A crowd-pleasing modern Italian restaurant that takes customers from happy hour to high-energy dinner to live DJ-curated late nights is coming to the Country Club Plaza.
V Modern Italian restaurant is the first tenant confirmed for the $35 million Cocina 47 development at 604 W. 47th St. It plans a late 2026 or early 2027 opening.
The operation is owned by Fast Fine Restaurant Group, a European hospitality group founded in 2017. It operates locations nationally and internationally, including a flagship V restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina (which opened earlier this year), and Tampa, Florida (which is scheduled to open in September). It also has restaurants in Stockholm and Madrid.
V Modern Italian is described as a “fast fine” dining experience. It serves authentic Italian cuisine developed in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Stefano Ciotti, and features a contemporary design with an open kitchen.
While dinner will be DJ-curated “high-energy and fun,” customers will still be able to connect with the people at their table during dinner, the company said.
The Roman numeral V represents the brand’s commitment to engaging all five senses, and is pronounced like the letter. Some fans just say V Modern, but internally they just call it V.
Customers can expect house-made pastas, antipasti, specialties, seasonal ingredients and gluten-free options.
It will have an extensive beverage program featuring handcrafted cocktails, spritzes, Italian aperitifs and a curated selection of European wines designed to pair with every course.
The Nashville menu includes such appetizers as limoncello burrata and char-grilled oysters, as well as the Utti Antipasti Tower — a chef-curated selection of its signature antipasti, served on a triple-tier tower. Entrees include Barolo wine braised short ribs and branzino (baked with lemon, capers, kalamata olives, candied tomatoes and garlic, and finished with a salmoriglio sauce and julienned soppressata). The menu also includes lobster ravioli, sourdough pizza, Baileys Irish Cream tiramisu and the “Cannoli Concierge” — tableside cannoli service, “delivered with sparklers and flair.”
One note: Customers will book reservations with their credit card and must cancel 24 hours in advance or be charged a fee of $15 per person, a policy with some big-city restaurants that has been mostly rebuffed by Kansas Citians.
Fast Fine said it will provide additional details, including menu highlights and programming, closer to the Cocina 47 opening.
“Kansas City is one of the most exciting and dynamic restaurant markets in the country,” said Ned Lyerly, CEO of Fast Fine, in a statement. “It’s a city that appreciates great food, genuine hospitality, and unique dining experiences, making it a natural fit for V Modern Italian.”
Equally important was its partnership with Drake Development, Lyerly said. While they explored other opportunities in the metro, it became clear that Cocina 47 was the best fit.
Cocina 47 is a three-story, luxury multitenant development led by Drake Development.
It features 20-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows on the front facade with patios overlooking the Plaza and bustling 47th street.
“They share our vision of creating destinations,” Lyerly said. “The combination of Drake Development’s vision, the Plaza’s iconic character, and the opportunity to be part of a thoughtfully curated dining destination made it the right choice.”
Kate Marshall is founder and president of the Plaza District Council, a nonprofit group that seeks to be a convener for Plaza-related planning and development projects, community issues and placemaking activities.
“V will be a fantastic addition to the Plaza area,” Marshall said. “I think it is a good match for Matt Pennington’s (CEO of Drake Development) vision for Cocina 47. Plaza area residents and visitors will be thrilled to have an exciting new option for dining out. It’s bound to become a favorite for date nights and special occasions.”
Keith Bradley, a partner and founder of Made in KC Marketplace on the Plaza, said Pennington put a lot of “effort and energy into that project so it is good seeing it come across the finish line.”
“We are always excited when any new tenant gets announced for the Plaza or Plaza-adjacent,” Bradley said. “There are still people willing to invest and it is exciting to have new investment coming off the heels of the World Cup, showing what the Plaza used to be and what it still could be.”
Drake Development previously redeveloped the Jack Henry building, a $50 million, 64,000-square-foot project just to the west of Cocina 47. It houses a Chiefs Fit premier fitness club and the metro’s only Puttery mini golf, bar and restaurant.
Seventh Church of Christ, Scientists relocated from the Cocina 47 site to the Jack Henry building to make way for the new development. But in August, it will move to a condominium on the southwest corner of the first floor of Cocina 47. Drake is looking for a restaurant to open in its current space.
“We’ve been treated very well by Matt Pennington and Drake Development and are looking forward to being in our new home,” said Pat Daniels, member.
In 2024, the Overland Park-based Drake demolished the church building (circa 1942) at 47th and Pennsylvania streets — to some protests by history buffs.
“I find it so sad to see this beautiful, historic church being demolished into (rubble),” said one Facebook post. Others said it couldn’t be salvaged and had some water and environmental problems.
Drake spent three years scouting premier operations in the U.S. and even abroad before focusing on V Italian Modern.
“This concept is run by a best-in-class operator that has done an amazing job with its culinary and experiential style of dining, providing a vibrant option for the Plaza,” Pennington said on Friday. “We want to have that great reason to come to the Plaza again so we were looking for one-to-market operators.”
Drake also is in negotiations for tenants for the 12,123-square-foot second floor and the 10,068-square-foot third floor. It has a signed letter of intent for the third floor and hopes to make an announcement before late September.
The Country Club Plaza also is bringing in such first-to-market exclusive retailers as Veronica Beard, Reformation and J.H. & Sons Clothier, as well as Vertice, a locally owned modern Italian restaurant scheduled to open in October.
“It’s an exciting time for the Plaza,” Pennington said. “Having the first of several more exciting announcements, not only from us, I think the momentum has turned the corner.”
This story was first published by Startland News.
