State officials have seized and shut down a Shawnee bar and grill because of what they say are more than $50,000 in unpaid taxes, though the business’s owner is vowing to resolve the dispute and reopen.
In a news release, the Kansas Department of Revenue said their agents and Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputies executed tax warrants at The Social Bar & Grill, located at 13410 W. 62nd Terrace, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 10 a.m.
The business is located in the Mill Creek Shopping Center, just northeast of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Pflumm Road. It’s the former site of The Roxy music club, which closed in 2021 after years of noise complaints from nearby residents.
State says Social owes $50K+ in unpaid taxes
State revenue officials allege that the business owner, JM Grove LLC DBA, has failed to pay taxes totaling $52,458.17.
The release lists more than $12,600 in unpaid sales tax, more than $7,300 in withholding tax and nearly $33,000 in unpaid liquor drink tax.
“The types of assets seized include all known bank accounts, on-site cash, business inventory, as well as personal property belonging to the owner,” the department of revenue reported in the release. “All assets seized will be sold at public auction, and the proceeds will pay for the delinquent taxes.”
The department of revenue news release listed 12 warrants being executed at the business; six are dated from 2023, four from 2024, and two from 2025.
‘I fully intend to be back open’
Jordan Grove, owner of The Social Bar & Grill, told the Post he disputes the allegations of unpaid taxes.
“My payments were made towards the taxes they speak of, yet one of the current taxes being paid in addition posted later than the date it was supposed to,” Grove said in a written response to questions from the Post. “The agent in charge has declined to answer my lawyer’s request for questioning and isn’t reply[ing] to other phone calls made to her.”
A red sign on the bar and grill’s door now informs anyone approaching that the Kansas Department of Revenue has seized and sealed the business.
Grove said he is working with his lawyer to resolve the issue quickly.
“I fully intend to be back open as soon as Monday after getting my lawyer to handle the situation,” Grove told the Post on Saturday.
The department of revenue says that customers, employees or anyone else with items inside the sealed and seized business can contact the agent assigned to the case at 913-942-3090.
History of the site
The Social Bar & Grill opened in the summer of 2021 as a rebrand of the owner’s former business, Garrett’s Bar and Grill, at 6505 Nieman Road.
Grove owned Garrett’s for seven years before it closed, following challenges in negotiating a new lease with the owner of the former building on Nieman Road.
Previous tenants of the space at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Pflumm Road were Johnny’s Tavern and The Roxy.
The Roxy closed in March 2021 after four years at the address. During that time, Shawnee officials said they received 59 noise complaints.
The city of Shawnee’s planning commission and city council approved a special-use permit for live music at The Social Bar & Grill in November 2021, with the owners promising more “adult entertainment” than the previous business.
The city’s planning commission reviewed that special-use permit in May 2022 after two noise complaints from neighbors in five months and decided to keep the permit in place.
In October 2022, the Shawnee City Council voted 6-2 to renew the bar’s special-use permit for live music, despite opposition from several neighbors.
