The Sandbar...Home of the Indoor Hurricane!

Happy birthday, Andrew!

Today is a very special day in Sandbarland-- it's Andrew's birthday!

Our little boy is all grown up. From mopping the bar floors as a seven year old, to working the door as soon as he turned eighteen, to graduating from college not once but twice- time sure does fly by.

Now, he has an MBA and a grown-up job and a lovely fiancee.

But we'll always remember Andrew as a young boy, suspended in mid-air on a St. Patrick's Day float as a scuba diver. 

So next time you see him, wish him a happy birthday and buy him a shot!

Related articles

Andrew, Tyler and Jordan: Sandbar Graduates

Thank you, Lawrence

We're thrilled once again that our loyal fans voted for us in lawrence.com's Best of Lawrence contest this year! The Sandbar was named Best Bar Scene, and our managing partner and longtime bartender David Johanning was voted Best Bartender.

According to the Best of Lawrence publication, more than 7,500 ballots were cast. Did you know that's more votes than the leading candidate, Mike Amyx, received in the last city commission election? (While that's cool, it's also a little sad...people, it's important to vote in your local elections.)

Anyway, that's a lot of votes. There were five major subject areas-- Community, Food, Going Out, Retail and Services-- and more than 130 categories. It's a great guide to the best of the best in Lawrence, whether you're looking for ice cream, car repair or local parks.

Click here to see the full results.

Click here to read the short article about the Sandbar, featuring quotes from our lovely customer Aisha.

And click here to read a quick blurb about Dave.

We'd also like to give a shout out to the Replay Lounge and our neighbors at Henry's who came in second and third place in the Best Bar Scene category.

Chris Neverve of the Red Lyon and Frank Dorsey of Frank's North Star Tavern were also top vote-getters in the Best Bartender category. We love that Lawrence voted long-time local bartenders as the best!

Join our email list and get a free gift!

Did you know we have an email list you can join? Five hundred of your closest friends knew it.

Anyway, it's true. If our blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed, website and other outposts scattered around the interwebs aren't enough for you, you can subscribe to our email updates, too.

We don't send very many emails- maybe 6-8 every year, which means they're always about very important things. Like our annual birthday block party.

We're getting ready to announce all the amazing details about this year's party, and our email subscribers, as usual, will be the first to hear the news.

And we've got a special treat: new subscribers to our email list will get a coupon for a free order of biscuits and gravy from Sandbar Subs! A new Sandbar Subs is set to open across the street from us, in the old Mirth location, this summer.

So what are you waiting for? Click here to sign up for our emails! You can unsubscribe any time you want to, but we'll be sad to see you go.

Meet our new bartender, Danny

Everything (or everyone) old is eventually new again, if you stick around long enough.

A few weeks ago, a couple of our regulars were in on a Saturday night. The next day, we noticed these tweets:

 

Idk who this new bartender in the green hat is at @thesandbar but he's kicking ass at life right now. #weapprove

— Katie Morris (@katiemo91) June 2, 2013

I can't embed the other one because the Twitter account is private, but here's what she said:

LOVING THE NEW @thesandbar BARTENDER

(Those are her caps, not mine.)

I was a little surprised, since we haven't hired any new bartenders in quite some time. I asked Dave who worked the night before, and when he said "Andrew and Danny" everything made sense.

Danny worked at the bar for many, many years and is well-known to lots of Sandbar visitors- but if you're somewhat new to the over-21 crowd, it's highly likely you've never ordered from him before.

We're glad our newer friends got to experience Danny's flair bartending skills for an evening, and we're glad he's still willing to fill in behind the bar occasionally, rocking worlds in his green hat as Ellie says.

And the very next day? After disrupting his usual schedule to spend a late night behind the bar? He ran a half marathon, of course.

The Hospital Hill Run in Kansas City took place the following morning, and Danny just happened to make it onto Fox 4 news. You can watch the video here. He gets a lot of love!

Sandbar Graduate 2013: Kay Anne

Here's another Sandbar graduate who's sticking around for awhile.

Sandbar Graduate Profile: Kay Anne 

Parody Twitter Handle: (She doesn't have a real one, so we made one) @KUKayanne

What's your favorite jukebox song? Cruise. It's my favorite! It never fails to put me or anyone else in the bar in a good mood

What's the longest you've ever waited in line at the Sandbar? 45 Minutes

What's your favorite tropical drink? I love the Bermuda triangle, but you can't beat a Shark Attack!

How many times have you danced on the bar? Only once, but I hope to make it many more this summer!

What's your favorite or funniest memory from the Sandbar? Just celebrating at Sandbar after all the important occasions in my life: birthdays, holidays, concerts sorority formals, and the end of finals! Also, I'm quite fond of any time my friends and I bring a pie or order pizza to the bar

What are your plans after graduation? After getting my Bachelor's this spring I plan on rocking my last two years of Pharmacy School!

Tell us something else about yourself. I'm just a girl who can't pass up good drinks, good music, and good people. Also, I have plenty of pictures to back up all these special occasions.

Good luck in pharmacy school! You'll need lots of drinks.

Sandbar Graduate 2013: Hillary

Lots of our regulars graduated this year! Meet Hillary, who may have graduated but she's not leaving us just yet.

Sandbar Profile: Hillary 

Twitter Handle: @HildyBean

What's your favorite jukebox song? Wannabe by Spice Girls

What's the longest you've ever waited in line at the Sandbar? I always get there early enough so I don't have to wait!

What's your favorite tropical drink? Bahama Mama- I collect the ducks!

How many times have you danced on the bar? I don't dance on the bar- I dance on the window between the back room and the main bar.

What's your favorite or funniest memory from the Sandbar? My favorite memory is definitely the first time I went on my 21st!

What are your plans after graduation? I'm staying for one more year, getting a second degree, partying at the Sandbar and then finding a great school to teach at

Tell us something else about yourself. My Dad is the Mayor of Andover, KS :)

We look forward to partying with you another year!

Sandbar Graduate 2013: Alissa

Here's another member of the Sandbar Class of 2013, courtesy of Katie, who submitted profiles of all her friends.

Sandbar Graduate Profile: Alissa A.  

Twitter Handle: @Assilamanderson

What's your favorite jukebox song? Wannabe by Spice Girls

What's the longest you've ever waited in line at the Sandbar?  20 Minutes

What's your favorite tropical drink? Afternoon Delight!!

How many times have you danced on the bar? None but that's probs a good thing

What's your favorite or funniest memory from the Sandbar? Camping out in the back room on valentine's day with my sorority sisters, boozing and eating Pizza Shuttle! (Don't worry, we shared)

What are your plans after graduation? After grad, I'm going to Texas for the summer and then going to grad school at Oklahoma!

Good luck in grad school, Alissa! Even though you're going to Oklahoma and not staying here. Be sure to let us know if you find a cool bar down there!