(keep reading to learn what happened)
Season: 3 | View All Season 3 Episodes
Original Episode Air Date: March 16, 2014
The Bar's Original Name Was: KC’s Bar and Grill
Johnson County Line Address: 10201 W 47th St Shawnee, KS 66203
Episode Recap
KC’s Bar and Grill, later renamed to Johnson County Line, was a Shawnee, Kansas bar that was featured on Season 3 of Bar Rescue.
Though the Johnson County Line Bar Rescue episode aired in March 2014, the actual filming and visit from Jon Taffer took place way before that all the way back at the beginning of 2013.
It was Season 3 Episode 32 and the episode name was “Critters and Quitters”.
KC’s Bar and Grill is located in Shawnee / Johnson County, Kansas.
Bill is the owner who bought the bar in 2002, which means he’s owned it for over a decade at the time of the KC’s Bar Rescue episode.
To get around the state’s ban on smoking in bars, Bill turn the bar into a private club where members need to pay a small fee to attend.
Because it’s a private club rather than a public bar, the bar is able to get around the smoking ban.
Because of this, the bar was profitable.
Elizabeth, a former bartender, was promoted to manager after Bill had a health issue.
He is thinking of retiring and wants Elizabeth to buy the bar.
Ryan is Bill’s son who works at the bar semi-regularly, but Bill doesn’t want to leave the bar to him.
Bill has become too relaxed and parties at the bar.
As a result, the bar is losing money, and there will be nothing left for Elizabeth to buy.
To help the bar, Jon Taffer brings in chef Tiffany Derry and mixologist Tony Devencenzi.
When Jon and the experts arrive, they find the bar’s theme and aesthetic to be bland and boring.
The bartender Shawna is caught smoking behind the bar, which violates many health practices.
Angela and Paul are sent in as Jon’s spies, and since they are not members, they are denied entry.
The odd thing, though, is that they are never told how to become members.
It’s almost like the bar doesn’t care about increasing its membership.
Eric and Brandy arrive as the second pair of spies, and they are members.
When they get in, they see a bartender use her hands to pick up olives, and she over pours on drinks.
Mike is the cook in the kitchen, and he is using a bubbling fryer.
Brandy hates her food so much she has a hard time swallowing it.
Shawna ignores a customer’s calls, and Elizabeth needs to hop in to take their order.
Jon has seen enough and wants to go meet with Bill.
However, just as he’s going in, a friggin’ raccoon runs into the bar!
I’ve never seen that on an episode of Bar Rescue before.
Shawna confides in Jon that Bill allows the staff to drink, but it frustrates Elizabeth.
Bill and Jon finally meet, but Bill is too drunk to have a conversation.
Jon Taffer makes Bill clean the bar and get rid of the raccoon that night.
Ryan, Bill’s son, tells Jon that he thinks his father giving the bar to Elizabeth is a mistake, and it should be left in the family.
Jon sits with Bill and Liza the next day and finds out the two had an agreement for Elizabeth is pay the lease.
She would buy the bar over time but stopped making the payments.
The certificates of ownership are also not appropriately issued.
If something happened to Bill, she not only wouldn’t get the bar but could be sued.
The rest of the staff then meet with Jon Taffer to discuss the bar’s future.
To prep for the stress test, Tony takes the bartenders through different pouring techniques.
In the kitchen, Chef Tiffany Derry tells them that their food isn’t frying because they use dirty grease.
She then teaches them to make mozzarella sticks and a delicious burger.
For the stress test, members of the club have invited friends.
Shawna immediately begins over pouring.
The bar is the only focus, and food waits go up to thirty minutes.
The racoon appears again and drops feces on the customers.
Liz admits there were a lot of problems during the stress test.
Bill, Ryan, and Liz go to meet with a lawyer who tells them the deal is bad for Liz.
Liz backs out, gives her initial down payment, and leaves the bar.
While all of that is going on, Jon Taffer and his crew have been hard at work on renovating the bar.
As part of the changes, Jon Taffer has renamed the bar from KC’s Bar and Grill to Johnson County Line.
There is a new buffet member and sweepstakes to win a vacation.
They receive twenty new member sign-ups during the relaunch.
Everything is hit, especially the buffet table.
So was the KC’s Bar and Grill Bar Rescue episode a success? Keep reading to learn what happened to the bar and if it’s still open in 2024.
Johnson County Line Update - What Happened Next?
Now that we’ve recapped the Johnson County Line Bar Rescue episode, let’s talk about what happened to the bar after Jon Taffer and his crew blew on out of Shawnee, Kansas.
