Heidi Gardner Took 25 Friends Back Home to Kansas City

No Vacancy gave me all these great ideas for the weekend, like having a coffee cart come to the hotel in the morning. They recommended a local company called the Wild Way Coffee, which has a little coffee trailer camper that pops up around town. We had our own barista in the lounge area at the hotel, and one after the other, people would slowly make their way out of their rooms to get a coffee. This was one of my dreams for the weekend, just being curled up and having coffee with friends. Plus, everyone was wearing the Madi Apparel pajamas, which sounds corny, but it wasn’t — it was a good scene.

There are a bunch of cute stores right under No Vacancy, and the whole area is very walkable, so the out-of-towners bopped around for a bit. There’s a really fun vintage store called Daisy Lee Vintage (122 W 18th St.) that’s kind of Y2K themed. I found my favorite sunglasses ever from there, these bright orange plastic oval glasses. People are always asking what brand it is, and I’m like, It’s just KC vintage. Occasionally, you can also find a vintage Kansas City Chiefs piece at Daisy Lee, which is cool.

I highly recommend Buffalo State Pizza Company (1815 Wyandotte St.), which is also just a few doors down from No Vacancy. Typically, I am not a fan of Hawaiian pizza. I mean, I like it. I think it’s novel enough. But Buffalo State has this slice called the Hawaiian Five-O that has just a little bit of blue cheese, Canadian bacon, and jalapenos, and it’s just a perfect flavor combo.

Jack and Anjelica. Photo: Maureen Donaldson/Liaison/Getty Images

Friday night was the big party, which was downstairs at No Vacancy’s bar, called Le Lounge. Each night had a different theme, and the second night was “downtown 1970s chic.” It’s all based off this photo of Anjelica Huston and Jack Nicholson that I just love. And I know, putting “downtown ’70s chic” on an invite means people will think of metallics and sequins, but I didn’t want a disco party; I wanted people to think just a little past that, to blazers and maroons so that we matched the vibe of the hotel. And it worked: At one point the owner of the hotel was telling me, “I didn’t know you had a theme. I just thought everyone matched the space really well.”

The No Vacancy team helped me find all the vendors for the party. They recommended Dispatch Pizza, which has a mobile wood-fired pizza oven, and they came and parked in the alley outside the hotel. They did six pizzas, two salads, and passed around charcuterie. The birthday cake came from Little Butter Bakery. The Cottage Rose (2016 Baltimore Ave.) did all the flowers. But most important of all, they got me a contact for the Marching Cobras.

The Marching Cobras are an incredible kid marching band in town, and growing up, if you were out and you heard the drums coming up the street, you would stop what you were doing and rush to wherever they were playing so that you could see the best marching band in the world. So I had them come to the hotel while it was still light outside, and once it was time, I was like, “Oh, I think something is happening outside.” Everyone lined up in the alley, and when my Kansas City friends realized what was going on they just started screaming. Everyone kept being like, “Who got them for you?” and I finally had to be like, “No, I got them for you!” This is heartbreaking, but the Marching Cobras actually disbanded this fall after 54 years. I feel so lucky I got in right under the wire. What a legacy! Kansas City’s finest!

Photos: Maddie Stringfellow Photography.

Photos: Maddie Stringfellow Photography.

The best DJ in Kansas City is Sheppa. I worked with him before, and when I told him I was throwing this party, he was like, Absolutely, I’m there. And really, he’s a star. Anyone that leaves a dance party with Sheppa is like, That’s the best DJ I’ve ever heard in my life — he’s a star, he’s a star. He does a show called the Love Boat every month at this place in town called the Ship (1221 Union Ave.), and he crafted his playlist a little bit off that show and a little bit off what he knows about me. But he did ask if there was one song I needed to hear, and because it was ’70s night, I was like, “Just play me ‘Daddy Cool’ by Boney M., and I’ll be good.” And then the dance floor just never really wrapped up. There was an amaro bar downstairs at the hotel that we were supposed to end up at, but everyone got so caught up in the dancing that the bartender just started bringing the bottles of amaro upstairs and pouring it into people’s mouths.

Some people at the party stayed at the hotel for a nightcap, and some other people went to Green Lady Lounge (1809 Grand Blvd.), this old-school jazz club that stays open until 3 a.m. It’s kind of like Kansas City’s version of the Nines. There’s red lighting, it’s kind of sexy, there are some lantern moments.