Culinary Center cooking with plans to expand from Overland Park into Northland shops

After nearly 30 years in downtown Overland Park, The Culinary Center of Kansas City is expanding with a second location.

It plans a late 2025 or an early 2026 opening in the former Ombra small plates + librations spot in The Village at Briarcliff, 4161 N. Mulberry St. in the Northland. The space will be remodeled.

“It is a wonderful location, right next to all the highways, just a wonderful little shopping area in a bustling community that continues to grow,” said Darren Palmet, owner of the center with Joe McConnell. “It has businesses that look like ours, that bring people together like Pinot’s Palette, and Fred Astaire Dance Studios — other experience-based businesses.”

The Culinary Center of Kansas City opened in mid-1998 at 7917 Foster St., taking a third of an historic Overland Park barrel-roof building that was once a buggy barn. It offered cooking classes along with hosting private dinners and events. 

By 2008 it had expanded into the rest of the building for a total of 5,900 square feet, adding a retail shop and switching to the 7920 Santa Fe Drive address.

Palmet and McConnell purchased the business in October 2023.

The retail section of The Culinary Center of Kansas City's Overland Park location, which leads to a hands-on kitchen classroom space; courtesy photo

A dinner table in the classroom space of the experience-based Culinary Center of Kansas City in Overland Park; courtesy photo

Palmet earned a bachelor of science degree from Cornell University, an MBA from New York University, and an MFA from The City College of New York. He worked in marketing and sales for such companies as Campbell’s, Prestige Brands Inc. and Unilever. He also served as chief marketing officer and head of human resources for locally owned Nolan Living. 

Joe McConnell, The Culinary Center of Kansas City

Darren Palmet, The Culinary Center of Kansas City

McConnell has a bachelor of science in engineering from Princeton and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. His background is in operational, financial and human resources for such companies as LinkedIn and McKinsey & Company, and was COO of a Nolan Living, a large multifamily real estate company.

They both like to cook.

“We had a broad vision for a company, especially coming out of the pandemic, that would bring people together,” Palmet said. “The kitchen is where a lot of magic happens.”

Since buying the culinary center, they have increased social media marketing, streamlined operations and focused the retail more on essential kitchen tools including some that participants use in the classes and then want for their own kitchens. 

“Beyond that, don’t mess with the formula too much,” Palmet said. “It is such a great business, people really love these classes.”

Classes include An Elegant Dinner of the Amalfi Coast; Knife Skills: An Essential Class for Cooks;  and Cocktail 101: A Mixology Class. It also has kids camps and classes.

Joanna Shawver of the Shawver Group handled the lease negotiations for The Village at Briarcliff; Erin Johnston of Copaken Brooks handled lease negotiations for The Culinary Center of Kansas City.

Alice Scooper’s Ice Cream also recently opened in the Village at Briarcliff.

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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.