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This weekend, I took a little vacay down to San Diego with my family. Of course, while there I had to do some stalking of the Top Gun Bar, aka Kansas City Barbeque, which sadly has been closed since June 26th of this year due to a major fire. I was very curious to see what the restaurant looked like since the devastating fire took place and what progress, if any, had been made on the restoration of the property.

I was actually shocked to see that the restaurant actually looked pretty good! I was expecting complete devastation, but I am happy to report that, from the outside, the place looks pretty much the same as it did before the fire, despite a few scorch marks.

While we were outside taking photographs, one of the staff members walked over to talk with us. He really could not have been nicer and he even showed us some photographs and newspaper articles about the fire. And he gave us the good news that, while the restaurant probably won'”‘”‘t be open for regular business until mid-November, there will be a Halloween party held there on October 31st! Not only is that great news, but it also allowed me to tie KCBBQ in with my Halloween theme for this month! 🙂

He told us that the kitchen area, which is located towards the rear of the restaurant and which is where most of the fire damage occurred, has already been entirely rebuilt. The interior seating area suffered mostly just smoke damage, and sadly much of the Top Gun memorabilia was lost, including the juke box where Kelly McGillis plays “You'”‘”‘ve Lost That Loving Feeling” in the closing scene of the movie. 🙁 But thankfully Goose‘”‘”‘s piano was salvaged, as were most of the candid photographs taken by KCBBQ staff during the filming.

The owners are asking for replacement memorabilia at this time. They are looking for anything having to do with Top Gun, the military, Kansas City, or flying in general. You can send any memorabilia you wish to donate to the address listed below. They ask that you sign and date everything you donate.

I am glad to report, too, that through the disaster KCBBQ kept its sense of humor – at one point they even added the letter “D” to the their logo out front so that it read “Kansas City Barbequed”. LOL I truly can'”‘”‘t wait for this San Diego (and Hollywood, for that matter) landmark to re-open. Until that time, if you happen to be in the area on Halloween, be sure to stop by KCBBQ. Tickets are $20 per person, but include all the alcohol you can drink.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Kansas City Barbeque is located at 610 W. Market Street in San Diego. The restaurant will hopefully re-open for regular business in mid-November. For more information you can visit their website.

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