Drastic Measures in downtown Shawnee is again up for a James Beard Award for the second year in a row.
The speakeasy-style cocktail bar owned and operated by Jay Sanders was named a semifinalist in the “Outstanding Bar” category Wednesday, as the James Beard Foundation unveiled its list of dozens of semifinalists in more than 20 categories.
“It’s an absolute honor to be recognized as a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Most Outstanding Bar for the second year in a row!” Drastic Measures posted to its Instagram account soon after the semifinalist list was announced. “Thank you all for the support and let’s keep this momentum going! It ain’t the drinks, people. It’s supporting your community.”
The awards, often referred to as the Oscars of the culinary and hospitality industry, are given out each year.
The James Beard Foundation will whittle down the list of semifinalists to a shorter list of finalists in each category in April. Winners will announced during a ceremony in Chicago in June.
Drastic Measures was a finalist in the “Outstanding Bar” category last year, with the award eventually going to Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Another local establishment with Johnson County ties, Yolí Tortilleria in Kansas City, Missouri, won in the “Outstanding Bakery” category last year. Yolí has sold its wares at the Overland Park Farmers’ Market since 2017.
Ever since it first opened amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Drastic Measures has been known for serving up serious cocktails in an ambient, dimly-lit setting reminiscent of speakeasies of old with a seasonally revolving menu of handcrafted drinks.
Sanders last year launched Wild Child right next door to Drastic Measures on the corner of Nieman Road and Johnson Drive, another bar specializing in low- and no-alcohol drinks with a more casual atmosphere.
