The Pairing: Crossroads Wine & Grocer

05/29/2025

That’s a wrap.
We are officially closed and the tear out of fixtures is almost complete and it’s time to officially retire this thing we called The Pairing.
It’s been an amazing ride with the highest of highs and lowest of lows, but through it all we met some really amazing people and got to be a part of a lot of amazing moments.
As we make our departure, I wanted to take a second to mention a few names.
A lot of folks have mentioned how hard it’s going to be to find another liquor store that offered as unique selection of wine and spirits  as we did and to that I want to say this,
There are a handful of amazing bottle shops around this city that are happy to help with those needs and help fill the void left behind here at 1615 Oak St.
If you are anywhere near downtown Kansas City, please consider Cellar Rat Wine Merchants.
They’ve been around for many many years and have an amazing staff  that should be able to help in just about any and all of your liquor and wine needs.
If you are on the south side of the city, I would like to recommend Plaza Liquor or Marco Polo Selections.
There are many other liquor stores around the city that are more than qualified and eager to help out and most importantly, they probably need it now more than ever.
Please support your locally owned businesses.

I also want to take a minute to let everyone know you will be able to find Kate Blackman over at The Antler Room. I don’t know about you, but I look forward to bellying up to that bar and keeping in touch but also to watch her continue to grow in this industry. 

Nicole, Jenna, Halliday, Andy, Chloe, and Mitzi have always had their hands in multiple jobs over the years but they’re out there and you’ll definitely see them around here and there.
I wish them each the best and they will forever be a part of my chosen family.

As for me well, I have ideas but as of now that’s about all they are, just ideas.
Maybe I’ll go bartend. Maybe I’ll open my own bar again. When I know for sure though I’ll make an announcement.
For now it’s time for a sabbatical and some time forever myself to regroup and decide whats next.

I’ll carry The Pairing with me until the day I die and forever be grateful for the people and experiences that all came with it.

So much love to everyone , especially my wife Kay for being such a huge part of the support group that helped us make it as far as we did.

Hope to see ya’ll out there on the other side real soon.
Mat



05/23/2025

People keep asking what’s left and it’s so little. I can almost tell you exactly what we have left in stock.

Whiskey - maybe a dozen bottles
Tequila - ONE BOTTLE
Gin - zero!
Rum - three bottles!
Vodka - less than 20 bottles
Red wine- maybe 4 dozen bottles total
Beer - lots of great Belgian lambic and maybe a dozen or so six packs and four packs.
non-alcoholic - 10 or so six packs
there’s a few other miscellaneous loose ends, but that’s about it.
COME AND GET IT!!!
also, our auction is still up and we are starting to see an increase in bidding. Thank you for sharing that link!
https://www.equip-bid.com/auction/39496?&page=1

05/15/2025

I’ll say it again,
50% off EVERYTHING!
All beer singles only $2!
All 50ml (airplane bottles) only $2!
Final day of operation will be Saturday 24th.
In the meantime, you can find us here 2 PM to 7 PM Wednesday through Saturday.

05/13/2025

Hey Folks,
Mat here again.
Things are really winding down and we are fast approaching the official finish line for The Pairing.
We are going to continue running retail through the 24th of this month. Sales will be their biggest ever as we push out what little remaining inventory we have left.
Everything is officially up and available for bidding at our online auction. Whether it be a souvenir, random kitchenware and appliances, or industrial refrigeration, it is all for sale online.
I try not to make it a habit of asking people to share posts, but any help in spreading the word about this auction is an enormous help for us right now.
I’ll likely check in again at the very end of all this, but for now I find myself once again just saying thank you to every single person who’s been a part of this journey, especially the last five or so months.


✨The Pairing, Kansas City, MO✨ ✨ Commercial Refrigerator, Wall-Mounted Shelving,Back Bar Storage and More!!✨ * *They are opened Wed-Sat 2PM-&7PM If you want to stop in a...

05/01/2025

We just wanted to check in and say hi and remind everybody we are still here for a couple more weeks with very limited hours.
Wednesday-Saturday 2pm-7pm
while we have thinned out the majority of our inventory, we do have a lot of great bottles left to unload still.
Everything in the store is on sale.
all beer and spirits are 20% off. all Wine is 30% off
everything from our garage sale that is left over is getting ready to go to auction but if you come see us before next week we will still have many of those items available.
we hope y’all are doing well and hope to catch you down the line somewhere else very very soon.
Cheers!

04/21/2025

This is among one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to post.
I knew when I announced that I would be closing The Pairing that it would prove to be its own challenge in and of itself and may be as difficult getting out of as it was opening in the first place.
We had wheels in motion to sell things off and move onto the next chapter of our life.
Over the course of the last three or four days deals have not worked out as planned and so I find myself stuck between a very unfortunate rock and a hard place.
As of now the buyout process has come to a standstill. Here’s what that means.
I still have about 1/4 of my inventory I need to liquidate along with some large fixtures as well.
So starting this Wednesday The Pairing will once again be open for business from 2 PM to 7PM Wednesday through Saturday. We will be open until we liquidate everything or until June 1 when our contract is up and we legally need to be vacated from the building.
Everything is pretty much being sold at or around cost.
This sucks and it feels like having to tear the Band-Aid off all over again.
That being said, one foot in front of the other and one day at a time until June 1 arrives.
Lastly, I want to wrap this up with one very VERY important detail.
While I am disappointed, we were not able to come to a mutual agreement there is no bad blood or ill will towards the people taking over the space. We simply were not able to come to an agreement and I suppose that’s just how business goes sometimes.
I still love this neighborhood so much and am excited to see the concept that is set to take over this space that we called The Pairing for the last six years.
For now though, apparently The Pairing isn’t quite done yet.

04/02/2025

Ever since the day we made the announcement we were closing our doors I’ve been asked over and over “why? What happened?“.
My most common answer given is simply the fact that this is no longer a sustainable long-term thing.
Full disclosure though, we’ve also known about the fear of lingering tariffs if Trump won the election. He did and that definitely played a factor in our decision to close.
I would much rather eat crow and be proven wrong but here we are with the tariffs being even worse than imagined.
so why did we make the decision to close the doors you ask? In part, this right here.
The last thing I wanted was to give up on my dream but I also didn’t have much choice I suppose.
F**k Total Wine, f**k Costco and f**k Trump!
if you wanna support your city shop local at every opportunity!

04/01/2025

First of all, please take a moment and bask in my flyer making skills. 🤣🫣😬

Friday at Noon we kick off the beginning of our Pairing garage sale.
just like all the booze, everything must go!
far too many goodies to list here, but they should give you an idea.
there might also be a few surprise items. Ya never know.
this will run as long as items are available. Whether it be one hour or one week, you’ll be able to hit the garage sale until everything is gone.

come see us and maybe you can take a piece of The Pairing home with you.