by Debbi | Sep 22, 2008 | Events, People
The Sandbar is always a popular place for birthdays and bachelorette parties, and even more so for friends and regulars.
Rheva worked at The Sandbar once a week several years ago, and she also tended bar at The Lodge for several years. She is getting married to Dave (not bartender Dave) next weekend, and bartender Dave will officiate the ceremony. This will be his fifth wedding ceremony, in case you're wondering.
Last Saturday was the big bachelorette bash, or as we liked to call it, "Rheva's Last Hurrah!" A group of gals gathered at the Sandbar early in the evening for drinks, conversation, and silly decorations, and then a gorgeous white stretch Hummer picked everyone up for a night on the town.
As all parties eventually do, this one ended up at The Sandbar not once, but twice more that night- once to pick up another party-goer, and then of course to wind the party down with a closing Hurricane at everyone's favorite bar.
by Debbi | Sep 20, 2008 | Off the Wall
Our resident jack-of-all-trades and fearless leader Dave fancied up the women's bathroom this week.
He's been wanting to fix it up for awhile and make it prettier for the ladies. Recently he found some wood flooring to replace the old worn-out tile, and on a trip to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore with Joe Factor, he scored a lovely blue sink. It kind of matches the blue tile floor in the rest of the bar. The best part about the sink, though, is it's one of those all-in-one sink and countertop type things, so there isn't a separate sink set into the countertop.
Check it out:
Obviously, he's not quite finished yet, so try to ignore the weird holes in the wall and under the sink. Doesn't it look so much more Sandbar-ish now?
Though, I hope the new decor doesn't inspire the ladies to stay in the bathroom even longer than they already do. And I hope the boys are jealous.
by Debbi | Sep 19, 2008 | Random Holidays
In case you've been out of touch with popular culture, today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.
You can read all about how this glorious holiday began on the official website.
We don't have any cute bendy pirate men to decorate your drinks like we did last year, but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate at The Sandbar. We still have lots of other trinkets and toys to entertain our patrons.
So if you don't have any other plans tonight, come on down to The Sandbar tonight and bring your best "ARRRR" along with you. And if you dress like a pirate, you don't have to pay the cover charge tonight!
by Debbi | Sep 18, 2008 | Guest Blogs, St. Patrick's Day
Yesterday was the halfway point to The Sandbar's favorite holiday of the year, St. Patrick's Day. In honor of this occasion, Phil and Heather are hosting an Irish bash at The Sandbar tomorrow from 5-9.
Here is Phil's open invitation to all, written in his best Irish speak.
Top O'the Mornin', Noon 'er Night to ya’s ….
'Tis the season for 'The Wearin' O' the Green' once again !!!
This beloved Wednesday, yesterday, was the very quintessential September 17th …. which so happens to be 'The Half Way' point, to the very auspicious day of Glorified Celebration indeed …. St. Paddy's Day!!! I will be urging ya to celebrate this momentous day at your local pub! And if you find yourself in our quaint village then I’ll be asking ya to pay heed to this announcement……
In honor of surviving till halftime, Miss Heather O’Bunker and The Phil McBradley will be throwin' down a ShamRockin' Party and a Celebration at Ye Olde Sandbar, that ya's won't wanna be missin' now. There will be lots of Guinness specials, while all pints of Bud Light and Miller Lite are only $3.00 each and the very Irish Dirty Banana Shots are a mere $2.00 …. and The Blarney is FREE all day long.
Kickin' the evening all off, with grand cuisine from the emerald isle, complementary o’ Hot Wings (while they last) …. and then Kickin’ it up a notch more, with the most honorable Dave and the evening lads and lasses. This will surely be an Arse Kickin’ good time for Families, Friends and All to enjoy the night away.
Come on down to The Sandbar tomorrow to celebrate a half-holiday! And don't forget, September 19 is always International Talk Like A Pirate Day. So while you're wearing the green and drinking your Guinness, don't forget to say "ARRRR!"
by Debbi | Sep 17, 2008 | People
On the home page of The Sandbar's official website, at the bottom of the page, there's a link that asks "How much do you love The Sandbar?" and begs for someone to click that link and pour their heart out to us. Sadly, no one ever does.
Until yesterday.
A Sandbar love letter appeared in our mailbox from a guy named Rob in Pennsylvania, who hasn't been to The Sandbar in eight years but still checks out the website. Here's what he had to say:
Its been a long time. Another life even, but I did love the sandbar and went every time I was in town.
I haven't been there since 2000, but looking at the pictures on the website made me almost smell the place, and the person I went with 😉
My favorite story was a night that I didn't want beer, so I was drinking Captain and Coke( I am from PA and no one in the midwest seems to have ginger ale for the Captain.) I decided to try to make a new drink, and the bartender, a guy named Dave, I believe, told me if I made it I had to name it. The drink was A shot of Malibu,a shot of Captain and a half shot of Meyers Dark Coke, splash of Roses and a twist of lime.
I named it the Pennsylvanian. I drank quite a few with Jimmy blaring from the juke box.
The girl I was with more or less carried me out that night. (Mmmmmmmm, now I can smell her!)
Good times in a great place.
