Peek inside: Buffalo State Pizza takes another slice of ownership with fresh-baked downtown OP relocation

Three decades of pizza at a popular downtown Overland Park corner might have come to a close this week, as the crew at Buffalo State Pizza Co. picked up the last of what they could carry and walked it a half block down the street to the shop’s new home near another local favorite, The Peanut.

Its relocation was in the works for more than a year, with the pizzeria mainstay completing its move to the larger barrel roof, historic Ford building at 7932 Santa Fe Drive a few days ago. It opened to the public at the new site Thursday.

The former Buffalo State Pizza location at 7901 Santa Fe; photo by Joyce Smith

The former location — a pizza shop since 1995, most recently known for the Buffalo State Pizza brand’s New York-styled hand-tossed, thin-crust pizza that comes in 14-inch, 18-inch, 26-inch or plate-sized slices — had about 25 employees; the new spot will have about 35.

“We care about our staff,” said Philippe Lechevin, co-owner and a French-trained chef. “About 30 percent have been here from nine years and up. We support the community, and we are here every day.”

Rather than paying a rent increase at the old location that would have been on par with a mortgage, Lechevin and Steve Robson, co-owner and chef, opted to buy the 6,423-square-foot 7932 Santa Fe Drive space.

They next spent $400,000 on the build-out — dining room, full bar, new kitchen, dedicated to-go area, and more room for live entertainment. The upstairs mezzanine overlooks the dining area and can seat up to 50 people.

An upstairs mezzanine at Buffalo State Pizza overlooks the new dining area that can seat up to 50 people; photo by Joyce Smith

A Ford dealership originally operated in the new space — giving the building its name — then another dealership by the 1930s, according to Brad Moore, executive director and CEO of the Overland Park Historical Society. In the mid-1940s, it was The Barter Body Shop. The Overland Park Glass Co. operated there for decades. It also was home to a wine tasting room and vinyl record store.

County records put the building at circa 1918. A plaque on the facade says 1923.

A buffalo-themed painting by longtime Overland Park artist Nicole Emanuel at Buffalo State Pizza; photo by Joyce Smith

Another longtime downtown Overland Park business, McNary’s Furniture & Restoration, built the restaurant’s bar, dining room tables, and even the wooden trash cans. McNary’s also built the tables for the old Buffalo State location a dozen years ago.

The exposed brick walls feature colorful Buffalo-themed pieces by longtime Overland Park artist Nicole Emanuel (she also did the pieces at the old restaurant).

The Buffalo State partners helped to fund the move through Honeycomb Credit, raising $62,942 on a minimum target of $50,000 with a 10 percent interest rate with 51 investors.

“It’s a way to get money from private investors. They invest with us and we pay them back on a monthly basis,” Lechevin said.

From the archives: How a crowdfunding site is adding extra cheddar to Buffalo State Pizza’s relocation plans

Another restaurant tenant is now in negotiations to take the former space at 7901 Santa Fe, which 30 years ago welcomed Papa Keno’s Pizzeria to the corner, ushering in a lengthy pizza era for the downtown spot.

But it would be more than a decade before Lechevin and Robson first met in 2008, when the two were working for a food service provider, Compass Group USA, in 2008. They later worked under Aramark at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

While scrolling the internet one night in 2013, Lechevin came across a listing for a restaurant for sale in downtown Overland Park. He emailed the broker at 2 a.m.

The chefs wanted to do their own concept, maybe not a French bistro, but something more elevated. However, Lechevin said the seller, Papa Keno’s, wanted to keep it under that brand and licensing agreement.

“And that’s how we ended up running Papa Keno’s,” Lechevin said.

In late 2017, the duo expanded with a Crossroads restaurant at 1815 Wyandotte St.

A couple years later, when the Papa Keno’s licensing agreement expired, they broke away from the brand and created their own — Buffalo State Pizza Co. — in a nod to the official state animal of Kansas.

“We don’t have to pay a royalty to anyone, we can do our own thing and change the menu when we want to,” Lechevin said.

The wide-variety menu at Buffalo State Pizza; photo by Joyce Smith

A fresh pizza at Buffalo State Pizza; photo by Joyce Smith

The brand uses fresh premium ingredients from local vendors when possible, such as produce from the Overland Park Farmers’ Market, and Kansas City’s Scimeca’s Italian Sausage Co.’s sausages and meatballs.

“We don’t use anything frozen — fresh bacon cooked in house, fresh chicken, fresh produce,” Lechevin said.

The pizzeria’s most popular specialty pizzas are the Stockyard (with ground beef, pepperoni, bacon, Scimeca’s sausage, and Parmesan), and The Maverick (with meatballs, spicy capicola, salami, banana pepper, and provolone cheese).

It also has sandwiches including a Tuscan turkey, meatball grinder, and chicken popper (roasted chicken, cream cheese, Parmesan, provolone and jalapeno). Other menu items include breadsticks, salads, and housemade chocolate chip cookies.

Its new vegan offerings include the KC Q Vegan (with vegan chicken, red onion, vegan cheese, fresh cilantro and vegan barbecue sauce), and the El Patron Vegan (with vegan chorizo, vegan cheese, jalapeno, Roma tomato, fresh cilantro, pickled red onion, and vegan taco sauce). They come as a calzone or pizza, and customers also can build-their-own vegan pizza or calzone.

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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.