Jul. 31--The Country Club Plaza's Uno Chicago Grill will close Sunday after 10 years of operation.

"An agreement has been made with Highwoods and us to terminate the lease," restaurant manager Barclay Berberian said Thursday.

Officials with Highwoods Properties, the landlord, declined to comment.

The location, at 4710 Jefferson St., has 35 employees. Franchisee Doughboy LLC said it would try to offer some of the workers positions at its locations near Liberty and in Overland Park.

Doughboy recently sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets of $3.4 million and debts of $5.48 million, including $240,000 to Highwoods.

"The intent is to reorganize and get some of the stores' debts under control," said attorney Mike Nigro, who represents Doughboy, at the time of the filing.

The three Uno restaurants are among more than 200 nationwide and abroad owned or franchised by Uno Restaurant Holdings Corp. of Boston.

A locally owned restaurant group on Thursday said it was in final negotiations to take over Uno's Plaza location.

Not quite

A billboard on westbound U.S. 50 was a bit premature.

"Summit Fair. JCPenney & Macy's. Now Open!" the billboard proclaimed for the last week.

Only problem: The stores weren't open yet.

J.C. Penney had a soft opening Saturday, and a grand opening is scheduled for today.

Macy's had a soft opening Thursday and will offer its Charity Shopping Day on Saturday. The official opening is Aug. 5.

A few shoppers showed up at the center, wondering why the stores were closed.

Who's to blame?

"I don't want to throw anybody under the bus," said Cassie Lane, marketing director for Summit Fair.

A new billboard was supposed to go up Thursday with the grand opening dates.

The 500,000-square-foot, open-air center is a joint venture of RED Development and CBL & Associates Properties Inc. Tenants will include home furnishings stores, men's and women's fashion, restaurants and specialty retailers, including Sakura Sushi and Jake's Summit, a Life Is Good brand retailer.

Ernesto Peralta, partner in Circle Restaurant Group, owner of Blanc Burgers + Bottles, plans to open B:2 A Burger Boutique there by November.

Located off Interstate 470 and U.S. 50, Summit Fair is just east of RED Development's SummitWoods Crossing, whose tenants include SuperTarget, Best Buy, Borders and Kohl's.

Side Pockets closing

Side Pockets, which emphasizes food, fun and fair play, plans to close its Olathe location on Sunday.

However, it is in negotiations with a possible new franchisee for the spot.

The location, at 1229 E. Santa Fe St., has about 35 part- and full-time employees.

A Bonner Springs location also recently closed because of a drop in business.

"People come in and eat and play pool, and they will be in here three or four hours," said Richard Hawkins, vice president for Side Pockets Franchise Systems Inc. of Lenexa. "We have a lot of blue- and gray-collar workers -- carpenters, painters, plumbers -- people who have had jobs cut back or been laid off. They don't come in for as long or not at all."

The company was founded in Lenexa in 1994 and has five area locations and three operations outside the area.

New barbecue

David and Kimberly Hulett wanted to bring barbecue to the "underserved" Lake Jacomo area.

In the next week or two they will open Pork & Pit BBQ at 1803 N.E. Colburn Road, just east of Missouri 291 in Lee's Summit.

The operation will serve pulled pork, ribs, burnt ends, catfish and home-style potato salad.

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Reader question Any news on Trader Joe's coming to KC?

Nothing new to report ... yet. The specialty grocery store chain has confirmed it is looking at sites.

Cityscape runs Tuesdays and Fridays. To reach Joyce Smith, call 816-234-4692 or send e-mail to jsmith@kcstar.com. For daily Cityscape updates, visit the Star's business blog at economy.kansascity.com.

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