Dave actually sort of remembered the drink that this guy concocted. Maybe we'll resurrect it one of these nights in his honor. I'm also going to send him a t-shirt to thank him for sharing his story.
by Debbi | Sep 16, 2008 | Door Diaries
Pat had to eject a man for being too intoxicated; he was looking
up the bar dancers' skirts (the customer, not Pat). The perpetrator
offered to kick Pat's rear but Pat seemed completely disinterested.
1:06 a.m.
I rejected an ID card and after repeated assertions to the individual
that it is our policy not to accept anything short of a driver's
license, he asked me why I didn't pull my head out of my rear.
1:10 a.m.
The last of a group of four women (again!) had an expired driver's
license, which I rejected. She and her friends whined and cried, then
demanded back their cover charges, and left. It worked out quite well
and I unloaded a bunch of $1 dollar bills on them.
"I don't need to drink to have a good time; I need to drink to stop the voices in my head."
–Robert
{I'm not sure which Robert this was….}
by Debbi | Sep 13, 2008 | Specials
Recently, Dave was inspired by our good friend John (from The Hawk) to try something new- jello shots. John had whipped up a batch of them for a day on the lake, and after he explained to Dave just how easy they were to make (and that they could be created at the bar and not in our kitchen), Dave was sold.
Labor Day weekend was a test run for this new idea. We bought massive quantities of jello at Dillon's and experimented with different flavors of jello and liquor. We made enough for a birthday party, the football game tailgate, a pool party, and a lake party- and they were a hit at each event.
Dave found perfectly sized plastic cups, with lids, and made his first batch at the bar last night. I like to think these might have cheered up the crowd a little bit after the shocking last minute loss in the KU football game. We even have whipped cream to add on top. Stop by some night to check out our new jello-fish shots and let us know your favorite flavors.
by Debbi | Sep 11, 2008 | People
You might remember one of our doorguy/bartenders from a few years
ago, Jake. He's been featured on the blog several times, and you can
learn all about him here.
Jake and his partner in crime, John,
left The Sandbar to spend a year in Australia and New Zealand(we can't
really blame them). We liked them so much that their going away party
even got its very own photo album
over to the right of this page. After arriving back home, they went
their separate ways and we didn't really hear much from either of them
for quite some time.
John resurfaced a few months ago
long enough to tell us he was moving away again, but it's been a long
time since we've seen Jake. However, after finally deciding to make use
of the Sandbar Facebook page I created over a year ago, I managed to
find him.
Guess what? He's gone again.
Our traveling man
has left the country again, this time to teach English in China. In
fact, he left yesterday. And, once again, he promises to chronicle the
adventures in a blog, which you can find here.
The original blog about Australia is still in the menu on the right
side of the page, though the boys didn't keep us updated nearly enough.
Good luck to you, Jake. Don't forget about The Sandbar. And I hope you took along a Sandbar shirt so you can take a picture for our wall.
{What
is it with Sandbar staff and the desire to teach English in a foreign
land? Drew, another former staffer, did the same thing not too long ago}
by Debbi | Sep 8, 2008 | Sandbar Stuff
We've tried lots of different styles of shirts over the years, but our most popular shirt remains the simple t-shirt with a large Sandbar logo printed on the front.
Royal blue shirts with white ink seem to be the most in-demand color combination- whether it's because of the local university who uses a similar shade of blue or because Sandbar fans just like blue. Red is also pretty popular, and those of you waiting for either a red or blue shirt are in luck, because Dave just printed up a new batch of shirts.
Something new this time is a ladies cut red t-shirt. We've tried ladies shirts in the past, but it's really hard because the ladies are pretty particular about how their shirt fits. They have to take them out of the bag, try them on, and then the shirts never get folded properly or put back into the bag, and we have a mess on our hands.
These red shirts, however, aren't the typical tight, baby doll t-shirts- they're pretty much the same as the men's, except they are slightly fitted, have shorter sleeves, and are slightly shorter at the waist. If you wear a small in the men's style shirt that we always carry, you'll wear a small in the new ladies shirt. Hopefully this will make it a little easier to choose a shirt.
We'll try these and see how it goes, and if. All of the new logo shirts are $12, come in and get yours while they last!
by Debbi | Sep 7, 2008 | Events, Pub Crawl
The Sandbar is a popular stop for pub crawls, in spite of its small size.
Our friends at The Wheel seem to have more pub crawls than any other group we know, and fortunately they always have them on Sunday nights, which are generally not very busy. Tonight another Wheel pub crawl will make an appearance at The Sandbar.
If you are interested in planning a pub crawl stop at The Sandbar, it's always best to call and let Dave know in advance. And I don't mean thirty minutes before you get there. You'll be a lot more successful at getting your entire birthday party, bachelorette party, or whatever kind of party you have into the bar if you stop by early in the evening; choose a night that's not Friday or Saturday, and don't have more people than our legal capacity (which is 49).
It's been ages since the Sandbar group had a pub crawl. In fact, the last one might have been my second date with Dave, and that really was a long time ago. We all keep talking about getting a bus and taking a tour of Lawrence bars; maybe it will happen soon.
And if anyone takes pictures of the group tonight, email them to us.
