The Freight House is a historic railroad building just north of Union Station in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Missouri. The renovated Freight House is now home to three award-winning restaurants: Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, Grunauer (German and Austrian food) and Lidia's. The building is located immediately east of the Stuart Hall Building, and it is connected via pedestrian bridge to Union Station. The pedestrian bridge was added in 2003, and its main component is an 1892 railroad span that had been sitting unused on the river bluffs until it was moved to its new location.[1]
The Freight House was originally constructed in 1887. Over the years, the structure fell into severe disrepair until it was purchased by Sterling Capital in 1995. The 500-foot (150 m) long and 40-foot (12 m) wide Freight House would probably have been demolished, but the group of investors envisioned a restaurant, retail, and office center with a hotel and parking garage. Those plans were soon scaled back to focus on developing three restaurants on the property.[2]
The first restaurant to open at the Freight House was Lidia’s Kansas City. Lidia's is an Italian restaurant that was opened by celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich in October 1998.
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