by Debbi | Mar 30, 2011 | Off the Wall, People
We have tons of stuff all over our walls, and much of it was donated by our customers.
Our latest gift is from someone who shall remain nameless, who formerly worked for a local company that will also remain nameless. However, many of you will recognize this sign and the company.
The sign now holds a special place of honor in the men's room, at the request of the person who donated it:
We're big fans of this company's employees. They affectionately refer to us as their "southwest conference room," and many "meetings" have taken place at our tables.
A celebration party for one of their soon-to-be-former staff members who has a new job will be held here Thursday. We're excited to see what they think of our new wall decor!
by Debbi | Mar 28, 2011 | Cool Stuff, Guest Blogs, People, Social Media, Stories
Editor's note: I discovered Team Cocktail on Twitter one day, and after perusing their website decided that they seemed like people who would hang out at the Sandbar. I asked them to write some guest blogs to introduce our friends to their lifestyle. No, I didn't get a free t-shirt in exchange for letting them talk about their products, just wanted to share their story.
We were very excited to be asked to join The Sandbar party by writing a few guest blogs. So here we are, ready to party! As you can tell by our name, Team Cocktail, we love cocktails…especially tropical beverages like the Hurricane. Since our company and designs are inspired by beaches and cocktails, and we're based out of Olathe, KS, it seems that The Sandbar and Team Cocktail have a lot in common! So, to start I'm going to give you a brief background on how Team Cocktail got started and answer a few questions. Now go pour a cocktail and let's have some fun Team Cocktail style!
Team Cocktail – The Story (2006)
Every great story begins in the Caribbean, right? To set the scene: think 28 friends on a cruise ship, 8 days, 7 islands and a boat load of liquid inspiration. We had a group, we needed a name and the obvious name was born: Team Cocktail.
The Brand (A few years later)
Sailing away from Barbados, a few martinis in, the Team Cocktail founders had an epiphany. Life is best enjoyed in a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops…and with a drink in hand. We always loved buying destination t-shirts from all of the local businesses but hated the way they felt and washed up when we would get them home. They were typically cheap, scratchy and would shrink to an unwearable size. So we decided to create our own beach & cocktail inspired t-shirts, hats, koozies and other accessories with an emphasis on quality. All of our shirts are a cotton/poly blend, so they are ultra soft to the touch and will not shrink. Thus you can wear them time and time again.
And so here we are a year later, and a few more martinis in, lawyers have been called, trademarks are registered and t-shirt designs are hot off the press.
Now on to the fun stuff!
How do you decide on new shirt designs? I was going to say something proper like "our shirt designs are inspired by a deep creative process where we look back on our favorite travel memories & cocktails." But let's be honest. Most of the time they are developed after we have had several drinks and then inspiration hits, or the buzz hits, and then we think every idea is fabulous. So the next day we look back through our notes and see which ones truly are funny, fun and representative of the Team Cocktail brand. We also work with the Kansas City creative agency Johnny Lightning Strikes Again who has great ideas and is able to bring our ideas to life!
How long have you been in business? We have been working on building the brand (i.e. developing designs, getting trademarks, etc.) for over a year. But went live with our website and first designs in December 2010.
What inspired the idea to actually create products & a business? Our mission is to create products that make people have fun, relax, and enjoy life as we do…one cocktail at a time. We really want to create quality products that people can enjoy while traveling or just spending time with friends. Team Cocktail is about having fun and enjoying what you do. We enjoy traveling and cocktails, so we made it our business. People always tell you to love what you do, well that couldn't be more true for us. We LOVE what we do, and we hope you do too!
If you made it to the end of this blog I'm sure your glass is empty so you better go get another. We hate for ice cubes to be lonely. Please check out our website www.teamcocktail.com where you will find our t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, flip flops, bottle openers, slap koozies and much more. We are adding new products weekly and will soon be launching a men's board shorts line.
You can also find our blog there, where you can read about our travel experiences (focused on favorite beaches, beach bars, & bartenders), party times (pictures of our fans partying in TC style) and drinks (drink recipes we love, & love to make). We would love to hear from you so feel free to contact us on Facebook, Twitter, or through the website. You can also sign up for our newsletter to receive special discounts, new arrival announcements, and just fun stuff!
As you are traveling remember to TRAVEL GLOBAL, DRINK LOCAL!!
Cheers!
Team Cocktail
by Debbi | Mar 26, 2011 | Birthday Party, People
Happy birthday today to a whole bunch of our friends: bartender Heather, float dancer Sherri, Barrel House owners Emily and Alex and former Sandbar staff member Tyler.
Tyler dropped by the Sandbar last night to celebrate. Chris, another former bartender, and his wife came into town for the festivities. We haven't seen any of them in ages- though some of them have a good excuse (new baby).
Dave made sure the birthday boy was decked out in Sandbar style.
We hope all our friends had a great day of celebrations today!
by Debbi | Mar 10, 2011 | People, Stories
Cheryl, one of our bartenders in the 90's, was back for a visit last fall. She wrote a great guest blog post about the Sandbar, then and now, and she also sent us some fantastic pictures from back in the day.
