The Sandbar...Home of the Indoor Hurricane!

Long Distance Sandbar Couple

I recently discovered another Sandbar love match.

A few weeks ago, I got an email through the website from Shellie at Iowa State, who wanted to order a t-shirt. She explained that she and her boyfriend had met at The Sandbar one year ago, when they were both in Lawrence for a Big 12 conference. They're still together, and they planned to celebrate their anniversary with a trip to Lawrence and The Sandbar.

Tonight was the big night- the one year anniversary of the day they met. I was so excited to get an online order for Sandbar merchandise that instead of just giving them the t-shirt in it's standard ziploc bag, I packaged it in a cute little flip-flop gift bag, complete with leis, beads, sharks, and duck toys. They were thrilled.

A few Shark Attacks, Dirty Bananas, and Pink Flamingos later and I think they were having a good time.

If you and your significant other met at The Sandbar, send me an email. We'd love to hear your story.

You Searched for What?!?

A couple days go, you learned about some of the most popular searches that people do on the internet that leads them to this page.

Today, I'll tell you about some of the more unusual, amusing, and nonsensical searches that people do that brings them here.

How Many Gallons of Beer did Americans Drink in 2005?
I have no idea, but I bet they got more miles to the gallon in 2005 than they do today.

Volleyball Bar Team Names
Once upon a time, we printed t-shirts for a volleyball team in Minnesota. Their name? "Team Bob." Best volleyball team name ever.

Club Sandbar Guest List
This search really shouldn't take you anywhere at all, because there is no such thing as a Sandbar guest list. And we're not a club.

Trinkets for Guys
I think trinkets and guys are two words that just don't belong together.

Are all Sandbar tickets the same?
Hmmm...not sure about this one. The only ticket I know of is the over-occupancy ticket that we desperately try to avoid.

Super Dave costumes
This one made me chuckle. Dave created- all by himself- his very own Super Dave costume for Halloween one year. The only better one out there is the one Super Dave himself wore.

Door Diaries 6/11/02

One dark and stormy night Pat held his ground against a 16 year old Missourian who said this was a BS bar because he couldn't get in with a homemade cardboard driver's license from Missouri.  He argued a strong case, but in the end Pat's quick wit prevailed and a catastrophe was avoided.  No one benefits from this sort of confrontation, but I believe the Sandbar's virtue was upheld and Patrick demonstrated all the qualities that are instilled in us upon training and he found why he is truly the master mediator.

--Matt

(This entry was accompanied by a very detailed cartoon drawing of the 16 year old and Pat.)

The Month of May

May was a pretty busy month around the Sandbar blog, second only to last March and all of the St. Patrick's day related searching that brought new visitors.

We had a grand total of 1,045 visitors to the blog in May; in May 2007, there were 697, so that was a pretty big increase. It was also more than April, so we're steadily seeing an increase in visitors each month which makes me happy.  An average of almost 34 visits per day might not seem impressive to some, but I'll take it.

So, what were the top search terms that led folks to The Sandbar blog in May?

• Honor Vodka- two local guys did a great job creating a brand new vodka, right here in Lawrence. I talked about it a few months back, they added us to their press page, and now people looking for the vodka also end up here. Turns, out an old friend of ours set up their web page. It's a small world.

• Uncle Fatty's Rum Resort- Wow. I couldn't believe how many people out there are looking for this place. I mentioned the Sandbar look-alike last month, and apparently I was the only one on the internet talking about it, because everyone came here

• Sandbar, various locations- Some people are looking for The Sandbar in Lawrence or Ottawa, but lots of internet searchers want to know about The Sandbar in Dallas...Long Beach...Arizona...or most of all, it seems, the one in San Antonio.

• Michelle Kwan- This one surprised me. Apparently the Olympic medalist still has a contingent of obsessive fans who track everything that appears about her on the internet. Danny and John claim she was in The Sandbar one night, and who am I to question those two. 

And, as usual, we're still a magnet for all things Land Shark Lager. And hurricanes and mermaids.

Come back tomorrow for some of the more unusual search terms that I learned will bring you here.

That's What She Said

 Around The Sandbar, you have to watch what you say. The guys are pretty quick to add "that's what she said" after almost anything you could possibly say, turning every conversation into a joke.

I started to wonder where this phrase came from- and why- so I went to the knower of all things, Google.

According to newsvine.com, one of the first occurrences can be traced back to Wayne's World, the SNL skit turned movie, circa 1992:

[Holding Claudia Schiffer picture]
Garth: Hey, are you done yet? I'm getting tired of holding it.
Wayne: Yeah, that's what she said.

What I was really excited (note sarcasm) to see, however, is that some random guy actually created a holiday just for this phrase- and on February 15, no less. {That would be the day after Valentine's Day for those of you, like my husband, who aren't paying attention.} It was initially started as a Facebook event and has spread through word of mouth. Your goal on this day? To work "that's what she said" into conversations as relevantly and frequently as possible.

