The Northland just scored another square-cut slice of St. Louis, as Imo's Pizza quietly opened its third Kansas City-area location this week. The latest outpost brings the chain's thin, Provel-topped pies deeper into the Northland, joining two existing KC parlors and sliding into a redevelopment already pulling in major national brands. For fans of the St. Louis staple, it means one more neighborhood option as the company works to recruit additional franchise partners and nudge its footprint past its hometown base.
Third KC shop lands in Metro North Crossing
According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Imo's added its third Kansas City-area location on Feb. 25, 2026, as part of a larger expansion push. The outlet reports that the chain is actively seeking more franchise partners to speed its move into neighboring markets, and it frames the Northland opening as one of several recent steps in Imo's broader regional growth strategy.
Where it's opening
The new Imo's fills roughly 1,500 square feet at 8502 North Jefferson Street inside the Metro North Crossing development, according to a recent developer update on Yahoo. That update also highlights other incoming tenants, including Whataburger, Dutch Bros and Andy's Frozen Custard, signaling the project's ambitions as a Northland retail hub. Developers say more openings will roll out through 2026 as construction wraps and tenant build-outs finish.
KC footprint and franchise plans
Kansas City already had two Imo's locations before the Northland shop came online; one of the established parlors sits at 4200 Rainbow Boulevard, per Imo's. Industry coverage identified franchisee Jamie Poulsen as the operator tapped to bring the Metro North Crossing restaurant to life, according to Pizza Marketplace. For Imo's, planting a flag at Metro North Crossing lines up neatly with the franchising-first growth model the chain has been promoting in recent months.
What makes Imo's distinctive
Imo's is nearly synonymous with St. Louis-style pizza: a super-thin, cracker-like crust, cut into squares and covered edge to edge with Provel, the cheese blend that defines the style. Third-party guides such as Atlas Obscura describe Provel as a blended, low-melting cheese that gives St. Louis pies their distinctive texture and note its long association with Imo's identity. For Kansas City diners, the Northland opening offers one more place to try a regional specialty that has been at the heart of the St. Louis pizza scene for decades.
Menus, hours and the chain's full list of parlors are available through Imo's store finder on the company's website. As additional tenants open at Metro North Crossing through 2026, the Northland's dining map will keep shifting, and for now Imo's has added one more square to the area's pizza scene.
