KC steakhouse closes another location after contamination case. ‘Difficult decision’

Kansas City’s longtime steakhouse Hereford House has closed its Zona Rosa location.

A spokeswoman with the Northland shopping center told The Star the restaurant did not renew its lease after 20 years of being in the space at 8661 N. Stoddard Ave. Its last day was Sunday.

Hereford House confirmed in a statement to The Star that it had made the “difficult decision” to close but did not provide more details.

This marks the second closure in the last year for Hereford House following a high-profile scandal. A former Leawood employee was arrested last April for allegedly contaminating food served at the Johnson County spot. The Leawood location, 5001 Town Center Drive, closed just a few months after the incident. It had been open for 28 years.

Court documents accused Jace Hanson of urinating in the food and rubbing his buttocks and genitals on it.

Dozens of people filed lawsuits in subsequent months against the restaurant, claiming to have fallen ill.

In September, Hanson pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of criminal threat for allegedly contaminating food, one count of criminal damage and 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse materials.

Hereford House still has locations at 17244 Midland Drive in Shawnee and 19721 E. Jackson Drive in Independence.

The restaurant first opened in Kansas City’s Stockyards District in the greater downtown area in 1957. It sells steak, prime rib, chicken sandwiches and more.