Funky Town KC is far from the fun and exciting night club it was years ago. Went there for my 21st birthday in 2013 and it has been a yearly tradition for so many birthdays since. However, it is very much missing nearly ALL of its good points. They used to have staff that would dance and get people on the dance floor. Not anymore. They used to open the dance floor officially at 9PM on the dot with a performance of the song "Funkytown". Now it plays by 10PM if you're lucky, and no performance aside from them playing it at top volume on their blown out speaker system. They used to have staff going table to table getting orders. Not anymore.
Recently visited this last Saturday 7/22 and it was probably the worst experience we have ever had there. The price increases are ridiculous. It was an $8 cover charge for years, and it increased to $10 after COVID. They increased it again to $15 per person, which for the experience we had is honestly not worth it. We counted a total of 6 staff all night. One was the door checker checking IDs and coats. They had 2 DJs behind the DJ booth at all times, 2 bartenders and we saw one security personnel. We assume that is who they were as they told people to get off of the cage on the dance floor. Only 1 bar was open, as the second bar area behind the van (that used to be open years ago) has read "coming soon" for literally years as if they are renovating that area. Still have no idea what renovations they are doing there. Dust, grime and who knows what covered the ceilings so thickly we didn't know what we were looking at at first. Only 1 of the 2 pool tables were open. The one that was available, was so broken it was almost unplayable as the pool balls would lose all momentum after hitting a side wall. You could literally feel the pieces of the side walls underneath the felt and could feel how broken they were. It took almost 40 minutes of waiting in line to get drinks (we literally had a timer going). Drink prices also increase significantly. An AMF used to be $9 and it is now $12 and not nearly as strong as they usually are. Water is not free, nor do they offer ice water in a cup. Only bottle water is available for $2.50 and its a small bottle of spring water. No food is available either. They used to have a full menu with fun little dishes like Britney Pickle Spears and M.C. Hammer-burger etc. After COVID they were selling Jack's brand pizza (which you can get for $1.50 at your local Walmart) for $12 per pizza. Now they have NO food options, which blows my mind. The music was so loud and the speakers were so blown out that my ears are STILL ringing as I am typing this out days after my visit.
Funky Town has a great group of patrons that regularly visit because of its uniqueness. However, all those unique qualities, aside from the retro decor inside and the setlist, are almost all gone. While I understand that COVID had a huge impact on local businesses, I cant help but feel that just isn't the case here. The lack of staff, the lack of up keep, the lack of care in this establishment is do diminished it is sad. Hopefully the owner is able to complete renovations, hire more staff, clean the place up and make some much needed repairs and maintenance in order to bring it back to its former glory. Sadly, I don't see that happening, and will probably have to just watch this used to be gem slowly die. read more