Big news for cheese lovers and fine-food aficionados—Green Dirt Farm is bringing its talents to the Crossroads. “I’ve been thinking about it for years,” says founder and owner Sarah Hoffman of her new restaurant venture, Green Dirt on Oak. “One of our big challenges is that it’s hard to reach customers up in Weston.” Though her flagship location and café in Weston get plenty of love, customers in Kansas City have been asking for a closer spot for years.
Cheese-making operations will also be expanding through Green Dirt on Oak. “We were running out of space in our cheese kitchen on the farm,” says Hoffman. Green Dirt’s award-winning cheeses will now be spread across two production facilities: soft cheeses will be produced in Weston, and aged and hard cheeses will be produced at the Oak Street location.
The menu at the new restaurant is the brainchild of Oskar Arevalo, who moved back to Kansas City from France during the pandemic, quickly becoming Green Dirt Farm’s head cheesemaker and now executive chef and director of culinary operations. “He’s an incredibly talented cheesemaker. He’s the kind of chef who wants to know how to make everything, and he makes fantastic charcuterie platters and cured meats and fermented foods,” says Hoffman. “He is very much a nose-to-tail chef who uses every part of the animal.”
Green Dirt on Oak will feature a “cheese hour” in lieu of a happy hour, a brainchild of Arevalo, featuring charcuterie and beverage pairings. The rest of the menu is in keeping with Green Dirt’s focus on local products, featuring fresh, seasonal ingredients, including its award-winning cheeses. A retail area will finish off the space, where Green Dirt Farm’s cheeses (and other local products) will be available for sale.
The space is set to open mid-March at 1601 Oak Street in Kansas City.