Here's what a line of bar dancers looked like, circa 1996ish, while shaking their tailfeathers:
Notice the abundance of denim shorts and oversize tops, and the white socks.
This was also back in the days of the dangerous ceiling fan, which more than one person caught their hand on while dancing. These days, we have an awning in place for unsteady dancers to lean against, and the ceiling fans came down long ago.
Some things never change, though. You can often still find a group of ladies dancing on the bar, with the boys gathered in front of the bar watching them.
by Debbi | Mar 7, 2011 | Guest Blogs, People, Stories
This is a guest blog from former bartender/bouncer Cheryl, who worked here in the mid-90's. Cheryl was the first female staff member who actually was assigned a door shift- and she was an excellent doorgirl/bouncer. Cheryl was back for a visit last fall, and we asked her to share her thoughts on the Sandbar with our readers.
Sometimes I think that college was so long ago there is no way the Sandbar could really have been such a perfect place and there is certainly no way that it could be anywhere close to the same now. Then I get a little nostalgic, make myself a margarita and think "those were the days." And that's just a little sad…
So I decided a visit was in order.
It had been about 10 years since my last trip and 15 years since I worked there. I started working for Peach at Jox Sports Bar and Grill, with the famous hot and honey wings courtesy of Kelly French, and started tending bar at the Sandbar as soon as I turned 21.
I also was the Tuesday $1 anything night bouncer, which made for many memorable nights, with Dave behind the bar. I worked at the Sandbar for a year a half, and I am pretty sure I made about $20 – the rest of my pay went to liquor. I would hazard a guess that in those 18 months I was at the Sandbar at least 5 nights a week. Of course we went elsewhere, but we always started and/or ended at the Sandbar.
We spent so much time there – time well documented in photos and various hairsyles – that I thought a return trip might be a let-down. I'm certainly not in college anymore, and I'm practically old enough to be some of the customers' mom. Well that might be a stretch, but I am definitely old enough to have babysat one of the current bartenders. (That would be Andrew.)
I am proud to say I was part of the first Sandbar St Patrick's Day float. But that was a LONG time ago. Surely the jukebox had changed or the drinks or the decor or the atmosphere… there was just no conceivable way that it could be as much fun now as it was then.
My old schol hall roommate and I met in Lawrence in November to go to a game at Allen Fieldhouse. My mom came with since she loves the Jayhawks and the Sandbar nearly as much as I do. After the game on Friday night we headed straight to the Sandbar. Dave was behind the bar and it was immediately apparent that nothing fundamental about the Sandbar had changed.
Don't get me wrong, there have been many changes- the swag handed out with drinks, the hurricane, the tiki hut over the bar, the dirty banana shot. There's even more than 2 taps now – the choices have expanded beyond Bud Light or Bud Light. But the vibe is the same, many of the customers are the same, the jukebox is basically the same (Shake a Tailfeather anyone?), my license plate is right over the jukebox where it belongs.
Most importantly, the way the Sandbar feels is the same. The sense that all is well and the beach is just around the corner. It's a party, it was home for a time, and it is still one of my favorite places in the world. Somehow it was like I never moved to Colorado.
We came back Saturday and had just as much fun making fools of ourselves. Like Jimmy Buffett said, "we are the people our parents warned us about".
Thanks to everyone there for making my trip to Lawrence memorable. I won't wait 10 years to come back…
(And as a side note, thank god Pizza Shuttle hadn't changed their number -call 842-1212, call it now Pizza Shuttle – and still offers a 2-fer special and delivery into the wee hours…)
Cheryl also sent us a bunch of old-school Sandbar photos. Here's a sneak peek of one now, and we'll publish more over the next week:
Cheryl and a much-younger Dave, back in the day.
by Debbi | Mar 4, 2011 | Hurricane, People, Stories
Our friend Chad doesn't dance. We all know this and accept it, even though dancing is somewhat of a requirement at the Sandbar.
On Chad's birthday, he was at the Sandbar. Dave convinced him to get on the bar for the hurricane (he wouldn't wear the mermaid costume, but just getting him on the bar without too much argument was considered a win).
Even more shocking, considering his disdain for dancing, was the fact that Dave convinced him to stay on the bar during "Car Wash." Sure, he stood there laughing while Dave busted a move, but he was on the bar.
However, Dave was in rare form that night and slightly perturbed that Chad wouldn't even wash the car or spray it down. What happened next is a story we still talk about today.
Dave refused to serve Chad another drink until he moved his arm in the circular "washing" motion. Chad refused. It was a standoff. For several hours.
Chad was thirsty. Dave was stubborn. The blood pressure levels of each were going up.
Eventually, Dave decided that while he didn't want to give in and fill an order placed by Chad himself, he'd make the drink if someone else (meaning me) ordered it. After several hours, Chad had his drink and didn't have to dance for it.
Fast forward to a few months ago. Dave was dancing on the bar (again), doing the Car Wash (again). Chad was standing down in front of the bar, and on this night it was his turn to be sassy. He looked up at Dave, caught his eye and suddenly made the circle motion with his hand.
Dave about fell off the bar.
And now, it's no big deal and we all laugh about it, and Chad does the Car Wash all the time. While wearing rainbow-colored wigs.
