It instead sold to Sushi Nami in a deal that closed in early June 2025. 

After decades in the restaurant business in Kansas City, Richard Ng, co-owner and co-founder with his wife, Theresa, said the family is trying to slow down a bit. They also sold the majority of their stake in their Bo Lings on the Plaza, which is now known as Heritage by Bo Lings.

From the archives: New owners for Bo Lings’ Plaza location; here’s what the beloved restaurant is adding to its menu

Minsky’s Pizza Cafe & Bar at City Market; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Tender move to dial back aging favorite

Owners of a popular local pizza chain are de-emphasizing a sister brand with Kansas City roots that go back nearly 100 years at their shared City Market location.

Tenderloin Grill was a Southwest Boulevard mainstay starting in 1932, from its humble beginnings as a pushcart to a restaurant. While other menu items were added through the years, its house-made tenderloin — hand-battered and deep-fried, then topped with mustard, horseradish, onion, tomato and its secret hot sauce — became part of its moniker and its tagline: “Home of Kansas City’s Best Tender.” 

Four years ago, three men connected to Minsky’s Pizza Cafe & Bar, acquired the restaurant (which had been closed for a year), along with its name and the recipes.

“We tried it out on the Boulevard and parking always made it tough,” said Ken Kantner, a partner in Tenderloin Grill and Minsky’s.

Kansas City’s City Market, July 2025; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News

Tenderloin Grill menu items at Minsky’s Pizza Cafe & Bar in City Market; photo by Joyce Smith

A couple years later, the City Market approached them about relocating or expanding. The owners chose to relocate to the district for the parking, foot traffic and hope of expanding their dinner business. (They leased the building at 900 Southwest Boulevard to Lilly’s Cantina). 

“It was great. Take an old brand to the City Market; one of the oldest restaurants and one of the oldest places in the city,” Kanter said. “It was doing OK but not as good as we would have liked. It was tough being the only restaurant open later on that east side of City Market. There wasn’t much foot traffic in the inner square of the market in the evenings.”

Owners are dialing back Tenderloin Grill in lieu of more consistent pizza offerings.

But its tenderloin and Tenderger (tenderloin and cheeseburger on the same bun) are still available for dine-in, delivery and pickup at the Minsky’s in the City Market, Liberty, and Zona Rosa, and seem to be especially popular in the Northland.

“The City Market is a little more ‘foods from around the world,’” Kanter said. “But we own the Tenderloin Grill brand and see the value in honoring a brand that has been around that long.”

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Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.