Outside, it was a brutal January evening in the West Bottoms: frozen sheets of ice and snow on the ground, a biting wind in the air, temps in the 20s, the gnashing of heavy machinery in the distance.
Inside a former loading dock at 1105 Hickory St. on Thursday evening, though, conditions were balmier. A crowd of influencers, artists, media types and otherwise well-connected and beautiful people mingled among tropical plants and upcycled vintage furnishings while warm house sounds from a DJ named Tito Fuego crackled like a fire in the front of the room.
They had gathered for the soft opening of In the Lowest Ferns, a new lounge from the production and design concept company Nomada.
“This has always been the dream — to have our own physical space,” said Jason Eubanks, who co-founded the group along with Dante Walton and Austin Goldberg.
Nomada has a good deal of momentum at the moment. In a few short years, it has gone from throwing pop-up parties in the Crossroads and the West Bottoms to producing a music video for rapper A$AP Rocky filmed here in Kansas City.
With In the Lowest Ferns, Nomada (which is Spanish for nomad) is going for a lounge vibe in a warehouse space. The dance floor is bracketed by cafe tables and living room-like spaces decorated with repurposed furniture. Concrete tables sit atop Persian rugs, which rest on concrete. The abundant plants in the room are placed strategically to carve out intimate spaces.
“The DJ booth is a high-class, custom sound system — triple-insulated so you don’t get vibrations in the sound — but we also wanted people to be able to speak and have a conversation and not feel like the music’s overwhelming,” Eubanks said. “We want you to feel like you’re in a home but you’re also enjoying the best sounds and artists in the city.”
The name is an extension of the equatorial aesthetic Nomada sought in designing the space.
“We always knew we wanted to have a tropical, Latin American feel to the place,” Eubanks said. “And ferns grow best in tropical spaces. And the West Bottoms is the lowest part of the city.”
The drinks menu is simple, with a handful of house cocktails ($12), a couple of beers ($7-$8), a few natural wines by the glass ($12) or bottle ($45) and some mocktails ($8).
For now, In the Lowest Ferns is open only Friday and Saturday nights, but Eubanks said they plan to grow into additional hours — likely Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons.
“We see this as not just a lounge but also a community space,” he said. “We’ll host yoga events, holistic events, private parties and such.”
And what about Rocky? Can we expect him to stop by In the Lowest Ferns anytime soon?
“He’ll be here eventually,” Eubanks said. “There’s more work to be done there. He’s a busy man. But he’ll come.”