First off, it wouldn’t be known as Johnson County Line for long.
Shortly after the episode, Bill reverted back to doing business as KC’s Bar.
More specifically, KC’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill.
The bar also still operates using the members-only approach, which I find to be very unique.
Here’s part of Bill’s reasoning for returning to the original approach, taken from his response to a customer review:
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your experience at KCs.
Unfortunately, the “vibe” that was created by the Bar Rescue experience did not take into account the many members and their sense of welcoming and accepting nature.
Nor did it facilitate the demeanor of friends and family that KCs has built over the last 20 years.
We would love to welcome you back to experience all that our customer base and staff have worked to achieve and enjoy our very own Cheers home away from home.
Best wishes and looking forward to seeing you again!
Here’s a screenshot of the review and response:
A lot of the regulars also hated the dress code, which the bar also ditched shortly after the episode.
Is Johnson County Line still open after Bar Rescue?
As of 2023, Johnson County Line is still open and serving customers in Shawnee, KS.
However, it’s not doing so under the name that Jon Taffer gave it.
In 2023, the bar is operating as KC’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill.
Here’s what the bar’s Shawnee Kansas location looks like in the most recent picture from Google Maps street view…
This picture was from 2022, so you can see how the bar has ditched the Johnson County Line name:
Despite ditching Taffer’s name and most of his concept, the bar has survived for over 8 years after the KC’s Bar Rescue episode, which is still pretty impressive.
The bar regularly posts specials and events on its Facebook page (linked below).
They have live music, video bingo, poker (texas hold ’em), and more.
Overall, it seems to be a pretty fun place.
Reviews for the bar generally seem good, as it has a 4 star rating on its Google Reviews page.
While there is a Yelp page for KC’s Bar and Grill, it doesn’t have very many reviews, which is why I’m only mentioning Google Reviews.
Here’s a sampling of reviews that were written after the KC’s Bar / Johnson County Line Bar Rescue visit.
4 star review from 2021:
The bartenders were awesome and friendly, the clientele were kind and welcoming and it was clear to see they loved their local bar.
I ordered a simple whiskey and lemonade and it was served promptly and tasted great.
I think they were having some kind of sandwich night and the food sounded and looked tasty.
My only critique is that is was very humid and smoky in the bar.
I would have stayed longer but I just felt like I need to get out and get some fresh air.
I don’t mind Cigarette smoke at all, and realize being able to smoke indoors is a huge draw for the bar, but the bar needs a better ventilation system.
Wishing this fun little bar all the best!
And y’all should turn on the lights for your sign.
4 star review from 2022:
Wonderful people and fabulous staff..
Let’s not forget the amazing nacho supreme they got…yummy.
They have this breakfast omelet I haven’t had yet.
They are now serving nite breakfast.
Can’t wait till then
1 star review from 2022:
Not worth the time to become a member.
Glad I came with someone before becoming a member.
Stay clear.
Save your money.
2 star review from 2021:
Mostly was just sad that they lost the cool name from show (Johnson county line) & speakeasy vibe.
I wanted to go solely based on how cool it was set up on bar rescue.
But….that’s not there now at all.
I didn’t buy membership but would not personally.
Johnson County Line is the only Kansas Bar Rescue episode.
If you want to see some nearby bars, there were several Missouri Bar Rescue episodes, though:
- Water’s Edge / Edge of Town update
- Longshots / Badlands Country Nightclub
- Stix and Stones / The Pit Stop update
- Thunderbird / Thunderbolt update
- City Bistro / The Beechwood update
- Crafted / Van Goghz update
- BARcode / RG’s Lounge update
Thanks for reading!
More Information
https://www.yelp.com/biz/k-cs-neighborhood-bar-and-grill-shawneehttps://www.facebook.com/kcs.bar/
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Last updated: 2023-03-11 06:47
Dude cared more about screwing over Liz than leaving it to someone who really loved the place. Hope she found something much better because she deserves it.
What Tracker said.
Bill is a mean nasty man deep down.
I know the show doesn’t care about right & wrong as long as it’s entertaining for the ratings but some of these owners don’t deserve the 100k makeover, & most of us who do go to bars know a much more deserving local place that would glow with 100k in renovations. The money’s wasted on these selfish fools.
It is rare to see a Good vs. Evil when it involves ownership of a bar. Usually, when it comes with co-ownership, they are either both good and just incompetent, or serious unlikeable jerks.
