Kirkwood council holds public hearing on request to add outdoor bar at Napoli Kirkwood

The Kirkwood City Council held a public hearing on a request to amend a special-use permit to allow an outdoor bar at Napoli Kirkwood, 436 North Kirkwood Road, in the James development plaza.

Planning and development services director Jonathan Raich told the council the proposal would convert roughly half of the restaurant’s existing, covered outdoor seating — an approximately 1,000-square-foot area under the building overhang — to include bar service and seating while keeping the overall outdoor-seat cap at 49. "The only item still active in their request is for this bar function, and not the, not the outdoor, live entertainment," Raich said, noting the applicant withdrew a request for outdoor live music during the planning and zoning review.

The planning and zoning commission recommended approval with conditions intended to keep the private restaurant area separate from the public plaza. The commission’s recommended condition requires a minimum 36-inch-tall ornamental rail fully separating the outdoor seating area from the public plaza and that entry to the area be monitored by restaurant staff. Raich said the measure was suggested because there is not a clear visual delineation at ground level between the private seating area and the surrounding public plaza.

Council members questioned how the delineation would affect public use of the plaza. Council member McLean said he supported activity downtown and expressed hesitancy about a permanent rail: "I don't like the fence, and I could I'd love it if they would use they have so much so many occupants there that they overflow a little bit every now and then." Council member Zimmer said the railing would help define the restaurant’s space and service: "It's gonna give it some delineation." Raich said the plaza is privately owned and maintained by the James but subject to a recorded public-use agreement that allows general public access; altering that recorded agreement would require a separate process.

Exhibits entered into the record by Miss Graves during the hearing included affidavits of publication showing notices ran in the Saint Louis Countian and the Webster-Kirkwood Times (04/11/2025), a list and map of property owners notified, a staff memo from Raich to the planning and zoning commission dated 04/02/2025, the planning and zoning commission report dated 04/03/2025, and the Kirkwood Code of Ordinances. Raich said the ordinance implementing any approved amendment would preserve the original ordinance’s hours of operation and other conditions while adding explicit authorization for a bar at 436 North Kirkwood Road in the approximately 1,000-square-foot east-end plaza area.

Council members also asked operational questions: the application showed roughly 16 bar seats if the bar is installed; the 49-seat cap would remain in place so the amendment would not increase the maximum allowed outdoor seats. The applicant described the bar as a combination of a fixed, lockable service station and a larger mobile bar element that could be moved seasonally; Raich said the fixed portion is intended to provide a lockable station for equipment.

Council members discussed signage and the plaza’s appearance. Raich said the City could discuss signage and aesthetic improvements with the applicant but stressed the legal status of the plaza — privately owned and maintained by the James with a recorded public-use agreement — limits unilateral changes.

With no members of the public signed to speak on the item, the council closed the public hearing and scheduled the ordinance for first-reading consideration at the May 15 council meeting.