Do you need an escape from the daily grind? Longing for a relaxing getaway to an island oasis, with your toes in the sand and a tropical drink in your hand?
Well, we can't change your latitude, but we can sure change your attitude!
Sign up your office, business or organization for our new Island Retreat tropical happy hour, available on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Gather at least five (or more!) employees, business partners or clients and treat them to a fun-filled two hours at the Sandbar. Your group will receive:
If you're like some of us-- and I'm talking about some of us who have been around the Sandbar longer than, say, some of our more recently-hired staff members-- you have fond memories of drive-in movie theaters from when you were a kid.
Did you know that they're in danger of disappearing? Since the film industry has gone digital, many theaters can't afford the $80,000 price tag that the digital upgrade costs.
Honda, the car company, has stepped in to help-- they're going to donate five projectors and the public vote decides which drive in gets them.
Our local Jack Ellena Honda dealership is hosting an event next Friday, Sept. 13, that celebrates this event with fun for the whole family: a pop-up drive-in movie theater.
They'll host a free screening of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" at 7 p.m. out at their dealership.
What does this have to do with us, and why are we talking about it? Well, we like movies...after all, our founder Peach does own a movie theater down the road in Ottawa.
And, Sandbar Subs is stepping up to help save the drive-ins. They'll be serving Sandbar Subs beach dogs, chips and cookies at the event. Dogs and cookies are $2; chips are $1. Proceeds will benefit the cause!
If you'd like to help save the Midway Drive-in in Osawatomie, you can text VOTE86 to 444999, click here to make a donation or show up at next Friday's event.
Help us spread the word, will you? Drive-in theaters are an iconic part of our history and an experience that everyone should get to enjoy as they grow up.
Our new neighbor across the street, the Sandbar Subs World Headquarters, has been open for almost a month now and business seems to be brisk.
If you haven't stopped by to check it out, you should-- it's not just a sandwich shop (although the sandwiches and wraps are delicious!) but also a place you can stop and get a fountain drink, a cell phone charger or a bottle of Advil.
Remember Round Corner? For you newbies, it was a drugstore on the corner of 8th and Mass, where Italian restaurant Intorno now sits. Round Corner was an old-fashioned drugstore that also housed the Cheese Shoppe, one of Dave's favorite former restaurants downtown.
Well, personally, the new Sandbar Subs reminds me of a cross between the two. Think convenience store plus quick, quality food.
We aren't the only ones who think so. Our Twitter friend Mrs. Mass recently paid a visit across the street and wrote about her experience for the Lawrence Journal-World.
Favorite quote:
"Did I say this sub shop is going to do wonders for downtown? ... This sub shop is going to do wonders for downtown."
You can read the full article here. Apologies in advance if you have to answer weird Google survey questions in order to read the story-- we promise it's worth it!
Thank you to all of our wonderful customers and friends who celebrated with us, and a huge thank you to Peoples Bank for sponsoring this year's party.
In case you missed it, we went all out this year with a giant stage, even bigger beer garden and a Grammy-nominated band, the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
And perhaps the best part? The weather was gorgeous- really, we couldn't have asked for better weather, especially after a long, gray, rainy week. It wasn't hot like it's been for all our other block parties; it didn't rain; but it wasn't cold, either. Truly perfect.
Very Important People enjoyed a preparty in the brand new Sandbar Subs World Headquarters right across the street from the bar, where a new Peoples Bank location will be housed as well.
Local band Cowboy Indian Bear opened the show and then the Thunderbirds took the stage. They played until around 10:30, which left plenty of time for party-goers to mingle in the beer garden after the show.
We took a lot of pictures. Click here to see them on Flickr, or you can watch the slideshow below.
The
Sandbar, a downtown beach bar, has been a staple on the Lawrence bar scene
since 1989. A little over a decade ago, Sandbar founder Peach started dabbling
with the idea of expansion.
“The
subs story started when I found out that most downtowns would not allow a bar
to go in without food sales,” she said. Overland Park and other similar
towns—including Lawrence-- have zoning
regulations to prevent the same type business.
Longtime
bartender and manager David Johanning agreed to take over the responsibility of
the Lawrence bar while Peach explored expansion options. This was during
the time the Legends shopping center in nearby Kansas City was under
construction. “We were asked to
participate in the original Legends plan,” Peach said, “but realized we were
not experienced enough at that time to handle such volume.”
The
small town of Ottawa, close to home, was a great place to test ideas and
concepts. Peach opened a second Sandbar location that was a restaurant and
bar (click here to read more stories about the Ottawa adventures) and enjoyed
it, but she knew it wasn't quite the right match.
During
this time, the Madls became friends with the Zaremba family of Zarco66. The
Zarembas had just bought a store in Ottawa, and Scott and his family often came
into the restaurant on wing night.
A
downtown Ottawa sub shop without table service was the next effort, and boy it
worked. It was great fun, Scott came down and enjoyed the food and a
partnership was born. We now have three Sandbar Sub Shops inside Zarco66
convenience stores in Lawrence and Ottawa.
