New KC music venue aims to be ‘very alternative, everyone-is-welcome type of place’

The Riot Room, Dave’s Stagecoach Inn, Arizona Trading Co.: Several longtime anchors of alternative culture in Westport have closed up shop in recent years.

Lately, a new arrival, Sk8bar, has begun to fill some of that void. The skate shop and music venue opened last month in the former Arizona Trading Co. space at 209 Westport Road.

“More than anything we’re a live music venue,” said Brandon Rock, who owns Sk8bar with his wife, Jesse, and T.J. Vazquez. “We’ve got 25 shows booked out of 31 days in October.”

The acts booked run the gamut from hip-hop to darkwave, but the overall ethos and aesthetic leans toward hardcore and punk. Fans of former midtown venues like Davey’s Uptown Ramblers Club and Vandals should feel at home.

The Rocks originally opened Sk8bar in 2022 in St. Joseph , selling skate decks and parts by day and hosting live music at night. They closed up shop after two years and made the move to Kansas City, partnering with Vazquez and leasing the recently vacated Arizona Trading Co. space.

Here, the shop doesn’t open until 5 p.m.

“There’s a lot of awesome skate shops in KC that have been here forever, like Escapist ,” Rock said. “So if you need something during the day, go to them. If you break your board at midnight, you can stop by and see us. We have everything you need to build a board.”

They’ve built a stage in the back corner of the space and brought in four pinball machines, a TV with a VHS player, and a Xbox. A couple of Arizona Trading Co.’s old fitting rooms have been converted into restrooms.

They’ve also built a bar, though Sk8bar is still waiting on its liquor license. (Rock said they expect to receive it this week.) Eventually, they’ll have a full bar, with beer, wine and mixed drinks. For now, it’s canned Kava drinks, energy drinks, matcha and some Delta 8 cannabis beverages.

Rock said the shows are all-ages for now but will be 21+ after 8 p.m. once they’re serving alcohol. Sk8bar is open every night of the week until 1:30 a.m.

“I grew up going to the Outhouse outside Lawrence, which was this DIY, antiracist, very alternative, everyone-is-welcome type of place,” Rock said. “That’s what we’re hoping to create here.”