The Riff Hotel

A music-obsessed boutique hotel taking shape inside three historic buildings on Kansas City's Admiral Boulevard, with turntable-equipped suites, a basement speakeasy and a listening lounge planned above VBRG's already-open Brass Monkey cocktail bar. The hotel component has missed its original October 2025 target and remains undated.

The place

The property occupies roughly 18,000 square feet across three conjoined historic buildings at Admiral Boulevard and McGee Street in downtown Kansas City, on the edge of the River Market and Rock Island Bridge district, one structure dating to the 1800s. The block sits a few minutes' walk from the Kansas City Streetcar line and the Rock Island Bridge pedestrian span.

The concept

The Riff is the project of Kansas City-based developer VBRG, led by Mark and Marissa Denton alongside managing partner Dan Scott, built around a music theme that runs through the whole building: a basement speakeasy, a listening lounge with live bands, DJs and guest vinyl checkout, and suites with turntables and 13-foot ceilings, each decorated around a particular song, genre or artist. VBRG originally targeted an October 2025 opening for the full property; that date has slipped, with local coverage in mid-2026 still listing the hotel itself as 'in development' and no confirmed new opening date. The room count has also been revised down over the course of the build, from an initially announced 22 rooms to 12 suites.

Dining & wellness

The Brass Monkey, a 50-seat speakeasy-style cocktail lounge occupying part of the ground floor, opened to the public on September 19, 2025, with its own street-level entrance separate from the hotel — making it, so far, the only piece of The Riff actually operating. Developers have also described a private first-floor club space and a rooftop bar as a later phase, plus an event space for around 300 people, but none of this beyond the Brass Monkey has opened or been given a firm date.