The
Sandbar Subs World Headquarters is slated to open in August, right across the
street from the original Sandbar, along with a new location of Peoples Bank.
Now
how did the relationship with Peoples Bank happen? Peach explains, “Well, back
in the old days, banks would sometimes be ‘not nice.’ My husband and I had the
opportunity to buy the building the original Sandbar bar was in. However, I was
rejected by a bank my accountant referred me to-- because ‘you receive the
majority of your income from the sale of alcohol and we are a family owned
bank.’”
Their
regular bank wouldn’t loan money for properties outside of Baldwin City. So one
day Ted said, “Hey, I have a cousin who’s a banker, let me call her!”
“That's
when I met Maley Wilkins of Peoples Bank, and she took great care of us.”
Another
connection to Peoples Bank comes by way of the Winter family, who are
well-known around the Lawrence area.
“When
we first got the Crystal Plaza Theater in 2005, it was struggling, “ Peach
said. Peoples Bank kept sponsoring events and coming by and supporting us in
many ways in Ottawa. The late Wint Winter, Sr., who was chairman of Peoples
Inc., was a wonderful man and he is honored at the Plaza Grill and Cinema with
a picture on the Wall of LOCAL Stars in the lobby.
As
for the new Sandbar Subs World Headquarters/Peoples Bank adventure in downtown
Lawrence?
Peach
says it came about when Scott and Maley spent time talking instead of listening
to speakers at a Chamber event and came up with this wonderful plan.
“And
Ted and I said ‘we're in!’” said Peach.
Usually, this is where they say the rest is
history, but in this case, the next chapter is just beginning.
Be sure to join us on August 10 for the big block party bash! Click here for more info.
Awhile back, we told you about the new Sandbar Sub Shop that's opening across the street from us, in the former Mirth Cafe location.
Peach has hired a manager for the new shop, but now she needs more fun people to help open this new business.
Employee Open House
Want to learn more? Join us for an open house and get all your questions answered!
Monday, July 29
4-7 p.m.
Sandbar Subs World Headquarters, 745 New Hampshire
Peach is looking for fun
people with food service skills to work at the new shop. If you want to
be part of a growing business that provides great food and excellent
service in a fun environment, we want to meet you!
Training would begin immediately. Well, probably not that night, but very soon after!
Print the application and bring it with you to the open house or email it to [email protected]. If you can't make it to the open house, that's okay! Just email your app to Andrew.
Even if you're not looking for a job, you probably have a friend who is. Please share this information with anyone you think may be interested!
It's that time of year again, friends- time to celebrate our birthday with another block party! This year's extravaganza takes place on Saturday, August 10.
This year, our friends at Peoples Bank have stepped up to sponsor the
event and kick it up a notch. In addition to celebrating our birthday,
we'll also be celebrating the grand opening of Peoples Place at the
corner of 8th and New Hampshire (in the former Mirth Cafe location),
which will house a new Peoples Bank location as well as the new Sandbar
Subs World Headquarters.
This year's concert will feature the grammy-nominated band the Fabulous
Thunderbirds, with local favorite Cowboy Indian Bear opening the show.
Also new this year: a VIP party! Very Important People like you can enjoy a
pre-party with appetizers and beverages in the new Sandbar Subs space
before the concert starts. Each VIP ticket also includes a
limited-edition party T-shirt, a meet & greet with the band and
admission to the beer garden and Sandbar.
The concert itself is free and family-friendly, but you'll need to buy a
ticket if you want to enjoy it from the beer garden or inside the
Sandbar- and you must be 21 to do that.
We're selling tickets in advance this year, too. (We're just going all out, aren't we!)
You can buy tickets online here (use promo code SANDBAR to save $5 per
ticket for regular beer garden tickets, or SANDBARVIP to save $10 per
ticket on VIP tickets). We'll have tickets available in retail locations
this week, including at the Sandbar, Sandbar Subs and Peoples Bank.
Stay tuned for more updates and fun announcements about this year's party!
RSVP on Facebook and share the event with your friends! And don't forget to use #sbparty13 when you talk about it online.
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.
Peach is opening a Sandbar Sub Shop in downtown Lawrence, right across the street from the Sandbar!
While we're sad that our neighbor and frequent breakfast and lunch spot the Mirth Cafe had to move down the street, we're happy that it opened up a great spot for us to use.
Currently, there are two Sandbar Sub Shops in town- both inside Zarco 66 gas stations. Now, downtown folks can get their fix, too!
Manager needed
First, though, Peach needs a manager for the new restaurant. She's looking for someone who loves the Sandbar, loves food and wants to help people eat healthier.
The ideal candidate will have a great attitude, food service experience, management experience and retail experience is a plus- the new shop will have a gift shop in addition to the deli.
It's a full-time position, and the salary is based on experience.
Are you looking for a fun new job? Do you know someone who is? Contact Peach at [email protected] to find out more!
