The Kelly's Story

In February 1947, Randal Kelly, a native of County Clare, Ireland, was hired as a bartender at 500 Westport Road, then called Westport Inn.  Randal's witty sense of humor, unpretentious attitude and giving hand won him great popularity. It wasn't long before people were calling the place Kelly's.

Sons Randy, Pat and Kyle started their careers in '66, '69 and '71, respectively.  In May of 1977, Randy moved to the Lake of the Ozarks and opened Kelly's Port, a full service marina.  In June of 1977, the bar became officially known as Kelly’s Westport Inn. Randal passed away in 1988 leaving the operation to Pat and Kyle. In 2012 two of Kyle's children, Colleen and Mitch, became third-generation owners.

Kelly's Westport Inn is a must-see Kansas City destination. With a diverse crowd, live music, colorful history, weekday specials and always someone with a good story, Kelly's is an Irish pub like no other.

About the Building

The building that Kelly’s Westport Inn occupies is, in fact, the oldest in Kansas City.  Built in 1851 by the Ewing brothers, it has housed a remarkable array of businesses.  In the 19th century the building was a grocery catering to the wagon trains as they headed west on the Sante Fe Trail- which, incidentally, passed right by the front door!

The Widenmann family owned the building from 1903-1995.  George Wiedenmann Sr.’s ashes can be seen in a Ten High bottle behind the bar.

When prohibition was repealed on August 11th, 1934, a liquor license was issues to The “Wrestlers Inn” at 500 Westport Road.  The location has been a saloon to this day. 

In honor of its rich and colorful past, the building was designated a national historic landmark in 1959.  When you operate a public drinking establishment in a national landmark, you want to be careful about making too many changes.  It is for this reason that the management requests that you smile when you call this landmark “a dump!”   Some call it dust, we call it charm!