There is Liz trying to build herself a better life. And then there is Scumbaf Bill and his son, preying on her.
She is working hard and the star of the place. She has invested in the place, but in the end, and most likely is the case, she bought all risk and no reward.
Then the scumbag son, tries to act like she needs to honor such an agreement, even though he said her getting the bar, was a mistake.
The son Ryan was just looking to get something for nothing imo. Why didn’t bill want to leave him the bar in the first place? There’s definitely information we didn’t get. He tried to screw Liz over plain and simple. Then Ryan is upset with her? What a jerk. Then ultimately goes back to the old name and everything? Bill did not deserve that bar rescue, at all!
That scumbag son was angry he wasn’t getting the bar and said Liz getting it was a mistake.
Then he contradicts himself and says Liz agreed to the “deal”. Obviously some super scumbag shannigans were going on with this Father and Son duo. F THEM!!!
Liz should he gotten the bar but thank god John came through and saved her with that lawyer, or else that would have been a hell of a dispute in court. I hope she’s doing better in 2022 because these jerks DID NOT deserve johns time and reputation. I always look up Yelp reviews on tha bars he’s saved and a lot are good but these guys are a whole different kind of morons.
Bill’s son was an absolute douche in the show. Not sure why he was even part of the legal negotiations, as he wasn’t a part in the dispute.
I am so sorry that Liz didn’t get to buy the bar but I am Glad that Jon Taffer saved her in the mess she could’ve been in. And I’m sure she would’ve also kept a lot of the concepts Jon Taffer had given the bar.
I hope that the smoking jackets and some of the other fun things about the bar were given were kept , if they’re getting 25 members new members a month they definitely would’ve been able to give away a free trip or whatever it was offered. And Jon was right especially if the big deal is you can smoke inside. Than a smoking jacket and other attire is perfect especially for the owner of the bar.
If you have the members only when the bar was a pit And then Jon made it up again and the bar was in better condition than it should’ve been kept , getting 25 members a month not like you guys are empty think about it.😬
Why do people still go there knowing that the father and son are such scumbags ?
This is one bar rescue I wish it would fail!
Bill and his son just used Liz for years. At least John had her back!
No offense, there are many rescues that I wished would fail. However, this one is the one I wished would have failed the most. What scum.
I can’t believe John continued with the show after finding out that Bill and his son was just taking advantage of Liz for YEARS. Did Liz recoup the x amount of dollars she spent at this sinking
ship? 800 dollars a week in TN ???? that’s more than the average rent in 2023!
No lie, but Shawna was sexy. I would’ve gladly taken her to Pound Town.
Seriously is there any update on Liz?
Instead you take the twins, left and right hands, Loser!!
She wouldn’t remember it, she seemed she is frequently blacked out drunk.
As an aside, do you have anything intelligent to write about this episode?
What is Liz doing now?? She’s the only one on that show that everyone cares about. Who gives a shit about this Bar?? How’s Liz?
Never do business with scum bags. Owner was ready to put that poor woman in financial ruin with that dump of a bar, with the son ready to kick her while she would be down. What an entitled useless jerk that son is.
I have so many questions after this rescue.
Most of all, why was Liz taken out of the equation entirely? She could stay on as a manager. She was probably screwed out of her 10K she invested.
I am surprised this place is still open and active. The owner and his son seem not to contribute, and I am shocked John didn’t put them in their place like he usually does. It was only Liz’s competence that was leading the bar.
I have been a follower of bar rescue for years. After watching this episode January 10th, 2024 I will no longer watch bar rescue. What a shitty move on taffers part of still rescuing this bar after Liz got screwed over by scumbag owner and scumbag son. I pray they get their comeuppance. As for the members that still frequent this establishment – screw them too. They should have dropped their membership and no longer frequent a bar owned by bad, bad people who are the scum of the earth!! Hopefully the owner dropped dead of another heart attack and his son too!!
Personally, the new bar was too classy for the old clientele and once prospective new members saw wat it was changed back to were turned off . Bar Rescue needs to get their money back. Also, where the heck is Liz? The only decent person in that family.
The owner is an absolute idiot and complete a-hole. All he cares about is himself. His son is an idiot that can’t do anything with his life. John should have never saved the place.
I am a huge fan of bar rescue, and the owner and his son are the biggest pieces of garbage that this show ever shown us.
They wanted to screw the one employee who was actually worth a darn to subsidized their heavy drinking and free drinks.
I am sad to see that they are still open. I wonder how Liz is doing. Who gives a damn about dump of a bar!!!