Today we’d like to introduce you to Leslie Newsam.
Hi Leslie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started out working in restaurants when I was 14 bussing and hosting at a restaurant where my parents were regulars. I just could not get the industry out of my system every time I tried to do something else. At 21, I started serving and completely fell in love with the guest aspect of it. I am a very shy person inherently, so forcing myself to be uncomfortable really pushed and challenged me. Fast forward a couple years and the owner at Room 39 told me to learn more that I needed to move to New York. I worked at restaurants and lived in New York for 5 years before coming back to Kansas City where I ended up meeting my husband Nick. We got engaged and wanted to learn more, so we moved to San Francisco to work in restaurants there. We got married in San Francisco, went on our honeymoon to Japan and fell in love. We moved to Copenhagen for Nick to do an internship and I wrote our business plan for Antler Room. We moved back and started doing pop ups and started looking for a space. We have now been open for almost 10 years. During this whole time, we had been dreaming about a new smaller place to honor our love for Japanese food. In 2025, we found the space to open Anjin. We have had so much fun with the smaller concept and were honored as finalists for the James Beard awards for best new restaurant.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been an insane amount of learning moments. We were on such an amazing stride when Covid hit and we had to immediately pivot. We really learned about our priorities and what we wanted from working so hard all the time with late nights and long hours.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Antler room, we are a restaurant built on the food and beverages that we love. We specialize in pasta and all things bread related. We make everything from scratch and have always done things how we want them to be done. We have never answered to those thinking that we need a steak or a burger or a California cabernet. When we got best new restaurant from Bon appetite, it just confirmed that what we were doing was a good thing.
At Anjin, we are a 20 seat space with all the seating surrounding the kitchen. Everything is on display and we have had such a fantastic time being more connected to guests, seeing their reactions and watching them be a part of all the activities.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Being patient and also aware of others emotions.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theantlerroomkc.com and www.anjinkc.com
- Instagram: @anjinkc and @antlerroomkc
