Kansas City’s Anjin finalist
Anjin, a restaurant near 17th Street and Oak by the old Kansas City Star building, is a James Beard Award finalist and is pitching that status as a way to cultivate more adventurous eaters locally. KCUR’s profile frames the finalist nod as a potential national spotlight for Kansas City’s dining scene. (kcur.org)
Anjin, a 20-seat Japanese-style pub in Kansas City’s Crossroads, is a finalist for the 2026 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. (kcur.org) The James Beard Foundation announced the finalists on March 31, and winners are scheduled to be named June 15 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Anjin is listed in the national Best New Restaurant category. (jamesbeard.org) Nick Goellner and Leslie Newsam Goellner opened Anjin in July 2025 at 1708 Oak Street, near 17th and Oak by the old Kansas City Star building. KCUR reported the couple built it to introduce Midwest diners to a broader range of Japanese cooking than the sushi-and-ramen shorthand common in many markets. (kcur.org) (anjinkc.com) Anjin describes itself as an izakaya, a Japanese neighborhood bar centered on drinks and small plates. The restaurant’s own menu language emphasizes rotating yakitori, seasonal specials, sake, shochu and Japanese beer rather than a large conventional dining-room format. (inkansascity.com) (anjinkc.com) That format is unusually small for a national awards contender. KCUR and IN Kansas City both describe a bar-facing room of about 20 seats, with diners looking directly into the kitchen as dishes are prepared. (kcur.org) (inkansascity.com) The James Beard nod arrives less than a year after opening because the award’s eligibility window is built for recent arrivals. Foundation criteria say new businesses opening after September 30, 2024 were eligible for the 2026 Restaurant and Chef Awards cycle. (jbf-media.s3.amazonaws.com) KCUR said Anjin’s owners are using the finalist run to push local diners toward what Leslie Newsam Goellner called a restaurant style that “wasn't just sushi or ramen.” The outlet also reported that prime reservation times book quickly, with the most common openings around 5:30 p.m. or after 9 p.m. (kcur.org) Kansas City had six James Beard semifinalist nominations this year, according to Visit Kansas City, but Anjin advanced to the final round in a national restaurant category. That gives the city one more national-stage test before the awards ceremony in Chicago on June 15. (visitkc.com) (jamesbeard.org)
