In 2020, married couple and business partners Tim and Louise Wirick relocated to Kansas City from San Diego, California, with their three kids in tow. They had more than a decade of experience between them developing and managing luxury wedding and event spaces, which includes bar management for private events.
The following year, the couple established Skyline & Co., their own event space development and management company in Kansas City. The company is responsible for managing some of the most luxurious event spaces in the metro, including The Century Club, a two-story historic ballroom in the newly renovated 100-year old building that’s home to The Mark apartments in downtown Kansas City.
When The Century Club was completed, the couple inquired about an unfinished space on the ground floor of the same building. They loved the size of the space and agreed to finish it as another event space, named Noir, that they would manage.
When it isn’t rented as an event location, Noir serves as a cocktail lounge that’s open to the public Thursday through Saturday evenings between 6 p.m. and midnight. Reservations are required and can be made via Tock. The bar also serves as an amenity for those living in the building, who have a separate entrance from the lobby.
As part of its mystique, the general public must enter Noir via the alley on the west side of the building. The alley is well-lit, and guests will notice a set of light gray double doors with a small black lion’s head sporting a gold doorbell in its mouth mounted on the brick wall next to the doors. Simply ring the bell when you arrive for your reservations, and a manager will let you in and escort you down a hallway and though the door that leads to the stylish bar and lounge.
The name, Noir, was clearly the inspiration for the sophisticated deep, dark greenish-gray hue that saturates the ceiling, walls, trim, and built-in bookcases, giving the space the luxurious feel of an old-money library. There are several types of superbly comfortable seating vignettes scattered throughout, perfect for small intimate groups or larger gatherings. The couple spared no expense on the décor and lighting, which is kept low and moody in the evenings.
“We wanted to create a beautiful space to host parties in, but also we set out to create the kind of adult cocktail bar that we would want to go to ourselves,” says Tim Wirick. “We aren’t serving food at Noir at this time but are considering adding some snacks guests can order in the future.”
Behind the beautiful bar that runs along the back wall is a team of bartenders responsible for creating the seasonal list of craft cocktails and NA drinks and assembling the wine and beer lists.
Ryan Alexander is a bartender who has been working with the Wiricks for years, tending bar for private parties and working events at their other locations, and he is responsible for creating their popular drink, Fairy’s Folly.
“My inspiration for the drink came from a trip to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where I had absinthe. I learned about all of the myths surrounding absinthe, including the imaginary mind-altering hallucinogenic qualities represented in absinthe ads of the early 19th century as the “Little Green Fairy,” says Alexander.
The cocktail is both sweet and tart with a creaminess from the egg white and a pretty green sparkle from the edible glitter.
Fairy’s Folly
- 1 ounce Green Chartreuse
- 1.25 ounces Planteray Rum
- .75 ounce Falernum
- .75 ounce lime juice
- .25 ounce simple syrup
- .75 ounce egg white
- Splash of absinthe
- Edible green glitter
Pour the absinthe in a coupe glass, twirl to coat it, and discard any remaining absinthe in the glass. Add all remaining ingredients except glitter into a cocktail shaker. Dry shake without ice to combine all of the ingredients, then drain into a second cocktail shaker and shake with ice to chill it. Double strain the cocktail from the second cocktail shaker though a small sieve into coupe glass. Garnish with a dusting of edible green glitter.