By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
December 3, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — The Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce has gotten a little more soulful.

The Peachtree Cafeteria Brunch-Lunch-Dinner, known for its soul food and traditional Southern cuisine — with a menu including fried and baked chicken, salmon croquettes, oxtails, baked neckbones, smothered pork chops, Mississippi catfish, collard greens, candied yams and peach cobbler, moved into Gates Plaza, 2128 E. 12th St., earlier this year. Just recently, however, the restaurant became a member of the Northeast Chamber.

Peachtree is owned by Vera and Lavell Willis, who opened their first Peachtree restaurant at 6800 Eastwood Trafficway in 1996. Terrence Ramsey, assistant general manger with the Gates Plaza Peachtree Cafeteria, said the restaurant has been in the area before, with a location at 18th and Vine years ago. Ramsey said the establishment came back to the Northeast area because it’s a good location for the business and Ollie Gates was a strong influence in bringing them to the area.

“We call it Southern comfort food,” Ramsey said, adding his favorite food is the lemon baked catfish and the salmon croquettes.

According to the Peachtree website, the restaurant came about because Vera Willis wanted to share the “great Soul food recipes with the people of Kansas City that had been passed down to her from generations ago.” The Peachtree mission is to please every guest, leaving them with a one of a kind dining experience.

The Gates Plaza location is cafeteria style, as opposed to the buffet style of the Eastwood Trafficway location. Ramsey said the difference is the Peachtree employees serve the food for the customers.

“The cafeteria style was a different concept the owners wanted to try and see how well it would work in the Northeast area,” Ramsey said.

The restaurant decided to join the chamber, Ramsey said, because they wanted to have a bigger sense of community. He added they didn’t want to feel like the only ones not making a contribution. Ramsey has been with the Peachtree family for about 11 years and noted every location he’s worked at has always had a sense of community.

“We’re all about making a better impact for our community,” Ramsey said.

In a city known for its barbecue, Ramsey said the Peachtree restaurants set themselves apart not just by their food, but by their customer service.

“We get a lot of compliments on how cordial and abiding we are here,” Ramsey said. “Also, we have some pretty good food. And when the food is good and the price is right, then business usually tends to pickup.”

The Peachtree Cafeteria is open from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Peachtree is also available to cater for private events. For more information, you can call the restaurant at 816-214-5098 or visit them online at www.peachtreerestaurants.com.