Anyway, just before Graduation, the guys finally figured out a way to tie this phrase to The Sandbar. Dave printed up a few shirts that day for the staff, and very soon we'll be printing more to sell to our adoring fans.

Here it is, in all it's glory:

If you think you might want one, check back. We hope to have them ready to sell this month. And mark your calendar for next February 15, when you, too, can partake in the International "That's What She Said" Day.

Famous People: Peter Mayer

A long, long time ago, The Sandbar became a live music venue for a night (or was it two?).

Peter Mayer, the guitarist in Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, and Peach worked out an arrangement for a semi-private concert at The Sandbar. Mr. Mayer also performs with his own band when he's not traveling with Mr. Buffett, and he had some downtime he was trying to fill.

As you know, The Sandbar rarely closes to the public. For this occasion, however, we sold a limited number of advance tickets for what I believe was a Sunday night show, and only ticketholders were allowed to come in that night. It was a full house.

Mr. Mayer and his band set up their equipment in front of the windows- this was pre-giant fish tank jutting into the middle of the bar- and played an intimate little show for those fans lucky enough to score a ticket.

Peach and Ted graciously put the band up at the Lodge of Baldwin City.  Recently, there was talk of bringing Mr. Mayer back for a similar event, but the timing didn't work out for him or us. Maybe one of these days it will.

Since my recollections of this event are fuzzy- due to my aging brain, not the drinks I might have had that night- the details probably aren't totally accurate. However, feel free to peruse the comments as I'm sure I'll be corrected by the faithful readers (I'm looking at you, Pattoo and Brother Pants.)

If You Can't Go To The Beach...

Bring the beach to you.

The LJW did an article almost exactly two years ago about light and refreshing summer drinks to help you live out your beach-bum fantasies. And what better place to investigate fruity summer drinks than The Sandbar?

Dave was quoted in the article talking about how when the warm weather hits, the drink orders change. The heavy stuff like Guinness is out (sorry Frank!) and the fruit juice drinks are in.

“I think things change a little bit — we sell a few more of the Bahama mamas, shark attacks and hurricanes,” says Johanning, who is manager of the bar at 17 E. Eighth St. “In summer, people feel like they’re on the beach.”

And the fact that we have an real sand beach upstairs surely can't hurt the popularity of tropical style drinks. The article even provides an abundance of summer drink recipes, from the popular Mojito and daiquiris to some questionable ones like the Kahlua colada (Kahlua in the summer? really?) and the funny-named Cherry Gin-gria. The recipes didn't come from us; they came from www.bartender.com. We don't share our secrets.

Working with Heather

Just another night at The Sandbar with the fabulous Heather...

2/7/02

Scotty has totally saved me tonight. My karma was all off and it showed. I couldn't find anything, like light bulbs, cut my thumb, and broke 2 full Miller Lite bottles. ot five minutes later, my karma must have rubbed off on the customers. How cruel life is.  A table of six bumped their table, broke a glass, and drenched one of them in the process.

The hurricane got started without the poem, as I hit the button too freakin' early and didn't think I could turn it off.  The rain part was quite popular with the Boulevard rep who was in the bar. 

Scotty fed the fishies and all the customers left. We watched "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" while discussing what we would do with money of that magnitude.  Scotty saved me by changing the Coke, helping mop the multiple spillages, and finding the light bulbs.

Peace to you my fellow bartenders and door guy and in general Sandbar brethren.

--Heather

American Red Cross Heroes: Beach Patrol

Once again, The Sandbar has signed up to be a Hero for the American Red Cross.  We get to be a Hero by raising $1000 in donations.

Last year, the proceeds from all purchased hurricanes during the month of May were donated.  We also tried experimenting with a photo project, but I'm not sure how well that went over.

Two years ago, we put together a Sandbar wedding package, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross.

This year, we have something new again: a special t-shirt. Since people buy so many Sandbar t-shirts anyway, it seemed only natural to design a limited-edition Sandbar shirt for the Red Cross.  The front has the Sandbar logo on the chest where a pocket would be, and the back has this design:

The shirts are white with red ink, and they're $15 each. All proceeds benefit the Douglas County chapter of the American Red Cross. Get yours before they're gone!

Door Diaries 5/17/08, Part 2

See the previous entry to read about the first scuffle of the night...

A little later in the evening, Andrew needed to leave the door again, and by this time Ken and John were gone. He tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I would watch the door, because he knew that as soon as he walked off, the two girls at the front of the line were going to try to come inside.

Sure enough, Andrew hadn't been gone ten seconds and the two girls walked in- they didn't even try to sneak. I quickly stopped them and informed them that they needed to wait outside for the doorguy to return. They didn't believe me and even told me I didn't work there, which I guess meant they thought they didn't have to listen to me.

When Andrew got back they harassed him so much that he ended up just shutting the door on them. Their friends, who were already inside, were overheard saying "I can't believe he's being that way to them. He shut the door on them."

We're all very grateful that there's a door that can be shut. And I'm grateful that I don't have to work the door.

--Debbi