Rieger Plugging Electric Park Garden Bar into East Bottoms Destination

(Editor’s note: The Electric Park Garden Bar is scheduled to open this Thursday, Oct. 7. CityScene is taking some time off for a vacation, this article originally appeared on July 30.)

Two years after opening his destination distillery in the East Bottoms, Andy Rieger of J. Rieger & Co. is adding an outdoor patio bar and atrium called Electric Park Garden Bar this fall.

The 11,000 square-foot facility is named after the long-gone Electric Park, an amusement park that entertained Kansas Citians arriving on streetcars in the early 1900s and had beer piped directly from the former Heim Brewery at 2700 Guinotte Ave.

In 2019, Rieger redeveloped the historic brewery into a distillery and entertainment destination that included an upstairs lounge, basement speakeasy, tasting room, gift shop and exhibition area chronicling his family’s distilling history dating to 1887.

Now, he’s bringing more outdoor entertainment opportunities to the mix.

The Electric Park Garden Bar will offer two distinct spaces; a completely open-air patio bar and an adjoining atrium that will serve as an indoor and outdoor extension of the distillery’s tasting room, according to a press release.

The Electric Park Garden Bar includes a spacious patio. (Rendering by GastingerWalker&)

“We really wanted to create a fun, energetic, and large outdoor gathering space that has the same level of excellence in food, beverage, and design that our guests have enjoyed in our indoor spaces since 2019,” Rieger said in a statement.

The space will be outfitted with turf, professional landscaping, and mature trees to create a park-like atmosphere, with reclaimed brick pavers that were once the road that ran through the property, according to the release.

Guests can expect a variety of beverages including frozen cocktails, boozy snow-cones, draft cocktails, and cocktail floats, according to the release. The bar will also have its own food trailer with items prepared by Jordan Hayes, executive chef of J. Rieger.

The J. Rieger & Co. distillery and entertainment center is in the renovated Heim Brewery bottling building which was completed in 1901.

The new outdoor patio space will be open seasonally April through November and will be dog on leash friendly.

The atrium will be open year-round and will follow the tasting room hours. It’s described as a “great space to watch any game, the atrium will offer lounge seating and three large TVs.”

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