Nothing about Jay Sanders is quite what you’d expect.
After working for years in KC’s bar scene, he opened the cocktail bar Drastic Measures in 2020 on a sleepy strip in Shawnee suburbia. At the time, Drastic sold some of the best cocktails in the city for just $10. (You can still get some of the best cocktails in the city there, but they are now $14.) Then, in July of last year, Sanders opened Wild Child right next door, a cocktail bar that specializes in nonalcoholic beverages.
Wild Child has since been dubbed one of the best new bars in the nation by lauded publications Punch and Bon Appétit. As of January, Sanders is also up for a James Beard award in the Foundation’s new category: Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. You’d think the Fairway native would be basking in the limelight, but what’s it been like receiving all this attention for Sanders? “Uncomfortable.”
“I’m very deflective of accolades because I don’t think that I earned it,” Sanders says. “I built the train station that all these wonderful people work in and that’s it. I ring the bell, but they make sure the trains run on time.”
His hesitancy to accept praise may be due to his extensive background of polishing glassware, emptying bathroom trash cans and fending off the occasional drunken patron. Sanders is, through and through, a man of the industry, having cut his teeth as a bartender at Room 39 and then as the general manager of the Rieger restaurant’s much-missed basement speakeasy Manifesto. Now that Sanders is helming the ship (er, train station), he’s focused on enjoying one of the biggest perks: getting a little silly.
Bright and floral (a stark contrast to Drastic’s dark and moody interior), Wild Child reveals another side of Sanders. With cocktails garnished with a single chicharron, adorned with overhanging clouds of cotton candy or served in a vessel resembling a Chinese takeout container, it’s clear that Sanders isn’t taking himself too seriously—something Sanders admits he has been guilty of in the past. Still, all his cocktails have a beautifully polished look to them, as if creating them was effortless, though that’s certainly not the case.
According to Sanders, nonalcoholic beverages are the new frontier, and a hard one to traverse. He and his team do everything from the ground up, stripping spirits of alcohol and infusing them with flavors that manage to give the drinks the thoughtful taste and aesthetic that you’d find in any of his other alcoholic beverages. Wild Child serves those, too, but hangs its hat on its equally sizable nonalcoholic menu.
Wild Child may be the talk of the nation, but Sanders can’t rest on his laurels even if he tries. Manic is a word he doesn’t hesitate to use to describe himself. The James Beard nominee, on a mission to battle the pretentiousness that is so often found in the world of upscale bars, is already moving on to his next project: cocktail affordability. His weekly pop-up, “It’s Almost Monday,” caps cocktails at $10 and has been so successful that it’s looking like it may be his next big venture.
“I have a little bit of a platform,” Sanders says. “I want to use it to try and speak to the people that need it most. I want to see more people like my brother—nurses, teachers and first responders, people who maybe can’t afford $14 drinks but certainly deserve them.”
The James Beard finalists will be announced in April. I take back what I said in the beginning. Sanders being recognized for his outstanding work by the James Beard Foundation is nothing short of expected.
Jay Sanders’ Perfect Day in KC
Breakfast of Champions: I wake up at 7:30 am and get a Costco pizza. Pepperoni. In and out.
Indian: Like a lot of industry people, I’m usually off on Mondays. Everything else is closed, too, except Shagan’s. I’m getting the combo dish, and I usually let them pick it for me. My favorite way to do hospitality is to talk to the people who are providing it and let them guide me.
Beer Stop: BKS Artisan Ales is the best brewery in my opinion. You’ll catch me there one night a week. I’m getting a Brookside Golden.
Palestinian Deli: At Baba’s Pantry, I’ll usually get a wrap of some sort. There’s nothing they do wrong. It’s such a beautiful place. Plus, you could spend 10 bucks there and have all the snacks you’d need for a week.
Wine Shop: Big Mood Natural Wines is excellent. I own two bars, but when I go in there, I realize how little I know. And they’re not snooty about it. They know how to treat people when they come in.
